Skillet Beans and Rice
Canned kidney beans, quick-cooking rice, onion and cumin. About a dollar a bowl at home, one pot at camp.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 60
- protein
- 17 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 500 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
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant brown rice | 1 1/2 cups dry | parboiled, not raw brown rice, which takes 45 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Canned kidney beans | 1 can (15 oz) | store brand is the point |
| Dried minced onion | 2 tbsp | stands in for the red onion |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1 1/2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Boil 400 ml of water, stir in the instant rice, cover, and pull it off the heat. Let it sit 5 minutes.
- Tip the rice into a mug or bowl and wipe the pot. Set it back on low heat with the oil.
- Add the dried onion, garlic powder, and cumin with a splash of water, maybe 100 ml. Cook a minute until the onion rehydrates and the spices smell like something.
- Drain the beans over a rock, rinse if you have water to spare, and add them. Stir until hot, 3 or 4 minutes.
- Spoon the beans over the rice. Salt and pepper at the end.
The home version simmers raw brown rice for 45 minutes and finishes with sour cream and shredded cheese. Neither survives a camp kitchen. Instant brown rice gets the same nutty texture off five minutes of residual heat, and the fresh onion becomes dried minced onion, which rehydrates in the pan fat before the beans go in.
Toasting the spices in oil first is the step worth keeping. Cumin dumped into wet beans tastes flat; cumin bloomed in hot oil for sixty seconds coats everything. The bean can does the rest of the work, since canned beans arrive already cooked and only need to be warmed.
Carry the can and you are carrying water. That is fine from a truck or a boat and miserable on your back, which is what the refried flake variation is for.
Packing
Rice, onion, garlic, and cumin go in one bag as a premix so camp is two containers and a can. The can is heavy, which is why this is a car camping and paddle recipe rather than a backpacking one.
Variations
- Swap the can for 1/2 cup of instant refried bean flakes and 250 ml of hot water. Cuts about 12 oz of carried weight.
- A packet of hot sauce or a squeeze of shelf-stable lime does what the fresh tomato was doing.
- Corn from a second small can, or freeze-dried corn rehydrated with the beans.
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