Easy Hiking Meals Recipes!
By Kalina
When you reach that point of the day when you have been walking for hours, you still have a while to go before you reach camp, you are taking it one step at a time and reaching deep into those reserves. The thought of a delicious meal (and your sleeping bag) at the end is a powerful thing.
If you are anything like me, you had a bag packed and ready to go the moment they lifted lockdown restrictions. While some of us had access to at least some bush to keep that connection, others had to find new ways to keep focused. That’s me! If you are also anything like me, food is a great motivator. I’ve been trialling and testing these dinners ready for my next overnight hike.
Below are a few recipes that would definitely keep me going in those challenging hiking moments. The beauty of these recipes is that you can make them with things you find in the supermarket. There is no need to spend the big bucks and you can adjust them to your own taste. The only ingredient which I bought from specialty hiking stores was the instant-rice.
A few notes before we start
Dried Veggies
These feature heavily in all my recipes and you can click here to learn all the tips and tricks that I’ve learned since my early childhood.
Spices
This is what will bring the flavour to your dishes and the really awesome thing is that they weigh close to nothing so there is no excuse why even the simplest of dishes can not be bursting with flavour! Powdered stock is the other thing which you should really think about adding - not only does it create a delicious base for your dish but adds a bit of salt.
I usually make my own spice mixes and i have included the mix recipes below. To save on packaging you can pop your spices in the same bag as your dried veggies.
Sauces, pastes and oils
Those tiny soy sauce fishes are terrible for the environment so we should try to avoid using them whenever we can but if you find yourself in possession of some, reusing them is the next best thing. They are amazing for carrying all those messy, flavour-packed sauces like soy, fish, and Worcestershire. When full, they weigh only 4g so even if you bring a couple per dish they will make a big difference to your meal without the need to worry about weight. Just make sure you bring all of them back (those little red caps are master escape artists) so you can use them next time.
Oil is the other thing that adds a lot of flavour and much-needed calories to a meal. I wouldn’t recommend using the little fishes for this for a few reasons. You will need more than one and once you’ve put oil in them you won’t really be able to re-use them again. Since oil goes into every meal, I bring a mix of sesame and vegetable oil in a larger container rather than packing it individually for each meal. The container I use is a plastic squeezy bottle that I got from the travel-sized cosmetics section in KMart.
Water
It all depends on how much of the dried ingredients you use. I have made a note below on how much water I used in each recipe but a few times I needed to add a little bit extra as the meal thickened as more and more water was absorbed by the dry ingredients. You can always add more, but can’t take it out so go easy and add extra as needed.
I have put the ingredients and the instructions first, but make sure to read the notes which follow as there are explanations, variations and other handy tips there.
DINNER #1: Hiking Soba
Ingredients:
Soba noodles (100g)
Hard-boiled egg (65g)
Dashi stock (11g)
Dried veggies (20g) (shiitakes, broccoli, corn and zucchini)
Soy Sauce (4g)
Nori/Furikake/Seasame seeds (2g)
Method: With this recipe, I used about 650-750ml of water. Once the water is boiling put the soba and the veggies in and keep boiling. Soba needs a lot of water to cook so don't skimp on it (unless water availability is an issue where you are). The noodles need about 2-3 min to cook, which is about the right amount of time for the veggies to re-hydrate. Once they are done, take off the heat. At this stage, you can pour some of the water out but be mindful that the noodle and the veggies will keep absorbing so if you want to have a bit more of a soup I would not pour any out. Add the stock, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and mix together. Pop the egg on top and sprinkle with your garnish.
Notes:
This is a protein-packed meal (about 35% of your recommended daily intake!). We often forget about eggs when hiking, but they are an amazing thing to add to a dish to bulk it up in a nutritious way or just as a quick track-side snack. A hard-boiled egg can last for up to 4 days outside of the fridge (depending on the outside temperature, so perhaps not in summer) so next time make sure you pack a couple.
You should be able to find most of the ingredients for this meal in the Japanese section of the supermarket.
Nori is a great source of micronutrients, goes with most things and adds a very distinct flavour to dishes. I usually get the big dried nori sheets and just cut them up to size depending on what I need them for.
Dashi stock is a staple of Japanese cooking. It’s a subtle favour made from kombu (kelp) and bonito flakes (aka the bacon of the sea) and forms the basis for many dishes. If you are vegetarian/vegan there are versions that substitute bonnito with shiitakes. The one in our local supermarket is “Spiral Foods” brand. They come in individual serving packets and have both a bonito and a vegan version.
Furikake is an umami-packed Japanese seasoning that you can sprinkle on top of pretty much everything. At home, we call it Rice Sprinkles because it makes rice taste amazing. There are many variations but it’s basically made up of sesame seeds, nori, salt, sugar and can include bonito, miso, shiitake, chilli and so on. I find these days you can find it in most Coles but if you can, then a very simple substitute for it would be chopped up nori and toasted sesame seeds (put some black ones in there too if you have them in the spice cupboard).
With the dried veggies, you can, as always, use ones to your preference. For this meal, however, I would recommend shiitakes, broccoli, corn and zucchini (with this one I used some peas as well).
It is also very hearty and filling so make sure you are really hungry.
DINNER #2: Hiking Bean Chilli
Ingredients:
Red kidney or Black beans (100g)
Tomato paste (25)
Taco seasoning (3)
Dried veggies (20) (capsicum, broccoli, peas, corn and shiitakes)
Insta Rice (20)
Method: Use 250ml of water plus the water you need for the rice, as per packet instructions. Once the water is boiling add the veggie and rice and let them re-hydrate covered in the pot for a couple of minutes (add extra water at this stage if you need to). Once they are almost ready add the seasoning and tomato paste. Mix well. Add the kidney beans last as they do not need cooking. Drizzle a bit of oil on top and enjoy!
For the veggies, you can use whatever you like but I strongly recommend using capsicums. They go perfectly in a chilli. Keep in mind though that they take longer to re-hydrate than the other veggies.
You may notice that broccoli features heavily in my recipes. Apart from the fact that broccoli is packed full of micronutrients and fibre, it dehydrates and re-hydrates really well so I highly recommend it.
I do most of my own spice mixes and this taco seasoning consists of equal parts cumin powder, coriander powder, garlic powder, smokey paprika, oregano, salt, a little bit of corn flour and chipotle powder (this is the hot one so adjust this one to your taste).
DINNER #3: Fried Rice
Ingredients:
Insta rice (52g)
Insta scrambled eggs (52g
Lup Chong (Chinese style sausage) (32g)
Dried veggies (20) (peas, carrots, corn, shiitakes)
Soy sauce (8)
Spices (5)
Sesame oil (4)
Method: This is probably the most fiddly dish to make but it’s totally worth it. You need to chop up and fry the lup chong, then transfer it to your bowl/cup/pot lid. Cook the scrambled eggs according to the instructions and transfer them to the container with the lup chong. Cook the rice as per package instructions adding a little bit of extra water for the veggies. Once the water is boiling, you can pop them all in at the same time and let them sit for a few minutes. Once the rice and veggies have been re-hydrated, add the eggs and meat, soy sauce, spices and sesame oil. Mix and enjoy!
Notes: I used store-bought powdered scrambled eggs. They were a bit fiddly to make and I wasn’t a huge fan of the flavour so I think I will try dehydrating my own or leave them out completely for next time.
Lup Chong (Chinese sausage) is a preserved twiggy style preserved meat. It has a slightly sweet flavour so if you are not keen on it, you could substitute with salami or pepperoni. You will need to be careful though because even though these meats are preserved and can last a long time outside of the fridge, in the right conditions, once they are cut, bacteria can develop so they need to be used up quickly.
If you would prefer to skip the meat altogether, just increase the amount of shiitakes in your veggie mix. They will add meatiness and a great flavour to the dish.
For the spice mix, I used ginger powder, garlic powder and veggie stock (or Vegeta).
DINNER #4: Thai Curry
Ingredients:
Chickpeas (100g)
Coconut milk powder (25g)
Curry spice mix (10g)
Insta rice (30g)
Dried veggies (20g) (broccoli, zucchini)
Fish sauce (4g)
Method: this is probably the fastest recipe to make. All you need to do is boil about 375ml of water and rehydrate the veggies and rice. The rest of the ingredients do not need to cook so once the rice and veggies are ready add the coconut milk powder, spices, fish sauce, chickpeas, mix well and enjoy.
Notes:
This is a really hearty meal so make sure you are hungry!
The spice mix - there are countless variations on Thai curry mix, so if you have one which you prefer, by all means, use that one. The two variations I have used with this recipe are (including proportions):
ground coriander (3), cummin (2), turmeric (1), ginger (1), white pepper (½), a pinch of clove and cayenne pepper to your taste (or leave out entirely) and
Garam masala (1), turmeric (1), curry powder (1), onion powder (½), garlic powder (½)
DINNER #5: Jambalaya
Ingredients:
Orzo (or Insta-rice)(75g)
Salami (20g)
Tomato Paste (25g)
Dried veggies (20g) (capsicums, shiitakes, peas, carrots, zucchini and broccoli)
Cajun seasoning (2g)
Stock (½ a teaspoon, or around 1g)
Water (as needed)
Method: Chop up and fry the salami with a little bit of oil, add spices, stock, water (375ml for this amount of orzo) and tomato paste and bring to boil. Add orzo and veggies, stir, cover, and simmer on low for 4-5min, stirring occasionally as the orzo will stick to the bottom. Take off the heat and let it rest, covered for about another 5min, or until the orzo is cooked.
Notes: The amount of water you use for this recipe will depend on the amount of orzo or Insta-rice you use. You should be guided by the packet instructions, keeping in mind that you will not be discarding any liquid so it’s better to put a bit less and add more as needed than to have soupy Jambalaya (unless you are cool with that).
The salami - I used salami sticks which are single pieces and sufficient for one serve. They are very similar to twiggy sticks. Depending on where you are going and what time of year, you may choose to not use salami.
The Vegetarian Option - just leave out the salami and increase the amount of shiitakes, oil and stock.