Corn and Soy Chowder
Instant corn grits, freeze-dried sweet corn, and soy crumbles in one pot.
- calories
- 790
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 132
- protein
- 29 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant corn grits or quick polenta | 1/2 cup | instant only, the coarse stuff needs 20 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried sweet corn | 1/2 cup | |
| Textured soy protein crumbles | 1/3 cup | unflavored, rehydrates in the same pot |
| Nutritional yeast | 2 tbsp | |
| Onion powder | 1 tsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1/2 tsp | |
| Bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp powder | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Boil 600 ml of water. Drop in the bouillon and the soy crumbles and let them sit off heat for three minutes.
- Return to a low flame and rain in the grits while stirring. Lumps form in the first ten seconds or not at all.
- Add the freeze-dried corn, the yeast, and the spices. Stir for two or three minutes until it thickens and the corn softens.
- Kill the heat, pour the oil over the top, stir it through, and salt at the end.
Corn grits do the thickening and the soy crumbles do the protein, which is the whole trade this dish makes. Grits alone are cheap starch and go down like wallpaper paste; the crumbles need a soak but rehydrate in the same water you are already boiling, so they cost nothing in fuel or dishes.
The freeze-dried corn goes in late on purpose. It keeps a little bite instead of dissolving, and that bit of texture is what separates this from porridge. Nutritional yeast stands in for the cheese that a home version would use, and the oil at the end carries the calories that neither the grits nor the corn can.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag at home, bouillon included. Oil rides separately in a bottle that has never leaked, which is not most bottles.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or chicken in place of the soy crumbles.
- Dried chives or a crushed chili go in with the spices.
- Cut the water to 500 ml if you want it stiff enough to eat off a spoon standing up.
https://www.huntingpa.com/threads/its-finally-food-plot-time.6940