Maybe you’ve noticed this, but all food kind of just tastes extra amazing on the trail. Dave and I took a few days to go backpacking in the Shawnee National Forest last August. You can read about that here.
Hands down the best meal we had on that trip was also the easiest to make. Chicken and Spanish Rice. This carby-salty-protein-packed recipe makes enough for two people who have been hiking through heat and humidity of Southern Illinois in August and want to feel human again.
Trail meals are kind of funny because they are not something I would make at home. At home, I don’t use canned chicken. At home, I don’t usually make pre-packaged rice sides. I have the advantage of living in a neighborhood with tons of excellent Latin American food options, so if I want Spanish rice, I’m better off finding a great restaurant. But there are no restaurants in the wilderness.
This tastes like every comforting thing you ever enjoyed about sloppy joes, but made out of chicken and carbs and salt. Honestly, it’s great. Actual Spanish rice does not taste like sloppy joes, but in Knorr’s world, they’re practically the same thing.
My recipe also relies on buying canned chicken from Aldi. Would it work with another brand of canned chicken? Almost certainly. The can of chicken you buy at Aldi has a couple of distinct advantages. 1. A can is 8 oz. Which is easily enough for two people. And 2. It’s really good stuff. Tender, flavorful and it falls apart very easily. You can try to bring fresh chicken on the trail, but that’s your risk to run. Plus, that sounds hard to do. I wouldn’t advise it unless you like being stuck in the wilderness with salmonella poisoning.
Dave and I didn’t think we would actually finish the whole thing but we basically mowed the whole thing down and then passed out by 8:30 p.m. Camping is fun, you guys.
Recipe (serves two heavy portions):
1 package Knorr Fiesta Side Dish, Spanish Rice
1 8oz can chicken from Aldi
1 glug olive oil
- Prepare the Spanish rice according to package instructions. We use an Esbit stove and a Stanley pot for backpacking (review to come, I swear). We ended up needing about one and a half fuel cubes for the rice.
- While your rice rests, use the remaining fuel cube (or whatever you use) to warm through the canned chicken. You don’t want it to burn, you just want to heat it through.
- Portion out the Spanish rice.
- Portion out the chicken onto the Spanish rice.
- Stir to combine. The chicken should fall apart easily because Aldi is an amazing place with amazing products. (They aren’t paying me to say this, but I would also accept Aldi’s money to say this.)
- Eat until you didn’t realize you were hungry enough to eat the whole thing.