Taste Test Tuesday: Trader Joe’s Kung Pao Chicken Mochi Balls

I am a big mochi ice cream fan! They are so unique with that chewy exterior sweet interior. When I saw these savory mochi balls I was immediately intrigued. This could either be delicious or disgusting…I didn’t see these being middle of the road! The directions said to bake these at 400 degrees so I used my air fryer on the bake setting because it’s over 100 degrees outside and I wasn’t about to warm up the house any more by turning my oven on! I checked at about 12 minutes and it was perfect. Some of the filling was oozing out of one and the temp was above where it needed to be internally. *Always important to check with a thermometer if you aren’t sure if something is cooked through! The outside was very crisp and the inside was nice and chewy, as you’d expect from typical mochi! The filling was very delicious and flavorful. There’s a nice kick but I would call it pleasant, not too much if you aren’t keen on spicy foods. My biggest complaint with these is the amount of filling per ball. There was so little of it! It was mostly hollow so the bites without filling was just, meh. The mochi itself was slightly sweet but lacked much flavor. I wish these were loaded with more filling, but I still would purchase again! I would serve these as an app or on the side of a main dish.

Have you tried these!?