How to make camp food: Ultralight Pad Thai
(This review originally featured in Verticallife #47)
Images and recipe by Mojo Stoke
As much as we all enjoy cooking up a masterchef style storm at camp, the temptation to go light and simple wins when your pack is already a few kilos overweight on a overnight or multi-day affair—and you’re hardly going to leave that #1 cam at home to make room for some Lao Gan Ma. Thankfully, light & simple doesn’t have to mean freeze-dried, and you can usually justify taking some fresh veggies on the first night.
INGREDIENTS
- Red Capsicum
- Yellow Capsicum
- Broccoli or broccolini
- Onion
- Bean Sprouts (to garnish)
- Mushrooms (fresh or dried)
- Rice Noodles
- Packaged Pad Thai Sauce (best transferred out of the glass container)
- Oil (distilled into a tiny nalgene style container)
- Start by creating a cozy nest for your rice noodles. Bring some water to the boil, using just enough to cover the noodles (remember, water is precious on the trail, so be conservative). Once boiled, carefully add the water to your noodles or cook them according to the package instructions.
- While your noodles cook, grab your kitchen knife (or rescue knife if you’re going really light) and slice up those veggies into colorful strips (or chunks if you want a bit of crunch).
- Heat up your ultralight pan until it’s nice and hot, then add some oil and toss in your chopped veggies (except for the bean sprouts), adding the broccoli/broccolini a few minutes before to give them a headstart. Let it all sizzle and saute until fragrant.
- Crack open that packaged sauce (it’s not cheating…it’s ultralight) and pour it over all your sizzling veggies. Give it a good stir to let the sauce coat everything, and let cook until it starts tasting less and less like a jar sauce.
- Once your rice noodles are cooked (hopefully you timed it well so they’re not soggy), transfer them to your pan, remembering to conserve as much water as you can.Turn off the gas and start gently folding them into the saucy veg, being careful not to mash up your noodles.
- Last but not least, sprinkle some fresh bean sprouts over the top for a nice refreshing crunch, or top with whatever else you fancy—maybe some Lao Gan Ma if you decided to run it out.
