Chicken and Rice Chowder
A creamy soup rebuilt out of powder, foil pouch, and parboiled rice.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 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
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Parboiled (converted) rice | 1/2 cup | low starch, so it holds its shape instead of going to paste |
|---|---|---|
| Dried mirepoix | 1/3 cup | dehydrated onion, carrot, and celery |
| Chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | low sodium if you can find it |
| Whole milk powder | 3 tbsp | stands in for half and half |
| All purpose flour | 1 tbsp | the thickener |
| Butter powder or olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt and cracked black pepper | to taste | |
| Foil pouch chicken | 5 oz |
Method
- Pour 600 ml of water into the pot. Add the rice, dried vegetables, bouillon, and thyme.
- Bring it to a boil, then hold it at a bare simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on. Stir now and then so nothing welds to the bottom.
- In a mug or the empty ingredient bag, whisk the milk powder, flour, and butter powder into about 60 ml of cold water until there are no lumps.
- Kill the heat. Stir the slurry into the pot, then set it back over a low flame for two minutes until it thickens.
- Fold in the chicken, then salt and pepper it. Let it sit five minutes off the stove; the rice keeps drinking.
The original is butter, a flour roux, and half and half. None of that travels. Whole milk powder does the same job as the cream once it is rehydrated, and the flour still thickens as long as you slurry it into cold water first. Dump dry flour into a hot pot and you get lumps you cannot whisk out with a spoon.
Parboiled rice is worth seeking out. It cooks in the broth without shedding starch, so the soup stays a soup and the grains stay grains, even the next morning if you carry leftovers. Regular white rice works but will turn the pot to porridge. The foil pouch chicken goes in at the end because it is already cooked and simmering only shreds it into nothing.
Packing
Rice, vegetables, bouillon, and thyme go in one bag. Milk powder, flour, and butter powder go in a second bag, because they need to be mixed with cold water separately. The chicken pouch rides on its own.
Variations
- Swap the milk powder for powdered coconut milk to make it dairy-free.
- Instant potato flakes instead of the flour slurry thicken it faster if you are low on fuel.
- A pinch of Cajun seasoning in place of the thyme changes the whole pot.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/creamy-chicken-rice-soup