Beef and Noodle Broth, Trail Version
Freeze-dried beef, soba, and a ginger-tamari broth built in one pot.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 12 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
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Car camping
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried beef crumbles or sliced steak | 1.5 oz | stands in for the sirloin |
|---|---|---|
| Buckwheat soba noodles | 2.5 oz | broken in half so they fit the pot |
| Beef bouillon | 2 cubes or 2 tsp powder | |
| Dried mushrooms | 1/4 cup | crushed small; shiitake or cremini |
| Dried julienned carrot | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried kale flakes | 1/4 cup | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Ground dried ginger | 1/2 tsp | |
| Tamari | 1 tbsp | in a leakproof dropper bottle |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried green onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add the beef, mushrooms, carrot, bouillon, garlic, and ginger. Simmer five minutes so the dried pieces take on water before the noodles go in.
- Add the soba. Simmer three to four more minutes, stirring so it does not weld to the bottom.
- Cut the heat. Stir in the kale flakes and green onion and put the lid on for two minutes.
- Add the tamari and the oil last. Salt and pepper to finish.
The original is a home soup with fresh steak, whole mushrooms, and noodles boiled in a second pot. On the trail there is one pot and no second boil, so the noodles cook in the broth and the broth gets cloudy. That is fine. It also means the soba absorbs some of the liquid, which is why the water goes in high at 600 ml.
Order matters more than technique here. The beef, mushrooms, and carrot need the longest soak, so they go in first; kale turns to sludge if it boils, so it goes in off the heat. Tamari and oil go in at the end because boiling flattens the tamari and the oil is doing calorie work, not cooking work.
Packing
Everything dry except the noodles goes in one bag. Soba in its own bag so the broken ends do not powder the vegetables. Tamari and oil ride in small bottles inside a ziplock.
Variations
- Ramen or thin rice noodles cook faster if you are short on fuel. Rice noodles keep it gluten-free.
- A spoonful of chili crisp or a squeeze of sriracha covers the flatness dried broth sometimes has.
https://www.theseasonalhomestead.com/asian-beef-noodle-soup