camp meals

Beef Curry Noodle Bowl

Jerky, curry powder, and a slab of soba noodles. One boil, two servings.

calories
560
weight
5.5 oz
cal / oz
102
protein
26 g
serves
2, scales
prep
5 min
cook
10 min
total time
15 min
water
950 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
  • Alcohol / Esbit
  • Backpacking
  • Basecamp
  • Canoe / raft
  • Car camping
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Basic

Ingredients

Chopped jerky 1/2 cup peppered works; cut it small at home
Dried vegetable mix 1/2 cup bulk-bin dried or freeze-dried, either rehydrates
Raisins 1/4 cup
Mild curry powder 1 tbsp
Lower sodium beef bouillon 4 tsp
Granulated garlic 1 tsp
Chuka soba noodles 6 oz package crumbled; angel hair or two ramen bricks minus the packets also work
Salt to taste

Method

  1. Pour 4 cups of water into the pot, dump in the jerky bag, and bring it to a boil.
  2. Add the crumbled noodles, bring it back to a boil, then drop to a low simmer for 3 minutes.
  3. Pull the pot off the stove, put the lid on tight, and wait 5 minutes.
  4. Stir, taste, and salt if the low-sodium bouillon left it flat.

The jerky is doing double duty. It rehydrates into something chewable over the ten minutes of boiling and resting, and the salt and fat it sheds season the broth from the inside. That is why it goes in with the cold water instead of at the end.

Chuka soba is worth seeking out because it is steamed rather than fried, so it soaks up broth instead of floating in grease. It also holds a bite after five minutes off the heat, which ramen does not. The raisins look out of place until you eat it: mild curry powder with no acid and no heat needs something sweet to push against, and dried fruit is the version that travels.

Packing

Everything except the noodles goes in one sandwich bag. Noodles in a second bag so they do not powder against the jerky. Two bags, one pot, one stove.

Variations

  • Swap the jerky for a foil packet of chicken added at the end if you want it milder.
  • A spoonful of coconut milk powder stirred in at the rest step turns the broth into a thin curry sauce.
  • Dried mango in place of raisins if you want the sweet part less chewy.

https://trailcooking.com/soups/beef-curry-noodle-bowl