Cauliflower Fried Rice, Trail Version
Dried riced cauliflower and pouch chicken, rehydrated in one pot with soy and sesame.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 116
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried riced cauliflower | 1 cup | dehydrate frozen riced cauliflower at home, or buy it dried |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried or pouch chicken | 3 oz | pouch chicken is cheaper, freeze-dried is lighter |
| Dried mixed vegetables | 1/4 cup | peas, carrot, corn |
| Dried green onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Powdered egg | 2 tbsp | optional, but it is what makes it read as fried rice |
| Soy sauce powder | 2 tsp | liquid soy in a dropper bottle works too |
| Garlic powder and ground ginger | 1/2 tsp each | |
| Toasted sesame oil | 2 tsp | dropper bottle |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Put the cauliflower, vegetables, green onion, chicken, soy powder, garlic, and ginger in the pot with 400 ml of water.
- Bring it to a boil, then cut the heat and let it sit covered for five minutes. Cauliflower rehydrates fast; the vegetables are the slow part.
- If any water is still standing, put it back on low heat and stir until it cooks off. Wet cauliflower tastes like nothing.
- Sprinkle the egg powder over the top and stir hard for a minute over low heat so it sets in curds instead of a film.
- Off the heat, add both oils and stir. Taste and add soy if it is flat.
The original is a frozen skillet meal, which is useless past the trailhead. Everything in it dries well, though, so the trail version is the same idea rebuilt from components: dried cauliflower for the rice, pouch chicken for the protein, dried peas and carrot for the vegetables. It stays one pot and roughly the same fifteen minutes.
Two things decide whether this works. Drive off the extra water before you add fat, or you get soup with cauliflower in it. And add the oil last, off the heat, because sesame oil loses everything it has if you boil it. The egg powder is optional but it is doing the structural work that makes the dish taste like fried rice rather than steamed vegetables.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag except the egg powder, which clumps if it sits against damp cauliflower. Oils in dropper bottles, doubled in a zip bag.
Variations
- Swap the chicken for a foil pouch of tuna or a packet of dried tofu.
- Chili crisp or sriracha powder covers a lot of ground on day five.
- Add a handful of instant rice if you want the calories up without more weight in fat.
https://domesticsuperhero.com/chicken-fried-riced-cauliflower-convenient-family-meal