Lemon Dill Chicken Noodle
Freeze-dried chicken, thin noodles, and a lemon hit at the end. One pot, one boil.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 4.8 oz
- cal / oz
- 129
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 12 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
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Canoe / raft
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried or canned chicken | 2.5 oz | pouched chicken works if you do not mind the weight |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | paste concentrate has more body than powder |
| Thin egg noodles or fideo | 1 cup | anything thicker will not cook through |
| Dried mirepoix | 1/3 cup | dehydrated carrot, celery, and onion |
| Butter powder or ghee | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried dill | 1 tsp | |
| Citric acid or a lemon wedge | 1/4 tsp | a real lemon is worth the weight on short trips |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Drop in the dried vegetables and bouillon and let them run for three minutes before anything else goes in.
- Add the noodles and the chicken. Boil five to seven minutes, stirring so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Cut the heat. Stir in the butter powder and the dill.
- Add the citric acid or squeeze the lemon in last. Taste, then salt. Broth this concentrated goes over the line fast.
The original poaches raw chicken breast in stock and browns fresh mirepoix in butter. Neither travels. Freeze-dried chicken and dried vegetables get you to the same place, and the vegetables go in first with a few minutes of hard boiling so they rehydrate before the noodles start dumping starch into the water.
The acid at the end is the part worth keeping. Dried soup tastes flat and salty on its own; lemon or citric acid cuts through it and makes the dill read as dill instead of dust. Add it off the heat, or the brightness cooks off. Butter powder stands in for the fat that used to come from browning, which is what keeps this from tasting like a bouillon cube.
Packing
Vegetables, bouillon, dill, and butter powder premix into one bag at home. Noodles ride in a second bag so you can add them on your own timing. Chicken stays sealed in its own pouch.
Variations
- Swap the noodles for instant rice or crushed rice vermicelli to keep it gluten-free.
- A packet of instant potato flakes off the heat turns the leftover broth into a chowder.
- Drop the chicken and use vegetable bouillon for a vegetarian version.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/easy-chicken-noodle-soup