5 minute rice

Posted by: NYbackpacker

5 minute rice - 05/06/11 08:18 PM

I bought a box of 5 minute rice from the supermarket to make on the trail. Iv tested it at home and the plain white rice is not bad at all. Not wanted to just eat the plain rice though i tried to spice it up. All of my trials have tasted awful using spice packets such as thai seasoning and a fried rice recipe.

Anyone have and good tasting easy recipes for instant rice?

much appreciated, NYB
Posted by: mrbieven

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/06/11 08:45 PM

Pizza sauce. Peporoni. Cheese
Posted by: Glenn

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/06/11 09:04 PM

Haven't done it for years, but I used to use one of those small cans of chicken and a pouch of instant gravy mix (chicken, probably; I really can't remember for sure.) Now, if I were to do it, I'd probably use a pouch of chicken instead of a can.

In fact, if I were to do it now, I'd probably get one of those Knorr (formerly Lipton) "side dish" rice packets and add the pouch of chicken after I brought it to a boil. It's just simpler than the separate rice and gravy mix process.

(I use freeze-dried meals now, and let them rehydrate in the pouch.)
Posted by: oldranger

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/06/11 09:19 PM

I'd put a good Mexican hot sauce (not tabasco) on the rice. But then I put hot sauce on everything except chocolate ice cream and tea...
Posted by: thecook

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/07/11 01:13 AM

3oz can of chicken, some pepperoni, 1/4 to 1/2 a cube of knorr tomato bouillion and optional dried onions and green peppers will make a decent jambalaya. or check out Trailcooking.com
Posted by: frenchie

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/07/11 03:51 AM

Instant soup.
I do it with indian curry soup, just enough water to get a creamy, not too liquid mix.
Or minestrone, chinese, chorba, etc...mix.
It hase to be a "strong" flavoured soup.
Surprisingly, it was very tasty with creamy asparagus soup too.
Posted by: Paulo

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/07/11 09:29 AM

Take soy sauce packs. Can't go wrong with those!
Posted by: CamperMom

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/07/11 11:13 AM

In college, I nearly lived on "instant rice" with bouillion cubes. Try adding a bit of ginger and garlic to brighten up the taste. Some dry parsley or sun-dried tomatoes are other store shelf staples can add bulk and nutrition. Some stores will also have dried mushrooms and peppers. (Be sure to read the labels to determine which need rinsing and cooking.) The instant soups can work well, too.

I've used a can of Bumble Bee Thai Chili tuna with couscous and a packet of spicy (Thai?) chicken soup and some parsley. It should work just as well with instant rice.

CamperMom
Posted by: Kent W

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/07/11 06:53 PM

1 TBS good fresh Horseradish, 2 TBS Texas pete hotsauce and Minced dried Jalopino peppers! Dried Mushrooms if ya got em and sweet peppers dried.
Posted by: NYbackpacker

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/07/11 11:54 PM

thanks for the awesome recipes so far guys! Iv got a lot of testing to do now smile
Posted by: sarbar

Re: 5 minute rice - 05/08/11 07:50 PM

And if your rice is every soggy (say you use too much water) just add a bunch of shelf stable Parmesan cheese in. IMO, I happen to love white rice, butter powder, a drizzle of oil, Parmesan cheese, pepper and maybe some freeze-dried peas when I want comfort food. Add chicken for protein if desired smile
Posted by: Narf

Re: 5 minute rice - 06/10/11 12:16 AM

on a weeklong trip at least 2 of my meals are boil-in-bag rice,packet of Starkist Sweet & Spicey Tuna, then usually add Rooster Sauce aka Sriracha to taste. Makes a decent tasting, no fuss, large portion meal.
Posted by: JPete

Re: 5 minute rice - 06/11/11 09:42 PM

My favorite is essentially the same as Sarbar.

One serving of Minute Rice (there are several that will work), one packet of Cream of Mushroom Cup-a-Soup, some freeze-dried peas (not the supermarket dried ones -- unless you want to soak them all day in your water bottle) and a 3-oz pouch of tuna (there's more nutrition in the oil packed ones). Sometimes I dust the top with crushed crackers and maybe a little of the shelf-stable powdered cheese (your choice of flavor). This works well with olive oil, protein powder and/or nuts for added nutrition. Also, a small handful of the oriental dried mushrooms weighs nothing, adds no nutrition, but tastes glorious.

Incidentally, like others here, I'm not really a big fan of instant rice, so if I have time and fuel, I'll take just plain ordinary white rice. If you will bring it to a boil in broth, and boil rapidly for just one minute, you can put the pot aside and the rice will be fully cooked in just a few minutes (never actually timed it, just checked to see when all the broth is absorbed). I don't have any explanation for why this works, but I sometimes use this method at home as well.

Another recipe I like is Spanish rice. Half a cup of Minute rice, two tbls of freeze-dried pepper flakes, a pkg of tomato
Cup-a-Soup, one tbls of bacon bits, one Slim Jim sliced thin, one tbls of freeze-dried onion flakes, salt and pepper (go easy) one tbls of chilli powder, and one of protien powder. This is good with added cashews and/or olive oil for even more nutrition, and for more bulk, just increase the rice.

Best, jcp
Posted by: Jeff

Re: 5 minute rice - 07/15/11 01:05 PM

My favorite rice is to fully cook brown rice at home and then dry it. I actually over cook is a little bit at home before putting it in the dehydrator. This helps with the rehydration. I mostly use it with small flakes of home dried chicken and extra home dried vegetables added to a soup mix. I dry enough for several dinners and use a scale to divide all the ingredients into one bag for each meal.

At camp bring it to a full boil for a couple of minutes and then put the pot in a cozy for 20-25 minutes until everything has soaked up the water. When it is ready it is quite tasty.

We gave up on prepackaged freeze dried meals about 10 years ago. We either dry our own dinners or go stoveless and just snack on cold stuff as we hike down the trail.

Posted by: mana

Re: 5 minute rice - 07/18/11 01:49 PM

Originally Posted By oldranger
I'd put a good Mexican hot sauce (not tabasco) on the rice. But then I put hot sauce on everything except chocolate ice cream and tea...


AGREED!
Posted by: skcreidc

Re: 5 minute rice - 07/21/11 12:23 PM

In the vein of putting something spicy on the rice, I am partial to Sriracha (Thai) Chili Sauce. But good Mexican hot sauce is right up there as well.