Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup with Pecans
Ramen turned into an actual chicken soup, thickened with chopped pecans.
- calories
- 650
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 72
- protein
- 33 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 min
- water
- 475 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
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Winter / snow
- Dairy free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant ramen | 3 oz block | discard the flavor packet |
|---|---|---|
| Low sodium chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | |
| Dried diced onion | 1 tsp | |
| Dried parsley | 1 tsp | |
| True Lemon crystallized lemon powder | 1/4 tsp | |
| Freeze-dried green peas | 1/4 cup | |
| Canned or pouched chicken breast | 3 oz can or 2.6 oz pouch | pop-top cans save you a tool |
| Pecans | 1/4 cup | chopped fine at home |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Boil 475 ml of water.
- Add the chicken with whatever broth is in the can, then dump in the noodle bag. Stir.
- Cook three minutes, then pull the pot off the stove and cover it for two more.
- Stir in the pecans, let them sit a minute, and salt it at the end.
The pecans are the reason this is not just ramen with bouillon in it. Chopped fine, they release fat and starch into the broth and thicken it within a minute or two. Watch the liquid level drop after you stir them in. That is also why the noodles get a short cook and a covered rest instead of a long boil: the pecans are going to take up some of the water anyway.
Canned chicken carries wet, so this meal weighs about nine ounces packed. That is a lot for one dinner, and the freeze-dried swap in the variations cuts it hard if you are counting. The lemon powder is a small amount doing real work, cutting the salt and the fat so the whole thing does not sit heavy.
Packing
Crumble the ramen into a quart freezer bag with the bouillon, onion, parsley, lemon powder, and peas. Pecans go in their own snack bag so they stay dry and crisp. Write the water amount on the bag; you will not remember it at camp.
Variations
- Swap the can for 1/4 cup freeze-dried chicken packed with the noodles. Add another 1/4 tsp bouillon and 1/4 cup water. Saves about four ounces.
- Leave the pecans out for a thinner, plainer lemon-chicken broth. Good on a bad stomach day.
- Chuka soba or baked ramen noodles hold their texture better than fried blocks.
https://trailcooking.com/soups/pecan-chicken-noodle-soup