Ham and Pineapple Fried Rice
A pantry-scraps dinner from home, rebuilt around instant rice and a shelf-stable ham pouch.
- calories
- 640
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 116
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 300 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
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 3/4 cup dry | the parcooked kind that rehydrates in five minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf-stable ham | 2 oz | a foil pouch, or diced ham jerky |
| Dried pineapple | 1/4 cup | chopped small at home so it rehydrates |
| Freeze-dried peas and carrots | 1/4 cup | |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Tamari or soy sauce | 2 tsp | tamari if you need it gluten-free; carry it in a dropper bottle |
| Sesame or olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder and black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Red pepper flakes | a pinch | optional |
Method
- Put the rice, pineapple, vegetables, onion, garlic powder, and pepper in the pot with 300 ml of water.
- Bring it to a boil, stir once, then cut the heat and cover it. Eight minutes off the stove is enough; the pineapple needs the longest.
- Stir in the ham, the tamari, and the oil. If the pouch has liquid in it, that goes in too.
- If it looks wet, set it back over a low flame uncovered for a minute and stir until the water is gone.
This started as a way to use up a frozen Easter ham and a discount can of pineapple, which is a fine reason to cook but not a thing you can carry. The trail version keeps the working parts: salt, sweet, fat, and a starch that soaks all three up. Dried pineapple replaces the can, a foil pouch replaces the freezer, and instant rice replaces the leftover rice that made the original a fried rice in the first place.
Nothing here is actually fried. The oil goes in at the end instead, off the heat, where it coats the rice and does the same job for a fraction of the fuel. Chop the pineapple small before you leave home; whole rings sit in the pot like rubber and pull water away from the rice.
Packing
Rice, dried fruit, vegetables, onion, and spices premix into one bag at home. Ham pouch and the two liquids ride separately.
Variations
- A packet of freeze-dried scrambled egg stirred in at the end gets you closer to the real thing.
- Swap the ham for a chicken or salmon pouch; the pineapple carries either one.
- Chopped dried mango works if pineapple is what your store does not have.
https://mealswithmaria.site/80-grocery-budget-meal-plan