Beef and Mushroom Noodles
Rice noodles softened off-heat, then hit with dried mushrooms, freeze-dried beef, and soy.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 138
- protein
- 33 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Bikepacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Rice vermicelli | 1.75 oz | about half a 100 g packet; breaks easily, so pack it flat |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried beef | 1.5 oz | or a foil pouch of shredded beef |
| Dried sliced mushrooms | 1/3 cup | button or shiitake, both rehydrate fine |
| Dried broccoli florets | 1/3 cup | cut small so they soften in the same soak |
| Soy sauce | 1 tbsp | packets, or a leakproof dropper bottle |
| Cooking oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried chili flakes | a pinch | |
| Black pepper | plenty |
Method
- Boil 600 ml of water. Drop in the mushrooms and broccoli first and give them two minutes on the heat.
- Add the noodles and beef, kill the stove, and put the lid on. Ten minutes.
- Drain off whatever water is left, or drink it. Do not skip this or the soy has nothing to cling to.
- Return the pot to low heat with the oil, pour in the soy, and stir for a minute until the noodles are coated and glossy.
- Chili flakes and a lot of pepper at the end. No salt; the soy handles it.
This started as a fry-pan stir-fry with fresh steak and a bunch of tender-stem broccoli. On trail it becomes one pot: the mushrooms and broccoli go in the boil, then the noodles and freeze-dried beef finish off-heat in the residual water. Rice vermicelli never needs a rolling boil, which saves fuel and means the pot does soak duty and pan duty in the same ten minutes.
Draining matters more than it sounds. Soy sauce in a wet pot is soup; soy sauce on drained noodles with oil is a coating that sticks to everything. The minute back on the heat at the end is what turns it from rehydrated ingredients into a dish. Skip the salt entirely — a tablespoon of soy is already at the ceiling.
Packing
Noodles, mushrooms, broccoli, and beef in one bag, chili and pepper in a corner of it. Oil and soy in separate small bottles, upright, and bagged. Vermicelli shatters in a pack, so lay it against your back panel rather than in a side pocket.
Variations
- Freeze-dried chicken or a pouch of pork works the same. Swap in dried tofu or edamame to make it vegan.
- Hokkien or ramen noodles survive rough travel better than vermicelli, but need a real boil instead of a soak.
- A half teaspoon of dried garlic and ginger in the mix gets it closer to a stir-fry.
https://www.advrider.com/recipe-beef-and-mushroom-noodles