Skillet Crispy Rice, Camp Version
Yellow rice pressed into a hot skillet until the bottom sets into a crust. Eggs and milk powder do the binding.
- calories
- 390
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 98
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 50 min
- water
- 900 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
- Breakfast
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Yellow rice mix | 2 cups dry | seasoned boxed rice, or plain white rice plus the spice below |
|---|---|---|
| Whole egg powder | 6 tbsp | reconstitutes to 3 eggs |
| Whole milk powder | 1/4 cup | stands in for the yogurt |
| Cider vinegar or lemon powder | 1 tsp | puts back the tang the yogurt had |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1 tsp | |
| Turmeric | 1/2 tsp | |
| Vegetable oil | 3 tbsp |
Method
- Cook the rice in the skillet with the water the package calls for. Lid on, low flame, until the water is gone and the grains are just done.
- Scrape the rice into a bowl or a clean pot and let it cool for ten minutes. Hot rice will scramble the egg on contact.
- In a mug, whisk the egg powder and milk powder into about 150 ml of water until there are no lumps. Stir in the vinegar, salt, cumin, and turmeric.
- Pour the mixture over the rice and fold it through so every grain is yellow and slightly wet.
- Wipe the skillet, put it back on the heat, and add the oil. When it shimmers, dump the rice in and press it flat and firm with the back of a spoon.
- Cover and cook over low, steady heat for 25 to 30 minutes. Over a fire, use coals and not flames, and rotate the pan every five minutes.
- Lift an edge with a knife. When the bottom is stiff and browned, kill the heat and let it sit ten minutes.
- Run the knife around the rim, lay a plate over the skillet, and flip. Cut wedges.
The original bakes this in an oven for an hour. A skillet with a lid over low coals does the same job: the crust forms where the rice touches hot metal, and the covered top steams itself. Patience is the whole technique. Move the pan around too much or run the heat too hot and you get a scorched layer instead of a crust.
Yogurt and fresh eggs do not travel, so powdered egg and milk powder stand in. They set the same way when heated, which is what holds the wedge together on the flip. The vinegar or lemon powder is not decoration; without an acid the milk powder tastes flat where the yogurt used to be.
Packing
Egg powder, milk powder, salt, and spices go in one bag together. Rice in its own bag. Oil in a leakproof bottle.
Variations
- A tin of sardines or a foil pouch of chicken folded into the rice makes it dinner on its own.
- Dried barberries or chopped dried apricot scattered over the oil before the rice goes in ends up on top after the flip.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/persian-crispy-rice