Pad Thai with Tofu

Pad Thai works surprising well as a backpacking food. It is relatively simple and not that time consuming. Just slightly more complicated than: Cook noodles, add sauce. Traditionally Pad Thai has tamarind paste and lime, giving it a tartness that melds well with the salty fish sauce and sweetness of sugar. Though I did find some obscure sources online for tamarind powder I felt that I should use an ingredient that was more readily available. I used tomato powder instead. Instead of lime juice I used "True Lemon" powder.  They make a "True Lime" too, but I already had the lemon.  It worked fine. Though it smells like powdered lemonade on its own, once mixed into the sauce and cooked, it melds with the other flavous quite well. 

2    Tb       Vegetable Oil

1/3  cup      Dried Shrimp

3    Tb       Roasted Peanuts

the egg:

2    Tb       Egg Powder

4    Tb       Water

the sause:

1/4  tsp      Chili Powder

1/4  tsp      Garlic Powder

1    tsp      Dried Onion

1    tsp      Tomato Powder

1    Tb       Freeze Dried Tomato Chunks (or an extra 1/4 tsp tomato powder)

1    Tb       Brown Sugar

1    Tb       Fish Sause

2    Tb       Water

1    Package  True Lemon (Just under a 1/4 tsp)

the noodles:

1/2 a 14 oz package of Rice Noodles (I used Thai Kitchen brand.)

1.5  Liters   Water 

the tofu:

1    tsp      Fish Sauce

1/4  tsp      Soy Sause

1/4  cup      Water

1    piece    Dried Tofu

2    tsp      Vegetable Oil

In my last post on cooking Aloo Mattar, I experimented for the first time with using dried tofu. The results were questionable. The tofu soaked up most of the Aloo Mattar's suace and had a texture similar to a sponge. Near the end of the post I said I would try it again: soaking the tofu with its own sauce and then panfrying it. I gave this a try for this post and the end result was very tasty. Though it has a texture slightly different than fresh tofu that had been fried, it is not unpleasant in any way. If you would like more than one piece of tofu, feel free to add one or two additional pieces with a equivalent amount of additional fish sauce, soy sauce, water and oil.  Depending on your pan size you may be able to fry all three pieces at once.

First make the tofu's sauce by adding the soy sauce, fish sauce and water.  Place the tofu into the sauce and allow it to soak all of it up.

Heat the 2 tsp of oil and add in the tofu.  If you are cooking more than one piece, add 2 tsp of oil per piece of tofu.

Fry the tofu on a medium-low to medium heat until it is browned on all sides.  Because the tofu is so firm and square shaped, it is possible to stand the tofu on its four short sides fry them as well.

Cut up the tofu and set aside for later.

Bring the water for cooking the noodles to a boil. I heated mine with an MSR reactor as it gets the job done quick.

When the water boils remove it from the heat and add in the rice noodles. Let them soak in the hot water for 8 minutes. Drain off the water using the lid of your pot to keep the noodles from escaping.  The water just has a little flavor and nutrients from the rice and can be used in another dish, to make a hot drink or refill a water bottle.

While the water is coming to a boil and noodles are soaking, you can make the Pad Thai sauce and reconstitute the egg. Combine the egg powder and the 4 Tb water and mix thoroughly. Set this aside for later.  In another camp bowl or cup mix all of the Pad Thai sauce ingredients together and set aside for later.

Heat the 2 Tb of oil in your frying pan.  When the oil is hot, add the rice noodles and stir fry them for a minute or two on medium-low to medium heat.

Add in the Pad Thai sauce and stir till all the noodles are coated.  Then stir in the dried shrimp and cook for a minute or two.

Scoot the noodles to one side of the pan and add in the reconstituted egg.  Scramble the egg. 

When the egg is cooked mix it into the noodles. 

Stir in the tofu and the peanuts and remove from heat.

This backcountry Pad Thai is incredibly tasty. Enjoy!

Aloo Mattar - Indian Potatoes and Peas

Aloo Mattar is a simple Indian dish that works great as a backpacking food as all of its ingredients are available dried or freeze dried.  The sauce usually comes from just the juice from the tomatoes, but in this version I added coconut milk to make it a little creamy.  You could use powdered whole milk instead or go more traditional with just the tomato sauce.  With just the tomato you might want to double the tomato powder. I used a pan without a lid to make this recipe and it came out with a little less sauce than I would like.  If you have pan with a lid, use it in between adding ingredients to keep the liquid from boiling off.  (With the exception that you want the water to boil off the first time you add water to the potatoes.)  Otherwise you may want to add an additional 1/2 cup of water or so, to replace the liquid that boils off.  I also experimented with adding dried tofu to this dish, which was definitely an interesting experience, as you'll see below.

1/2    cup     Freeze Dried Peas
1      cup     Dehydrated Potato Dices or Hash-Browns
3/4    cup     Freeze Dried Tomato Chunks
2 1/4  cup     Water
3      Tb      Coconut Milk Powder
1      Tb      Olive Olil
1/2    tsp     Chile Powder (amount variable to your spice preference)
1/2    tsp     Tomato Powder
1/2    tsp     Garam Masala
1 1/2  tsp     Yellow Curry Powder
               Salt to taste
2      slices  Dried Tofu (optional, see below)
1/2    cup     Water (optional, to rehydrate tofu)


The first thing you will want to do is to put the peas in a bowl and pour a 1/2 cup of water over them.  Set them aside for later. They take 10-20 minutes to rehydrate.

Add the olive oil to the pan and heat on medium heat.  Add the potatoes when the oil is hot. 

Cook the potatoes until they begin to brown and turn translucent.  They will also begin to give off a good fragrance.

Add a 1/2 cup of water to the pan.  Let the water steam up out of the pan as it cooks into the potatoes.

After the water has cooked out, let the potatoes brown a little more.  Stir occasionally  so they don't burn.

Mix 2 Tb of coconut milk powder with a 1/2 cup of water and add to the pan.  If you have a lid begin covering the pan between adding ingredients and stirring to retain water.

After letting the coconut milk cook into the potatoes for a little while, add the peas with the water they where sitting in along with the freeze dried tomato chunks.  

Once the tomatoes have become rehydrated add in the rest of the coconut milk powder, the chile powder, tomato powder and garam masala as well as 3/4 cup water.

Add in the curry powder and stir everything together.  Let the dish simmer for several minutes to the let the flavors meld.  At this point the Aloo Mattar is done.  Salt to taste.  Add more water if there if there is not enough sauce.  More coconut milk powder for a richer sauce.  


Or if you want to enter the experiential world of dried tofu, continue below...

This was my first time cooking and eating dried tofu.  It is a little strange to say the least.  Before buying some at a local Japanese grocery, I read an article that it was like eating a sponge.  Like the kind you wash dishes with.  I found this to be not far from the truth, though my experience of eating sponges is completely hypothetical.  

Make sure you break the sponges of tofu into several pieces so that they can more easily absorb sauce from the dish.  They absorb a lot of water.  I added 1/2 a cup more water at this point and this was still lacking.  Some of the pieces had a little crunch in the middle.  (When I reheated the dish's leftovers I added more water which brought the sponges to there full capacity.)   After letting the tofu soak up the sauce and warm up, the dish is ready to eat.  


Was it good?  Well, the Aloo Mattar was delicious.  Was the tofu good?    It was definitely interesting.  And I must admit the experience of eating it did grow on me.  Its worth a try if you like to try new things.  And, it is a good source of protein.  


Next time I'll try rehydrating the tofu separately in its own sauce and then frying it in oil. (Update: I tried this in my in my next post on Pad Thai. It turned out really good. If you want tofu for your Aloo Mattar I would soak the tofu in a little coconut tomato sauce and then follow the cooking directions on the Pad Thai page.)

Makes 3 servings.  (With the tofu.)  Enjoy!


Another option to try instead of tofu is cheese.  Cheese works great in the back country, especially in cooler weather.  Just add little cubes of a white cheese near the end.  Let them warm up, but not melt too much.  If you happen to bring queso fresco with you, it is a perfect substitute for Indian paneer.

Bugeoguk - Korean Dried Pollock Soup

This soup works great as a backcountry food as the main ingredient is a dried white fish called pollock. Bugeoguk is a light yet filling brothy soup that is very easy to make.  It is traditionally served with short grain rice but works well on its own too.

You can find dried pollock at Korean grocery stores.  Eden brand foods are usually available at health food stores.  There are many brands of fish sauce, each with a variation in flavor.  I used Double Parrot, a vietnamese brand, but any will do.


1 1/2 cup   Dried Pollock
3/4   cup   Dried Daikon Radish
1/2   tsp   Granulated Garlic
2     tsp   Dried Onion
4     cups  Water
1     Tb    Fish Sauce
2     Tb    Egg Powder
4     Tb    Water

Add the fish, garlic, onion and 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Bring the heat down to a simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.

Add in the daikon, return the lid and cook another 10 minutes.  The daikon adds a delicious sweet aroma and taste to the soup.

Add in the fish sauce and cook covered for another 3 minutes.  

In a separate bowl mix the egg powder and 4 Tb water.  Pour the egg into the soup and let it cook on top for 2 minutes without stirring.

When the egg is cooked stir it into the soup.

Enjoy!

Haemul Pajeon - Korean Seafood Pancake

This is a dish I have enjoyed at Korean restaurants and cooking at home in the kitchen.  A thick eggy pancake filled with a variety of seafood.  I thought I'd give a shot at a backcountry version.  My first try, though tasty, was a little dry and needed some refinements in ratios and cooking method.  As I was writing the first draft of this post I realized that I had only used half the water needed to reconstitute the powdered egg.  So I stopped writing, pulled out the stove and tried it again with the correct amount of water and other alterations to my recipe.  The result was an incredibly tasty pancake with a nice glutinous eggy texture.

You can buy dried shrimp and sweet rice four from most Asian grocery stores.  Sweet rice flour has a glutinous chewy texture when cooked.  Dried onion is available at many stores and in many forms.  I bought mine at the Asian super market.   I got powdered eggs from Honeyville Farms online.

1/3     cup  Dried Shrimp
4       Tb   Egg Powder
2 + 2/3 Tb   White Flour
2 + 2/3 Tb   Sweet Rice Flour
3       tsp  Oil
1       tsp  Dried Onion
1/4     tsp  Salt
1/2     cup  Water

Add the egg, both types of flour, salt, onion and water and mix together.

The first time I tried the recipe I didn't mix the onion in with the batter and cooked some of them with the shrimp and pressed the rest on the out side of the pancake.  I found that the onions cooked way too fast and wound up burt.  I also lowered amount of shrimp from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup.  This is a better ratio of shrimp to batter.

Add a tsp of the Oil and on very low heat gently fry the shrimp for 2 minutes.  This makes the shells a little crispy.  If they are overcooked they become too crispy and disintegrate when mixed in with the batter.

Add the shrimp to the batter.

Add 2 tsp of oil with very low heat.  When the oil is hot, add the batter and cook covered for 4 or so minutes before flipping.

Flip!

Continue flipping every 2-3 minutes until both sides are nice and brown.  Keep the pan covered between flips.  Around 12 minutes total cooking time.

Enjoy!

This pancake is delicious and has a great texture.  Lots of protein from the egg and shrimp and carbs from the flours.  The batter alone has incredible potential for a variety of recipes.  It could be great mixed with an assortment of sweet or savory ingredients or just cooked by itself.


Freeze dried blue berries come to mind.  Rehydrated and sautéed shiitake mushrooms sounds good.  Or just dipped in maple syrup!