Trader Joe’s has a wide range of exotic flavors featured at their store, and that’s one of the main reasons why a trip there usually becomes a fun and exciting experience.
Sticky rice is typically used in various savory and sweet Asian dishes. It’s quite a versatile ingredient that you can add to plenty of culinary masterpieces, but it’s currently not available at Trader Joe’s.
Will the stores ever offer sticky rice? Here’s everything we’ve managed to find out.
Why You’ll Love Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s is one of the most popular store chains in the USA that is mainly known for its low prices, amazing selection of unique foods, and superb customer service.
Trader Joe’s can be described as an ‘unorthodox’ grocer as the company decided to throw quite a few practices of the grocery industry out.
For example, Trader Joe’s doesn’t store its products in the inventory. Everything that gets delivered to the store goes directly to the shelf so that the customers can get the freshest products possible.
Furthermore, the items that the store carries fully depend on the raw materials of the season. If the price of the material goes up, then Trader Joe’s would, most likely, choose to discontinue the item instead of driving the price up.
Another amazing thing is that Trader Joe’s aims to take customer experience to another level. They care about their clients even in the smallest details.
For example, the stores don’t have ‘classic’ freezers with giant doors that are challenging to open. In fact, their freezers don’t feature any doors at all, so you can easily pull the items out and check out the ingredients.
Trader Joe’s Rice Selection
If you’re a fan of rice dishes, then Trader Joe’s might become your favorite place to shop for this ingredient. The store sells not only plain rice (like organic basmati rice from India) but also a wide range of exciting rice products.
You can easily find a variety of rice cakes, rice cereal, and rice spaghetti in the store. Trader Joe’s also has quite a few variations of riced cauliflower which is perfect for those on a low-carb, Keto, or Paleo diet.
The fried rice selection deserves a separate mention:
- The Vegetable Fried Rice ($4.99) is delicious on its own, but can also be served with meat or more vegetables.
- Spice Thai Shrimp Fried Rice ($5.99) is perfect for a Thai curry or a chicken satay, and all you will need to make it is simply pop the rice in the microwave for a few minutes.
- If you like Korean-inspired dishes, you might want to give the Bulgogi Beef Fried Rice with Kimchi ($5.49) a try.
Trader Joe’s also has Spanish Style Rice ($3.49) and Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice ($4.49), so no matter how you prefer your rice, you’ll most certainly be able to find something to your liking at the store.
What Is Sticky Rice?
Sticky rice is not just a description of how the rice can be prepared. It is, in fact, a unique rice variety that is used throughout Asia and is immediately recognizable by its round grains and glue-like texture when cooked.
Any other type of white rice contains two types of starch – amylopectin and amylose. The lower the content of amylose, the sticker the rice will become once cooked. Sticky rice is the type of rice that contains only 1% of amylose.
To check the current price and availability of Sticky Rice, click here to view the selection on Amazon.
How to Eat Sticky Rice
Sticky rice comes in short-grain and long-grain varieties and it can be used in both savory and sweet dishes. Usually, the long-grain variety is used for savory dishes, and the short-grain – for desserts.
Sweet rice cakes, dumplings, duck stuffing, peanut sticky rice – these are only a few examples of how this rice can be used.
Before cooking the rice, you would have to soak it in tepid water. This should be done for at least 30 minutes, but you can leave the pot overnight. After that, the sticky rice can be either steamed or added to some recipes uncooked.
Is Sticky Rice Available at Trader Joe’s?
Trader Joe’s aims to introduce 10-15 new products each week! This means that a lot of products tend to come and go, in case they did not earn their place on the shelves or if their production has become too expensive.
If you are looking for something in particular and are not interested in simply browsing the store, then you might want to check the availability of some items on the official website beforehand. Make sure to choose your location to get the most accurate information.
You can also always contact customer support to find out what products your local store has at the moment.
Does Trader Joe’s Sell Sticky Rice?
At the moment, Trader Joe’s does not sell sticky rice. But they do have Sliced Korean Rice Cakes.
A few years ago, Trader Joe’s also had Mango ; Sticky Rice Spring Rolls that quickly managed to become a crowd favorite. Unfortunately, the item was discontinued, but during some seasons the product might be back in stock.
If you’re looking for a sticky rice alternative, then the best decision might be to chat with one of the employees at the store. They are all incredibly friendly and always happy to help.
Where Else to Buy Sticky Rice?
You can find a wide selection of sticky rice in Asian markets. If you need to get a huge bag of rice, then you might want to check the available options on Amazon as they usually sell 5-pound bags.
You can also find sticky rice on importfood.com at $16.75 for a 5-pound bag.
Or you can always go to Walmart – they have a great selection of sweet rice, starting from 2lb packages for $4.98 and ending with separate cups of cooked sticky rice for $22.88 for 8 pieces.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, right now Trader Joe’s does not have sticky rice or any frozen dishes that include this ingredient, but that can certainly change in the nearest future.
Make sure to check the product availability on the official website. And remember that if you can’t wait for Trader Joe’s to bring out a particular item, you can always ask them to do that.
