Caramelized Pork and Rice Bowl
Dehydrated pork mince rehydrated, then fried back down until it goes sticky again.
- calories
- 820
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 164
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 400 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
- Car camping
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Lean pork mince, cooked with the sauce and dehydrated | 3 oz dry | 5% fat or leaner, or the dried meat goes rancid |
|---|---|---|
| Green beans, cut into 1 cm pieces and dried | 1/4 cup | |
| Instant rice | 3/4 cup dry | egg noodles or a ramen block also work |
| Brown sugar | 2 tsp | packed with the meat before drying |
| Soy sauce powder | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1/2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Chili flakes | a pinch |
Method
- Pour 150 ml of cold water over the pork and beans in a jar or bag an hour before camp. They rehydrate while you walk and save you fuel.
- At camp, boil 250 ml of water, add the rice, cover, and pull it off the heat. Set it aside in the pot cozy or a spare bag.
- Tip the soaked pork and beans into the pot with any water still sitting in the bag. Simmer until the liquid is nearly gone.
- Add the oil and turn the flame low. Keep stirring. The sugar in the sauce will catch and go sticky in three or four minutes.
- Spoon the pork over the rice. Scrape the pot while it is still hot, not tomorrow.
The whole point is the caramelization, which most dehydrated dinners cannot do. Rehydrating alone gives you wet mince in sauce. Driving the water back off in the pot with a little oil lets the sugar in the sauce catch on the metal and coat the meat again. That takes low heat and patience, and it is the one step worth not rushing.
Cold-soaking the pork and beans on the trail does the slow half of the work for free. Lean mince matters more than it sounds: fat left in dried meat turns on you after a few warm days in a pack. Add the oil in camp instead. Expect to scrub the pot.
Packing
Dry the cooked pork on lined trays until no piece bends. It goes in one bag with the beans, rice and seasonings in a second. Vacuum seal the meat if the trip runs past a week.
Variations
- A chopped tomato and a few mini cucumbers on night one cut the sweetness.
- Swap the pork for TVP, crumbled tempeh, or dried chicken or beef mince.
- Kimchi dried at home and cold-soaked during the day makes a sharp side.
https://slowerhiking.com/recipes/sticky-turkey-or-tvp-or-pork-stir-fry