Sardine and Garlic Oil Ramen
A tin of oil-packed sardines and a clove of garlic, bloomed in the pot before the water goes in.
- calories
- 790
- weight
- 7.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 105
- protein
- 33 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 9 min
- total time
- 11 min
- water
- 450 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
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant ramen, salt or shio flavor | 1 packet | keep the seasoning; break the block in half to fit a small pot |
|---|---|---|
| Oil-packed sardines | 1 tin (about 3.75 oz) | do not drain, the oil is the point |
| Garlic | 1-2 cloves | or 1 tsp garlic paste from a tube |
| Water | 450 ml | |
| Red pepper flakes | a pinch | optional |
Method
- Pour the oil out of the sardine tin into the dry pot. Set the fish aside on the lid.
- Slice or smash the garlic and add it to the cold oil. Bring the heat up as low as your stove will go and let the garlic sit in the oil for two or three minutes, until it smells sharp and starts to color. Do not let it brown hard or it turns bitter.
- Add 450 ml of water and the seasoning packet. Bring it to a boil.
- Drop in the noodles and cook for the time on the packet, usually three minutes.
- Kill the heat, lay the sardines on top whole, and put the lid back on for one minute so they warm through without falling apart.
- Add pepper flakes and eat straight out of the pot.
Fish oil is a cooking fat, not waste. Heating it with garlic before any water goes in is what separates this from a tin dumped on noodles: the garlic gives up its flavor into the oil, and the oil then coats everything the water touches. Cold garlic in a cold pot brought up slowly extracts more than garlic thrown into hot oil, which just scorches.
The sardines go in last and stay whole. Boil them and they shred into the broth and turn woolly. One minute under the lid off heat is enough to warm them through. The tin is heavy for what it delivers, so treat this as an early-trip dinner and let the lighter meals ride further into the week.
Packing
The tin is the heavy part and it does not compress, so this is a night-one or short-trip dinner. Ramen block and seasoning in a bag, garlic clove loose in a pocket of the food bag, tin packed flat against your back panel. Pack the empty tin out in a doubled zip bag; it will smell.
Variations
- Garlic paste in a tube saves the peeling and travels better past day two.
- A sheet of nori torn over the top at the end adds salt and body for almost no weight.
- Swap the sardines for a tin of mackerel in oil if you want more fish per ounce.
https://iinuiblog.com/noodless