Peanut Noodle Chicken Skillet
Ramen, freeze-dried chicken, and a peanut sauce whisked cold in the pot lid.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 22 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
- Backpacking
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant ramen | 2 blocks | chicken flavor, keep the seasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried chicken | 3 oz | or two foil pouches of chicken |
| Crunchy peanut butter | 1/3 cup | squeeze packets are cleaner |
| Soy sauce | 1 tbsp | in a leakproof dropper bottle |
| Rice vinegar | 1.5 tbsp | |
| Sesame oil | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | stands in for 3 fresh cloves |
| Cayenne | 1/4 tsp | scale to taste |
| Dried peas and carrots | 1/2 cup | |
| Dried broccoli florets | 1/3 cup | |
| Dried red bell pepper | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried chives or green onion | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Put the dried vegetables and the chicken in the pot with 700 ml of water. Bring it to a boil and hold it there four minutes so everything rehydrates.
- While that runs, stir the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, cayenne, and one seasoning packet together in a mug or the pot lid. No water in it yet.
- Break the ramen blocks into the pot. Cook three minutes, stirring so the noodles do not weld to the bottom.
- Pull the pot off the heat. Spoon in the peanut mixture and stir until it coats the noodles instead of sitting in clumps.
- Let it stand two minutes to thicken, then scatter the dried chives over the top.
The original was a home skillet dinner for eight, built on fresh chicken, frozen peas, and a bell pepper. Everything perishable got swapped: freeze-dried chicken, dried vegetables, garlic powder for cloves. The proportions of the sauce stayed, because that is what the dish actually is.
The sauce goes in off the heat. Peanut butter dropped into boiling water breaks and the oil separates out, and the noodle starch is what pulls it back together into a coating. Whisking it cold first also means you are not chasing lumps in a dark pot. Cut the water down and you get sauce; leave it up and you get soup, which is fine on a cold night.
Packing
Vegetables, chicken, garlic powder, and cayenne go in one bag. The peanut butter, soy, vinegar, and oil ride in separate small bottles or packets, since any one of them leaking ruins the dry bag.
Variations
- Swap the ramen for rice noodles and skip the seasoning packet; add an extra 1/2 tsp salt.
- Powdered peanut butter cuts about 2 oz of carry weight but the sauce comes out thinner.
- A foil packet of tuna works in place of the chicken and cooks in half the time.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/asian-chicken-with-peanut-butter-sauce