Trail Lo Mein with Teriyaki Chicken
Ramen noodles, freeze-dried chicken, and a soy-honey glaze that clings instead of pooling.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 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
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant ramen or chow mein noodles | 1 block | discard the seasoning packet, the sauce replaces it |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried cooked chicken | 1/2 cup | stands in for the refrigerated teriyaki meatballs |
| Dried pineapple | 2 tbsp | chopped small, this is where the teriyaki sweetness comes from |
| Dried shiitake or cremini mushroom slices | 1/4 cup | |
| Dried bell pepper strips | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried spinach or kale flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Freeze-dried or dried scallion | 1 tbsp | |
| Soy sauce powder | 2 tsp | or 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce in a leakproof bottle |
| Honey | 1 tbsp | a squeeze packet, or brown sugar if you want zero mess |
| Ground ginger and garlic powder | 1/2 tsp each | |
| Canola or other neutral oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Toasted sesame oil | 1/2 tsp | dropper bottle, it is a finisher not a cooking fat |
| Sriracha | to taste | packets or a small squeeze tube |
| Cornstarch | 1 tsp | this is what makes it a sauce |
Method
- Put the chicken, pineapple, mushrooms, pepper, spinach, and scallion in the pot with 450 ml of water. Bring it to a boil.
- Boil two minutes, then cut the heat and let it sit covered for five. The mushrooms and chicken need that time more than the noodles do.
- Relight, return to a boil, and add the noodle block. Three minutes, stirring so it does not weld to the bottom.
- Kill the heat. Stir in the soy powder, honey, ginger, garlic, and canola oil.
- Sprinkle the cornstarch over the top while stirring hard. It thickens in about thirty seconds as the residual heat hits it.
- Finish with the sesame oil and sriracha off the heat. Sesame oil loses everything if you boil it.
The original is a weeknight skillet dish built on refrigerated teriyaki meatballs and a pile of fresh vegetables. Neither survives a pack. Freeze-dried chicken and dried pineapple do the same job: the pineapple is where the teriyaki sweetness actually lives, and drying only concentrates it.
The cornstarch is the part worth keeping. Lo mein is defined by sauce that coats the noodles, and without a thickener you get salty water at the bottom of the pot and bare noodles on your spoon. One teaspoon, stirred in off the heat, is the difference. Rehydrating the vegetables before the noodles go in matters too, since dried mushrooms take far longer than a ramen block and will otherwise stay like gravel.
Packing
Vegetables, chicken, soy powder, ginger, garlic, and cornstarch premix into one bag at home. Noodles ride separately so they do not crumble into the powder. Honey, oils, and sriracha go in bottles inside a zip bag, because one of them will leak eventually.
Variations
- Swap the noodles for instant rice and it becomes a stir-fry bowl with no draining question at all.
- A foil packet of chicken instead of freeze-dried is cheaper and heavier. Add it at the very end.
- Leave out the chicken and use freeze-dried edamame or TVP for a vegan version.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/lo-mein-meatballs