An ultralight meal that takes just five minutes to cook can’t possibly fuel your adventures, can it? Sarah Hedger from Yum might have created the perfect tramping meal.

It’s no secret that adventures outdoors require nutrient-dense food to replace the high number of calories expended. 

Although I’m an avid breakfast lover, I’m not into sweet breakfasts and have lately been gravitating towards more savoury options, usually some form of noodly miso soup, when I’m tramping. For a while now I’ve wanted to create a solution for this savoury craving that could work for any meal – some easy instant solution for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Something nutrient-dense and packed with protein. The perfect instant meal.

At Yum, when I create a new recipe I start with the result I want and reverse-engineer the recipe to achieve it. Then I make a list of the ingredients I want to use. I applied the same process to this savoury, noodly, high-protein meal. 

With the list of ingredients that would offer the nutrient density and protein that I wanted, my colleague Susan and I had a ‘cook-off’ to create the tastiest, healthy, savoury, protein-rich vegan meal. And we did it. Susan introduced me to dried bean curd (it’s better than it sounds), found in most Asian markets. It is protein-dense and has a great texture when cooked. 

The meal we came up with weighs just 168g, packs down small and has 39g of protein. It is gluten-free and vegan, and you can easily scale the recipe to make more than one meal at a time. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! 

Instant Asian noodles 

Makes: One hearty meal or two smaller servings

Time: 5min (2min prep, 3min cooking)

Weight: 168g dry (793g hydrated)

Energy: 600kcal (39g protein, 20g fat, 66g carb, 5g sugar, 13g fibre)

Ingredients

2 tsp (12g) vegetable broth/stock powder or cubes (use organic, it’s worth it)

¼ cup (23g) dried peas (available at most supermarkets)

1 tbsp (2g) dried shiitake mushrooms, chopped (available from Asian markets)

2 tsp dried shallots (available from Asian markets)

30g dried bean curd (available from Asian markets)

¼ cup (30g) organic textured vegetable protein, or TVP (available at Bin Inn)

50g rice noodles

½ tsp salt

¼ cup coconut milk powder (organic from Bin Inn)

Method

Place ingredients in a compressible and resealable bag and compress to pack. When ready to cook, add contents to 2.5 cups boiling water and cook for 3min. Turn off heat and let sit for 2min. Enjoy!

– Sarah Hedger is the co-founder of Yum, a boutique cereal maker specialising in granola-based breakfasts. Power your next walk with Bushline Breakfasts or other cereals from the range. www.yumnz.co.nz