Oh see now it's 8am and you've got me all excited about food already!

I always carry some rice and find that no-matter what I can get my hands on locally it always works... well rice and packets of cuppa soup (cheap stuff)... so the idea being...

1/2 cup of rice, add 2 cups of water and when the rice is 'almost' cooked add the sachet of soup then just cut in some salami (my staple!). Leave to simmer for a couple of minutes - wonderful - it's my stock meal and I can carry enough for a week in a very small space. I then just compliment that with what I buy at the road side...

Of course... when I'm a bit nearer civilization... this is the only REAL use of a Trangia....



PS... bad photo of actual meal

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OK Matt, you want to share your secret on how to cook rice??? I know it's one part rice/two parts water, but the rest is rocket science for me. It always seem so sensitive; how high the flame, how long etc. I always carry a bag of rice with me, but insects always get to it before I'm brave enough to use it. :-(
Lorraine

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There's some excellent posts / ideas there.. and my ideas/tricks are similar

If you don't do a lot of cooking at home... start! It's better to get over the beginner's jitters when you can grab something else to eat rather than going hungry. Try and use your cooker / pot set at home too. Again find out the limitaions at home first.

Carry your instant taste... In the army mine was curry powder. Martyn mentioned Tabassco sause which is ideal for it's compact size. I've also put the sause of truth in the pack more than once... sweet chilli !! (i put this in a non breakable nalgene bottle) I'm sure in capital cities there will be plenty of spices available, and these will be the moral booster when you're wet depressed and alone in a stange place after too long on the road

Google plenty of reciepes for stews and casaroles. they make ideal one pot wonders. And they are the sort of meals you can throw in whatever is around. Which as already mentioned by quastdog will be your limit factor.

I've not traveled in South America so maybe some who have can offer some insight as to what sort of staples are going to be available. there's no point in becoming chef - exstrodinare with cous cous if it's not available localy.

The other limiting factor will be your cooking kit. Often petrol fueled stoves are hard to get a low flame for simmering a meal for 45 minutes. (gas stoves would i image be far less practical in devolping countries have to find a supply of gas canisters would be massive task, as apposed to petrol, and if you haven't got petrol you're in trouble! )
The other problem is a lot of outdoor lightweight cooking pots are... well they're lightweight!..... and thin so they don't fuse the heat very well making for a lot burnt food in the bottom of the pot or almost continuous stiring. I've got a heat defuser for my MSR dragonfly whick works a treat. I haven't seen them a round for a long time but they'd be very easy to make. It's a round metal disk (roughly the same diamater of a 1.5 ltr pot) that sits on your cooker. It has three wire loops that hold your pot above the metal disk by approx 10-15mm. The effect is fantastic. Giving a lot less brutal heat to the pot, making cooking a lot more practical. If you want to fast boil some water for example , dont put the defuser on. simple! and light and easy to pack.

Bon appetite !!!

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In S. America, the carb of choice (so far in my experience) is rice, potatoes and yams. Spices are in great variety and everywhere.

What I forgot to mention about the lightweight oven-pot I'm using, is because it's like a pressure cooker, and has a rubber seal so air can't get in, you don't have to stir a casserole/stew, and can put it directly on a flame without burning. For potatoes, or other items in oil, it's a bit trickier. You judge if its done on smell. One of my dogs comes whining when the dish is done. Every time I've ignored him, I end up with a burnt meal!

Lorraine

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ahhh yes... rice makes my wife run for the hills too! The trangia is a wonder machine, the level of heat control you have is brilliant to bring the water (with the rice already in) to the boil - it's super fast, but then you can whack it down to 'gentle simmer' pour in the dried soup and wait 10 mins whilst it cooks.

I guess the trick - if you'd call it that - is to not be upset if it all goes a bit gooey and sticky... just tip in more paprika and salami and enjoy anyway! I'm not a very fussy eater!

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You mean there's others out there who haven't mastered the fine art of cooking rice??? I'd never survive in Japan, they'd deport me....

Thanks for the tip. I'll be prepared to dump loads of other stuff in if it turns gooey. Or better yet, feed it to the dogs. ;-)
Lorraine

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To stop rice going "Gooey" rinse until the water runs clear....... add water ( cold) and stir, drain, repeat, repeat etc..... when water runs clear do the 2 water 1 rice bit and cook.. well simmer actually, it doesn't need to actually Boil.. 20 mins it should be done.......... easy peasy lemon squeasy...... GUARANTEED not sticky, but fluffy...
Oh, and DO NOT stir while cooking...... No stirring... never.. you can tell it is done when the water is nearly all absorbed and there are loads of little "holes" in the rice as if someone has pushed a pencil in........ unless your making a Risotto, then its short grain rice and don't rinse....... and use stock/wine mix not water...

Martyn

Lol quite!

I've just discovered that my steamer does rice pretty well.... never goes mushy... all I have to do now is find a way to take it on the bike... mmmmmm

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Hey, I'd take a steamer traveling, but it would burn out my invertor. It's a heating element. :-(

As for endless rinsing (Who let MartynBiker out of his cage????), that's all very well and good if you're standing in front of your kitchen sink, or camping in front of a river, but what if you're CAMPING?! Note, this is a camping thread! I know about the simmer and no stir rule, but all that water wastage??? What do they do in the desert regions of China???

I've also heard you can tell if it's done if it makes little popping sounds. Geez, cooking shouldn't be soooo bloody complicated!

Lorraine

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out of my cage? I could be so lucky as to have a Cage..... a damp dungeon is all i can wish for......

The water isnt wasted....... if you dont want to........ the starch settles to the bottom and then just pour the water off and get rid of the "gloop" I have used a 2 pint bowl to rinse rice.... and then 1 pint to cook...... the next morning the starch had settled to like a 'paste' in the bottom of the bowl, we poured the water into the billy, made tea and wiped the starch out.........

Hang on, this is getting confusing. Before I get banned for being tiresome, just HOW MANY times do you have to rinse? And, I think it would be helpful to explain the sea water thing you emailed me here. Maybe you can show pictures??? ;-)
No one is going to keep reading this thread...
Lorraine

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Veldskool (translated as 'bush school') is part of the curriculum for kids in SA. We learn survival techniques (like how to nick your mate's food without them waking up), but ALSO cooking stuff in the bush.

Without cooking utensils. (Don't ask - they raise us tough!).

There is a 'standard' flour mix* (recipe follows), which travels well, and can be made into many different fab dishes...

A pre-mixed bag of this, would take the place of all those fancy packets of rice, mash etc....

STOKBROOD (translated as... stick bread?):

1. Make a fire - (not with your mates trainers)

2. Find a stick. Any stick thats at least a foot long. Broomstick thickness would be good.

3. Use 1 cup of standard mix* and mix with water / milk till a stiff dough.

4. Roll in your hands till its a long FINGER THICK string.

5. Grease the end of the stick. Roll the dough snake around the TOP of your stick, in a spiral fashion. Tuck the ends in.

6. Perch your stick with dough end over the fire...

7. Wait around impatiently till its done.

8. When its ready, it should come off the stick easily.

EH VOILA -- you have a READY MADE hollowed out, beatuful tasting roll in which you can put all manner of lovely things. Like a sausage. Or syrup. Or mashed banana...or chocolate.. or foix gras.. or...

AND - you will not dirty a SINGLE dish - cos the roll acts as its own plate - and the stick.. well I dont think anyone would mind if you don't wash it after use.

ASH BREAD

1. As above

2. For the more civilized, I suggest using a piece of foil or leaves (corn / banana)

3. As above - but use 2 cups. (If its too small, it will be just crust)

4. Pat into a 1inch thick 'cake'

5. Scrape the hottest coals away - leave some hot ash. Place the bread on on the ash. (or on the leaves, on the ash)

6. Cover with more hot ash & coals.

7. As above

8. When its done it will sound hollow when you tap it. Or stick something in it, and if it comes out clean, its done.

If you've not used leaves, 'dust' and wipe the ash off gently.


DELICIOUS VARIATIONS:

1. Add a cup of sugar (pref brown) to mix. This makes for a beautifully caramelly, cake like thing. If you sprinkle some sugar over the top, its crunchy caramelly crust.
2. Use BEER instead of water to mix dough. Apparently great taste.
3. Add grated cheese to mixture. Or any of your favourite seasoning, really.
4. You can 'bake' the above in a flat bottomed pot as well.

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My way of cooking long grain rice is fairly easy.
Let it soak for at least 30 minutes in cold water.
Drain off then boil water in the following quantity-

1,5 measures of water to 1 measure of rice.

When the water is boiling, slowly stir in the rice and a little salt.
Bring to the boil then simmer on a LOW heat with the lid on for 10 minutes- no more.
Voila!!! Works for me every time!!!!

To me the 2 important things are low heat and time. Forget either of these and end up with sticky rice.

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impasto, this is brilliant, but the actual recipe is missing. Please include?

And SOAKING the rice sounds a much better idea than rinsing, thanks!
Lorraine

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rinse about 3 or 4 times...... yeah i know. water!

the sea water thing..lol. OK, what we did was riding bikes near the sea one of the group fell off into the sea! we rescued bike and dried everything out, but the cloth bag full of rice was wet, so I rinsed it in clear sea water till the starch was out of it, ( using a collapsible bucket) and then spread the rice on a clean cloth ( a shemagh actually) to dry in the sun.... kept moving it about so it didnt stick, took a few hours to dry, but it was useable..... there was too much to cook in one go! about a kilo of Dry rice i think it was.

martyn