Looking for a rice-based one-pot recipe.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

Discovered today that "minute rice" requires only a boil, then 5 minutes covered (in cozy) to rehydrate. That means it's a candidate for one-pot supercat stove cooking! But rice by itself is pretty bland. Can someone share a tasty rice-based recipe for the trail? Thanks.

[Kevin Schneringer]

Add a package of precooked chicken breast, 1 bullion cube-smashed into powder.
Then pick up 2 chick-fil-a Polynesian sauce packs.

Add boiling water Cook rice,chicken and bullion altogether. After 5 min. Add sauce and stir.

Want Mexican instead of Polynesian skip poly sauce and use salsa.

Best 2 I have. I am still experimenting.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

Kevin, that sounds really good!

For some reason, my supermarket doesn't carry chicken in the foil pouches. Looking all over for it.

[David Noll]

WalMart if you have one in the area.

[Daniel Collins]

5 minutes is only for the white rice.
You get better nutrition with the brown rice, but it takes 10 minutes.

[James Marco]

Minute Rice is not very nutritious…whole long grain, wild rice, and brown rice, are better… but, for shorter trips,

[Jerry Adams]

I was going to make a snarky comment questioning whether minute rice is actually rice : )

I wonder if anyone sells cooked brown rice that has been dehydrated?

packitgourmet doesn't

[Daniel Collins]

Uncle Ben's sells "minute" brown rice and long grain/wild rice mix.
The long grain/wild rice mix is 5 minutes cooking time, same as minute rice.
The brown rice is 10-12 minutes.
Assuming you eat two servings, the brown has 340 calories and the long grain /wild mix has 400. The long grain/wild mix has vitamins and flavorings added, and a huge amount of sodium – 1320 mg per double serving.
The brown rice is just that and only that, has zero sodium.
I just thought you old people would want to know that : )

[Jerry Adams]

us old people want to know how much fiber is in the brown rice : )

and I hate it when they remove any vitamins and other nutrients from the rice, and then add back synthetic versions

[Billy Ray]

In the Asian food section of most grocery stores you can find a curry past in small plastic tubs in a small box.

While making your minute rice stir in some cut up fresh veggies (during the boil if the veggies take longer to cook; at during the 5 minute steam if the veggies cook fast).

Stir in some of the curry past. Cover and let sit the 5 minutes. At the end stir in either a can or foil pack of pre-cooked chicken.

You can also add some sun-dried tomatoes to hydrate in the mix.

Yum!

Bill D.

[Marc Eldridge]

I use Minute Rice and Sante Fe dehydrated beans in equal volumne, Just Vegetables mix, dried mushrooms broken up, Jerky chopped up and some sort of Knorr seasoning. I put this in a bags I get from Mary Jane Farms and just add boiling water and wait.

[Gary Dunckel]

Keep in mind that if you cook the brown rice at home, dehydrate it, then vacuum-seal individual portions, it only takes a few minutes to rehydrate it in camp.

[James Marco]

Brown rice actually varies a lot. I got a great mix of raw rice, but the down side is it takes a lot of cooking to crack the shucks, about 20 minutes. Even regular white or brown rice (shucked) can be cooked in a cozy at >40F. (I use my hat as a cozy or pile up some forest duff around the pot…good for about 20min at >140F.) I bring Minute Rice only because it is quick and easy in the dark…shoulder season extends from March & April and October & November in the ADK's; daylight is definitly in short supply

"The long grain/wild mix has vitamins and flavorings added, and a huge amount of sodium – 1320 mg per double serving.
The brown rice is just that and only that, has zero sodium.
I just thought you old people would want to know that : )"

Ha, ha…yeah… Sodium/salt is not really a problem when I am out. Even in cooler weather I work up a sweat. Salt and salty stuff tasts good when I do. I do not expect to do 20mi days, though.

[Justin Baker]

What is minute rice exactly? I always assumed it was cooked and dehydrated rice that rehydrates quickly.

[Jerry Adams]

minute rice is pre-cooked and dehydrated

I just notice minute brown rice http://www.minuterice.com/en-us/products/92/BrownRice.aspx

I wonder if that's any good?

[Jim Colten]

Delmar said: For some reason, my supermarket doesn't carry chicken in the foil pouches. Looking all over for it.
Chicken in foil packets is heavy and bulky. I buy canned chicken and dehydrate it.

David said: WalMart if you have one in the area.
Not sure I could shop at Walmart and remained married … don't want to find out;-)

Nice recipes though. I'm gonna have to try dehydrating cooked brown rice. (ditto for pasta)

[Anonymous]

I don't use a stove much anymore lately, but when i do, brown rice is one of my staples.

For my soups and rice in general, i often make a mix of this, both for taste AND extra nutrition. Mix together primarily parsley flakes, a good italian seasoning blend, kelp powder, a wee bit of nutritional yeast, and a good land based natural salt (like real salt, himalayan, etc). I add it towards the end of cooking it because i've heard that cooking with salt can reduce vitamin content. Italian seasoning obviously isn't for nutrition but just taste. The other ingredients sans salt are pretty nutritionally dense–especially kelp powder–very nutritionally dense for the weight and i find great addition for soups taste wise, but hey i'm a bit strange..

For rice, i like Trader Joes quick cook organic basmati rice–takes about 10 minutes to cook fully. They explain the process on the package. Essentially they scratch, roll, and roughen up the rice grains first, then steam it, then dry it.

I'm not sure, but i think some companies may just preboil and then dry it. pre boiling, if done wrong, can take out a lot of the nutrition if there is excess water which is wasted.

Sometimes i precook the rice with minimal water (to make sure there is none left at the end) and then dehydrate myself. A little tip for dehydrators that involve smaller and/or stickier foods. Take a piece of parchment paper, cut to size of your tray, fold it up a number of times and take a pin and poke some holes in it. Smaller or stickier food goes on the parchment paper, and the little holes help to speed up the process vs having it on a completely solid surface. I have a rectangular dehydrator so this is easier for me.

Cost wise, it would be more cost effective to buy a large bag of rice at a place like Costco, soak the rice overnight or a bit longer to reduce cooking time, cook most way and then cook/dehydrate as per above suggestions.

[Daniel Collins]

Now I have to try that. Kelp is a wonderful food.
Why not just throw dried kelp strips in there instead of the powder.
I will try the rice with kelp, dried shrimp, and some miso.
I don't think dried miso has the same benefits as the dough, but a little miso goes a long way.
Basmati Jasmine rice is the second best tasting rice, right after pecan rice.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

>Chicken in foil packets is heavy and bulky. I buy canned chicken and dehydrate it.

Jim, I am 99% vegetarian so know next to nothing about meat prep, but I break the rules when traveling and would eat chicken on a pack trip. But how to dehydrate? I have experience with fruits, usually 115 degrees temp overnight. But what about canned chicken? Can you provide guidance?

> For rice, i like Trader Joes quick cook organic basmati rice–takes about 10 minutes to cook fully.

Was unaware I could get this. Sounds like a big step up from Uncle Ben's. Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

No problem Delmar. Btw, i rarely run into others who also eat vegetarian about 99% of the time. Most either eat fully vegetarian, or enough meat to more or less be considered meat eaters.

I very occasionally (maybe 1 meal every two weeks or so) will eat some wild caught Alaskan salmon or the like. I'm particularly fond of Costco's Alaskan wild caught smoked salmon. I pretty much turn into a voracious Grizzly bear when in presence of the stuff, but i deliberately limit myself for financial, ecological, health (too much sodium unless i'm very active and sweating A LOT), and energetic reasons (i generally feel better and higher energy when eating less flesh foods).

[Anonymous]

Oh, i should add that for my soup, rice mix outlined earlier, i sometimes add some grated romano cheese to the mix, but when i do that, i add a desiccant pouch.

I make my own desiccants by buying calcium chloride at a local dollar tree place, sewing little linen pouches with a drawstring top. One smaller pouch and one a bit larger. The smaller pouch i put the C.C. in, then that pouch goes in the larger linen pouch.

The larger one gets dirty easily when put in these mixes, and so i wash it. The smaller one can be resused by baking in a toaster oven for a bit. (not so high as to scorch the linen though! No higher than 300). When using a desiccant pouch, it's important to make sure you keep your food well sealed most of the time, otherwise it will draw in extra moisture which defeats the purpose.

[Daniel Collins]

Another 99 percent-er here.
A Thai girl once showed me that meat is used like a spice or flavoring – in tiny amounts – rather than as a staple. I get cravings now and then for sauteed liver and onions, or deep fried bacon wrapped chicken livers, and sometimes a jumbo burger. Otherwise 99 percent vegetarian.

I used to eat dried anchovies cooked Korean style, and I think it would make a good addition to plain rice. These are not the same taste as what you think of on a pizza.
They are plain dried anchovies. I soak them in cold water overnight in the fridge.
Drain them and toss them in a frypan with hot sesame oil, soy sauce, and cayenne pepper.
Fry for just a few moments. Drain on a towel. They are delicious-eaten like popcorn.
I will see if I can adapt them for the trail, after all, it has been a travelers tradition in ancient cultures (dried fish).

Dessicants – I have a bottle of lab grade silica gel crystals here, but no pouches and I can't sew (or don't have the patience) . I'm thinking coffee filter paper pouches, maybe stapled……

[Daniel Collins]

" I'm particularly fond of Costco's Alaskan wild caught smoked salmon. I pretty much turn into a voracious Grizzly bear when in presence of the stuff, "

You surely need to try the Alderwood smoked salmon from the Swinomish Indians in WA State. I have long forgotten where to buy it, seems like LaConner WA was the place, but I think you can get it at Pikes Market in Seattle.

[Anonymous]

Haha, us 99%'ers are coming out of the wood work.

Re: salmon and that particular kind, i would definitely give it a try if i could get here in VA for reasonable. On my somewhat recent AK trip, i ate a lot of smoked salmon, but found i actually like the Costco stuff more. Reason being was because a lot of the smoked salmon in AK (the cheaper stuff i could afford) seemed more outright cooked whereas the Costco stuff seems a bit more raw, and is very soft and buttery, almost melts in your mouth but not in your hands.

"I can't sew (or don't have the patience)."

I definitely understand the sentiment. I felt like that for awhile myself, but i'm glad i forced myself to learn. I found it was easier than i thought it was, and it really does open up a whole new world of making and designing gear to suit your purposes.

[Daniel Collins]

"the Costco stuff seems a bit more raw, and is very soft and buttery, almost melts in your mouth but not in your hands"

I have not tried to Costco stuff but you just gave a pretty good description of LOX.

LOX and smoked salmon are the same yet different. The fresh (and frozen) smoked salmon that I have had has all been very much cooked, dripping with salmon fat, more flaky than soft/buttery but not too dry- still melts in your mouth.

I don't know how LOX is preserved but I used to smoke and sell fish and it was similar to the Indian smoked salmon in texture: Brine it overnight, season it, then in the smoker for about 6 to 8 hours depending on bulk.

You may want to check the label for sodium nitrite .. bad stuff.
But I love LOX too !

[Author]

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