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Tracey Korsen, a local gourmet grammar guru, talks about the recipe she just published and what she always has in her grocery store.

Cooking with 5 ingredients from Trader Joe's, written by Philadelphia resident and gourmet Instagram user Tracey Korsen, published today. / Photo courtesy of Page Street Publishing Company.

Philadelphia-based food influencer Tracey Korsen-best known for her Instagram account @tracyjoes-has been sharing her Trader Joe's-style food for the past two years. In such a short period of time, she has attracted nearly 60,000 fans who love her sweet and savory works, which use ingredients from popular grocery chains-so much that she decides to write a cookbook.

Released today, cooking with Trader Joe's 5 ingredients: Use your favorite in-store products for a simple weekend dinner, Korsen’s nearly 50 comfort foods and healthy dinners, TJ-style takeaway favorites, elevated frozen dinners and super delicious desserts The collection of that, yes, only involves five ingredients and requires minimal effort.

Below, Korsen shared how she became fascinated by Trader Joe's (Hello, orange chicken and broccoli dumplings!) Bonus content: a recipe from her book!

How did you start cooking, especially with Trader Joe's products? I actually didn't start cooking until I started graduate school in 2015, but I basically just made pasta, roasted vegetables or cooked Trader Joe's frozen chicken tikka masala. As a PhD student, I really don't have time to cook more luxurious meals. But in the summer of 2019, I went on a research trip to New York, where I rented a room in a family's home (so they also live there). Both parents work in restaurants and cook these very delicious meals every night. I found that they mainly use Trader Joe's products and ingredients, and I am surprised that they can make such good things with simple groceries. I have always liked shopping at TJ's, but the time I spent in that house made me realize that you can use Trader Joe's products to create cohesive and delicious dishes, rather than one-off or individual dishes. (For example, I always eat orange chicken alone, not with any other products.)

Two years is a short period of time for compiling a whole book of recipes, especially for those who would not call themselves a home cook in the first place. Where did the idea of ​​putting recipes together come from? I started my Instagram in September 2019 for fun, and soon after, I gained a lot of fans. However, I don’t consider myself a recipe developer—just a person who shares the food they ship from Trader Joe’s grocery store. As the pages got bigger and bigger, people started asking me if I planned to use my synopsis to make a book. Once I get a PhD. With bandwidth, one of my followers-working at Page Street Publishing Co., the publishing company of my book-became interested, so I moved on.

What is the process of putting together nearly 50 recipes from an entire book? This is a bit scary and forced me to use it out of the box, especially since each recipe contains only five ingredients. The dishes I have eaten in restaurants or the dishes I saw on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives also gave me a lot of inspiration and thought about how to make Trader Joe's-ify them. But I need to keep the recipes simple, because most of my Instagram fans are busy or want to make something delicious, simple and not time-consuming for my family. Some recipes are slightly more complicated, such as the harissa meatballs, but others are more straightforward, such as the shrimp fiochetti, which basically only involves cooking frozen shrimp and pasta in a pan. This helps reduce the amount of preparation, counter space, and kitchen utensils you have to use!

Shrimp Fioketi. / Photo courtesy of Page Street Publishing Company.

In your Instagram profile, it says that you are not affiliated with Trader Joe's, but you just wrote a complete cookbook with their products. You must be on their radar! So, I have never worked with them, mainly because Trader Joe's does not seem to interact with influential people. I don't know if this is a legal issue or what, but you will notice that many of us [influencers using Trader Joe products] made it clear in our resume that we are not affiliated with a grocery chain. But what I want to say is that when shopping in the grocery store, you can see that Trader Joe's highlights certain products based on Instagram. Sometimes you will see the "As you see on Instagram" sign in the store, so I know they are following the trends on social media.

This is crazy to me, especially because when you promote their products, you are basically giving them free ads — or at least exposure. certainly. It can be frustrating at times, especially because the influencer community is very active and we all like Trader Joe's very much because all of this requires a lot of creativity and time. When it comes to my book, we had to adjust the title a bit, because the original title would suggest or imply that I have a connection with Trader Joe's as a brand partner. When it comes to Trader Joe's brand name and products, my publisher handles all legal/copyright issues.

Apart from reservations, what makes Trader Joe's ingredients so popular? There is basically a cult-like follower around them. Well, I think for me, this is because most of the items in the store are Trader Joe's brands, so it makes you feel that the chain store has everything available and is ready for you. The whole experience seems easier to navigate and more suitable for shopping, preparation and cooking-from their frozen meals and cheeses to their breads and snacks. In addition, the price is more affordable compared to chain stores such as Whole Foods. I started shopping at Trader Joe's when I was undergraduate. I have a misunderstanding that it is an expensive store. But when I went there, I realized it was not. This—plus the quality of their products—is what makes me a loyal customer.

Okay, back to your book. Which of your favorite recipes do you include? Of course it is a pot of chicken drumsticks. This is my favorite way to cook chicken drumsticks, because you just put them and vegetables on a pan and simmer them in the oven on low speed, causing the meat to fall off the bones. The seasoning is also easy to customize. Sometimes I just use salt and pepper, sometimes I change it to curry. I also like the pot stickers with curry simmering sauce because it becomes a very nutritious soup and is very easy to make.

Shrimp po'boys inspired by New Orleans. / Photo courtesy of Page Street Publishing Company.

Your book is not entirely meat-centric-there are plenty of vegetarian-friendly recipes, such as vegetarian dumplings and soy sausages. Many of my Instagram fans don’t eat meat. In the posts where meat is used in dishes, they or I will mention how to easily replace meat with non-meat substitutes. I eat meat, but tofu is one of my favorite proteins. I have always liked it, so I knew I must have some vegetarian recipes in the book. That soy sausage is actually one of the first merchant Joe's products I have ever used!

What are some things you like to buy at Trader Joe's? I always get frozen jasmine rice. If you heat it in the microwave for three minutes, it will be fully cooked. In addition, if you don't share it with other people, a package can last three to four days. I think their condiments are underestimated. In my opinion, condiments can beautify any meal. Their Sriracha is great, and their jalapeno hot sauce is also great. (It's not as spicy as they promote!) I always buy their cheeses and cured meats because I have been making personal charcuterie plates. And their dim sum is superb! I like their Joe-Joe's, this is their opinion of Oreo.

Finally, and perhaps the most important question: if you could eat a meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? Sushi. Put your hands down. I like King Ghidorah rolls at the Tuna Bar, and I order two each time I go-I can eat spicy tuna every day.

One-pot rice with chicken sausage. / Photo courtesy of Page Street Publishing Company.

Yield: 4 servings Total time: 25 minutes

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