Miso Sesame Salmon and Rice
Pouch salmon, instant rice, and a miso glaze mixed in the pot off heat.
- calories
- 640
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 107
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 400 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
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Car camping
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 1 cup dry | the 5-minute kind, not parboiled |
|---|---|---|
| Pouched salmon | 5 oz | pink or sockeye, drained pouch not oil-packed can |
| White miso paste | 2 tbsp | single-serve packets travel without leaking |
| Honey | 1 tbsp | or a honey packet from a gas station |
| Rice vinegar | 1 tsp | dropper bottle |
| Tamari | 1 tsp | packet or dropper bottle |
| Sesame oil | 2 tsp | |
| Sesame seeds | 1 tsp | |
| Dried chives | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Squeeze the miso, honey, vinegar, tamari, and sesame oil into a small bag or your mug and work it together into a paste. Do this first so the pot stays free.
- Boil 400 ml of water. Stir in the rice, cover, and pull it off the flame. Give it five minutes.
- Fluff the rice. Tear open the salmon pouch and fold it in, flakes and all.
- Scrape the glaze over the top and stir until nothing is streaked. The residual heat is enough; do not put it back on the stove or the miso turns bitter.
- Finish with sesame seeds, chives, and salt to taste.
Scallops need a hot cast iron surface and a cold chain, which is two things a stove and a pack do not provide. The glaze is the part worth carrying: miso, honey, vinegar, tamari, and sesame oil is a sauce that keeps at ambient temperature and does most of its work raw. Pouched salmon stands in for the shellfish, and instant rice gives it somewhere to go.
Mix the glaze before the rice, not after. Miso is stiff and clumps into pale lumps if you try to stir it into a hot pot of anything, and heating it past a simmer flattens the flavor and makes it taste harsh. Salt is measured last because both the miso and the tamari already bring plenty, and the amount varies by brand.
Packing
Rice, sesame seeds, and chives share one bag. Glaze ingredients go into a second small zip bag, premixed at home so camp is one squeeze. Salmon pouch rides flat against your pack wall.
Variations
- Swap the salmon for a chicken pouch or a foil tuna packet.
- A teaspoon of chili crisp or dried red pepper flakes cuts the sweetness.
- Freeze-dried peas or edamame, added with the rice, bulk it up for about 80 more calories.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/pan-seared-scallops-with-sesame-miso-glaze