Hard Landing Rice
One pot, one burner, ten minutes. The meal you cook when you rolled into camp after dark and still want dinner.
- calories
- 790
- weight
- 9.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 83
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 12 min
- water
- 350 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Backpacking
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 1 cup dry | parboiled, the kind that rehydrates in five minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Foil-packet chicken | 5 oz | no drain, no can, no fridge |
| Dried onion and bell pepper flakes | 1/4 cup | |
| Chicken bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp | check the label if you need it gluten-free |
| Curry powder | 2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 350 ml of water to a boil with the bouillon, dried vegetables, and curry powder in it. Let the vegetables run two minutes in the boil so they are not gravel later.
- Dump in the rice, stir once, and take it off the heat. Lid on.
- Wait five minutes. Do not lift the lid to check. Set up your bed instead.
- Open the chicken packet and fold it in, along with the oil and pepper. Stir until the rice stops looking dry.
- If it is still soupy, lid it another two minutes off heat. If it is dry, splash in water.
This is the meal for the night the driving ran long. Instant rice is the whole point: it rehydrates off residual heat, so the burner runs for about three minutes total and the pot does the rest under a lid while you deal with camp.
The oil is not optional. Bouillon and dried vegetables give it flavor but almost no calories, and rice alone leaves you hungry at midnight. Cooking the aromatics in the boiling water rather than adding them at the end is what keeps the dried onion from staying crunchy.
Packing
Rice, dried vegetables, bouillon, and curry go into one bag at home so camp is a single pour. The chicken packet and oil bottle ride loose. A packet that has been punctured by a tent stake is a mess you find hours later, so keep it away from anything sharp.
Variations
- Swap the chicken for a tuna packet, or leave the protein out and double the oil.
- A squeeze of lime and a spoon of hot sauce at the end wakes the whole pot up.
- Instant potato flakes in place of rice cook in half the time when fuel is short.
https://www.xoverland.com/overlanding-blog/camp-cooking-guide-for-overland-travelers