What's a good vegetable stir-fry recipe for camping?
Posted: April 8th, 2011 | Author: Mitch | Filed under: Camping Recipes | Tags: camping, coleman stove, cook dinner, food group, job, one of the girls | 3 Comments »I’m going to be leaving for a class camping trip in about a week, and it’s my job in my food group to bring food and cook dinner on one of the nights. Since one of the girls in our group can’t eat meat, we’ve decided on a vegetable stir-fry. What would be the best recipe for this? And adding on to that question, how exactly would you cook rice while camping?
Since my state is under a burn ban, I have to use a Coleman stove for this.
Before the camping trip, hit the fresh produce section of your grocery store and see what looks fresh. Try to get at least three or four different veggies; buy some frozen ones only if you have to. About a cup of vegetables per person should be enough.
Some of my personal favorites: asparagus tips, snow peas (in the pod), shaved baby carrots, sliced zucchini, chopped peppers (any color) and sliced potatoes. Make sure to add crushed garlic and roughly grated onion for flavor, as well as salt and pepper.
Cooking on a camp stove is not far different from cooking on your stove at home. Just put about a tablespoon of oil in the pan (any oil with a high smoke point, such as peanut oil), give it a minute to heat up, add the vegetables and seasonings, and stir until vegetables are slighty softened, but not mushy. Toss one beaten egg for every two cups of vegetables through the vegetables and continue frying for another minute, then remove from heat.
The standard recipe for rice: One part long grain rice to two parts water. Bring water to a rapid boil, then stir in rice. Bring back to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand for about two minutes. Uncover and fluff with fork. The rice doubles in volume. One cup of cooked rice is plenty for a hungry camper, so start with 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup water per person.
If your stove only has one burner (as my campstove does), make the rice first. As soon as you remove the rice pot from the burner, put on your frying pan with oil. Leave the rice covered until the vegetables are done, then pour them over the rice.
For a richer flavor, add a can of condensed milk to the rice immediately after removing from heat and before adding the vegetables. Stir milk through rice, then let it stand covered until the vegetables are done.
Follow the directions on the bag/box of rice.
For stir fry I just throw in bags of appropriate frozen veggies, maybe scramble in an egg or two, and a can of cream soup (you pick the flavor) and soy sauce.
There are two burners on a Colman stove, you’ll be able to cook the rice and the stir fry at the same time.
Chop mushrooms, Pablano peppers, onion, and bok choi. Pour spicey ginger terriyaki into a hot frying pan, then add vegetables. Do not over-cook.