camp meals

Marmalade Stir Fry Noodles

A sweet-hot orange sauce mixed dry at home, poured over noodles and rehydrated vegetables.

calories
720
weight
5.5 oz
cal / oz
131
protein
16 g
serves
1, scales
prep
5 min
cook
10 min
total time
15 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
  • Liquid fuel
  • Backpacking
  • Basecamp
  • Car camping
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy free
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Basic

Ingredients

Dried ramen or rice noodles 1 block discard the seasoning packet
Dried mixed vegetables 3/4 cup carrot, onion, mushroom, cabbage, peas
Soy sauce powder 2 tsp or 2 tbsp liquid soy in a leakproof bottle
Orange drink powder or dried orange peel, ground 1 tbsp
Brown sugar 1 tbsp
Cornstarch 2 tsp
Ground ginger 1/2 tsp
Garlic powder 1/2 tsp
Powdered rice vinegar 1 tsp or skip it and squeeze a lemon packet in
Sriracha 1 tsp single-serve packets weigh nothing
Vegetable oil 1 tbsp
Textured vegetable protein 1/4 cup optional, adds about 10 g protein

Method

  1. Boil 600 ml of water. Drop in the dried vegetables and the TVP if you brought it. Let them sit off heat for five minutes to swell.
  2. Bring it back to a boil and add the noodles. Cook until they loosen, two to three minutes.
  3. Pour off all but about a finger of water. Save it in your cup in case the sauce goes too thick.
  4. Stir in the sauce powder mix. Put it back on low heat and stir until it turns glossy and clings, under a minute.
  5. Kill the heat, add the oil and sriracha, and stir. Loosen with the saved water if it seizes.

The original is a wok recipe built on fresh vegetables and a jar of orange marmalade. Neither travels. Dried vegetables rehydrate in the same water that cooks the noodles, and the marmalade splits into its two working parts: sugar and orange. Brown sugar plus ground peel or orange drink powder gets you close enough.

The cornstarch is what makes this a stir fry instead of noodle soup. It needs heat to set, so add the sauce mix after you drain and give it a minute back on the flame. Drain too thoroughly and it will glue itself to the pot, which is why you keep a splash of the cooking water.

Packing

Sauce powders go in one small bag, noodles and vegetables in another. Oil rides in a dropper bottle, sriracha in packets.

Variations

  • Swap the noodles for instant rice and add water in stages.
  • A packet of miso in place of the soy powder pushes it savory instead of sweet.

https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/vegetable-stir-fry