Pantry Yellow Rice
Turmeric rice built entirely from stockpile shelf staples, rehydrated in one pot.
- calories
- 660
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 132
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 13 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
- Bikepacking
- Basecamp
- Thru-hike
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant white rice | 1 cup | the parcooked kind that only needs a soak |
|---|---|---|
| Textured vegetable protein | 1/4 cup | rehydrates in the same water as the rice |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp powder | |
| Turmeric | 1/2 tsp | |
| Cumin and smoked paprika | 1/2 tsp total | |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/4 tsp | |
| Raisins | 2 tbsp | optional, but they balance the turmeric |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 400 ml of water to a boil. Crumble in the bouillon and stir until it dissolves.
- Dump in the premixed bag: rice, TVP, onion, spices, raisins. Stir once.
- Return it to a boil for thirty seconds, then cut the heat and clamp the lid on.
- Let it sit ten minutes. Do not lift the lid to check. Sit on the pot in a hat or jacket if it is cold out.
- Stir in the oil, then salt and pepper. If it is still crunchy, add a splash of hot water and wait another five minutes.
Yellow rice is a pantry dish by nature. Everything in it already lives on a shelf, which means the trail version needs almost no substitution: instant rice for regular, bouillon for stock, dried onion for fresh, TVP for the meat. Nothing here needs a fridge or a second pot.
The ten-minute lid-on soak is the whole method. Instant rice is already cooked and dried, so it only needs hot water and time, not a simmer — you spend one boil of fuel instead of fifteen minutes of it. The oil goes in at the end because fat coats the grains and stops them clumping into a brick, and because pouring it over heat wastes calories to the pot walls.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one quart freezer bag at home. Oil rides in its own bottle. A cozy made from a folded jacket or a foil sleeve cuts fuel use to a single boil.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or chicken stirred in at the end pushes protein past 40 g.
- Swap the raisins for dried apricot and add a pinch of cinnamon.
- Freeze-dried peas or corn, added with the rice, rehydrate on the same schedule.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/how-to-create-a-real-food-stockpile-with-5-a-week