Pantry Rice with Canned Chicken
Shelf-stable rice, canned chicken, and dried vegetables. The meal you can cook a year after you packed it.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 103
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 700 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
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Long grain white rice | 1 cup | parboiled cooks faster and scorches less |
|---|---|---|
| Canned chicken | 1 can (10 oz) | drain into the pot, the liquid is broth |
| Freeze-dried or dehydrated vegetables | 1/2 cup | corn, peppers, onion |
| Tomato powder | 2 tbsp | or a small pouch of tomato paste |
| Chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | |
| Chili powder | 1 tsp | |
| Cumin | 1/2 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Open the chicken and pour the canning liquid into the pot. Set the meat aside.
- Add 700 ml of water, the dried vegetables, tomato powder, bouillon, and spices. Bring it to a boil.
- Stir in the rice and the oil. Drop the flame as low as it goes and put the lid on.
- Simmer 18 to 20 minutes without stirring. On a campfire, pull the pot to the edge of the coals instead of sitting it over flame.
- Take it off the heat, fork in the chicken, and let it stand covered for five minutes. The rice finishes on residual heat.
- Salt at the end. Bouillon is already salty and you cannot take it back out.
This started as a home pantry dish built around cans and long-shelf staples, which makes it an easy move to camp. Everything travels at room temperature and nothing needs a cooler. The only real change is water discipline: the rice gets a measured 700 ml rather than a pot filled by eye, so you are not draining fuel-heated water onto the ground.
The canning liquid from the chicken is the reason to buy the canned bird instead of a dry pouch. It is a weak broth, and poured into the pot it seasons the rice from the start. Tomato powder does what a jar of sauce would at home without the glass or the weight. Adding the chicken at the end, off heat, keeps it in shreds instead of cooking it into threads.
Packing
Rice, dried vegetables, tomato powder, bouillon, and spices go in one bag at home. In camp you open one bag and one can.
Variations
- A can of drained black beans or a half cup of instant refried bean flakes stretches it to three servings.
- Swap the chicken for a foil packet of tuna or a pouch of shelf-stable beef.
- Hot sauce carried in a dropper bottle does more for this than any extra spice.
https://thesurvivalmom.com/how-much-food-to-store