Years ago, when Backpacker Magazine was still in print (they shut down in May of 2022), my favorite time of the month was waiting for a new issue to appear in the mailbox and seeing how out of touch the recipes were. They did try, but they often failed in how they wrote the recipes. Some recipes called for fresh ingredients (vegetables and fruit), and some called for canned goods, sometimes multiple cans. Carrying canned chicken is one thing, but beans, tomatoes, and more? In the 2000s and 2010s, we had choices in acquiring freeze-dried and dehydrated ingredients, but the recipes did not include those items. Older methods for the trail influenced the recipes.
I’d pull up a chair, look at the issue’s recipes, and mentally tear them down, asking myself if I could reduce the recipe from two pots to one pot or use all dried ingredients.
When I saw a recipe posted online by Backpacker (owned by Outside Magazine these days) for “Breakfast Ramen and Eggs,” I was intrigued. So, I started pulling it together and mulling over how I’d change it.
First, one brick of ramen isn’t enough food for two people to share—even with eggs added! Double the carbs. Then, I swapped the high-sodium broth packets for a nearly sodium-free version. I find you can cook ramen in less water than what was called for, and I have adjusted the dry broth to match the water called for.
Carry fresh green onions? Not on my watch. Green onions are incredibly easy to dehydrate at home (sliced and dried at 135°, they will be dry and crispy in a few short hours) or, as I did, use freeze-dried—no need to carry fresh if you don’t have to.
Man, I have missed redoing their recipes. They made it so easy. It’s all online now and evergreen content, so only when I come across a recipe I missed years ago do I get to wander down the Backpacker hole. (Outside “updates” articles on Backpacker’s website look new, but they are often 5 to 20 years old from back in the day.)
(Dry ingredients)
Watch us make it.
Ramen and Eggs
Pack in a sandwich bag:
- 2 packs of ramen noodles (discard wrapping and flavor packets)
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 packets low sodium chicken boullion
- ¼ cup freeze-dried green onions
In a snack or sandwich bag:
Also Take:
- 1 Tbsp or 1 packet oil
- 2 packets soy sauce
Directions:
Mark egg bag “Add ¾ cup water.”
In Camp:
Add the water to the egg bag, seal, and shake till dissolved. Let hydrate for 5 minutes.
Using a small skillet, frypan, or frypan lid, heat the oil over a low flame. Add the eggs and scramble until just cooked. Set aside.
Add 3 cups water and soy sauce to your pot and bring to a boil. Add the ramen bag and cook for 3 minutes or as directed on the package.
Divide the ramen between two bowls or the pot and one bowl. Divide the eggs between the two.
Serves 2.
Heating the oil.
Scrambling the eggs.
Ramen and seasoning cooking.
Ramen and eggs.
~Sarah