Trail Stir-Fry Noodles
Dried vegetables, ramen noodles, and a sauce you mix in the pot. Takeout shape, one boil.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 18 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 600 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant ramen noodles | 1 block | discard the seasoning packet, the sauce replaces it |
|---|---|---|
| Dried vegetable mix | 3/4 cup | onion, carrot, bell pepper, mushroom, cabbage |
| Soy sauce powder | 2 tbsp | or 2 tbsp liquid soy sauce in a leakproof bottle |
| Brown sugar | 1 tsp | |
| Apple cider vinegar powder | 1 tsp | or a splash of vinegar from a dropper bottle |
| Powdered ginger | 1/2 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Coconut oil | 1 tbsp | solid at most temperatures, so it travels clean |
| Sesame oil | 1 tsp | dropper bottle |
| Sriracha | 1 packet | optional |
| Cornstarch | 1 tsp | thickens the sauce so it coats instead of pools |
Method
- Put the dried vegetables in the pot with 600 ml of water. Bring it to a boil and hold it there five minutes. Dried carrot and mushroom are the slow ones.
- Break in the ramen block and cook two more minutes.
- Kill the heat. Pour off most of the water into a mug, leaving about a finger of liquid in the pot. Drink the broth or save it for coffee water.
- Stir in the dry sauce mix and the cornstarch. It thickens in under a minute against the hot noodles.
- Add the coconut oil, sesame oil, and sriracha. Stir until everything is coated and glossy.
The original is a skillet dish: hot oil, fresh vegetables, sauce whisked in a jar, rice on the side. None of that survives a pack. So the vegetables are dried and rehydrate in the same water that cooks the noodles, the rice becomes a ramen block, and the sauce goes in as a powder blend stirred in at the end.
Draining matters. Stir-fry sauce is supposed to cling, and if you leave a full pot of water in there you get soup with soy sauce in it. Pour most of it off, then let the cornstarch and the residual heat do the rest. The oil goes in last, off the flame, because that is where the calories and the sesame smell come from and boiling wastes both.
Packing
Vegetables in one bag, noodles in another, dry sauce mix in a small zip. The oils live in dropper bottles or a leakproof jar. Coconut oil in cold weather is a solid brick, so keep it somewhere it will not shatter.
Variations
- Instant rice or ramen-style rice noodles swap in for the noodle block. Rice needs more water and more time.
- A foil packet of chicken or a scoop of TVP turns this into a real protein dinner.
- Freeze-dried peas and edamame rehydrate fast and add color without much weight.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/vegetable-stir-fry-recipe