Kaitlin totally outed me in her Pho Ramen post from a few weeks ago. We had planned to blog this campfire curry ramen recipe while camping in the woods of California’s Sequoia National Park, but I forgot the curry powder to make it. It was a devastating blow.
Of course, we ended up with an off-the-cuff Pho Ramen creation (Kaitlin’s doing), which turned out to be brilliant in and of itself. No regrets on that one.
But one couldn’t help feeling a sense of unfinished business.
This campfire curry ramen is an heirloom recipe in our family, despite the fact that yes, it contains a packet of 33-cent instant noodles. It’s one of the clearest food memories from my childhood, and if you take a look at some of the old photos in the Pho Ramen post, you’ll see that 10-year old me and 8-year-old Kaitlin are slurping away at this very dish.
This curry ramen recipe was invented by my dad during a camping trip with a buddy in the Grand Canyon. He had a packet of instant noodles, some scraps of beef jerky, and a little vial of curry powder in his mess kit. Water was boiled, and this curry ramen was born. Now, on every camping trip we go on, this curry ramen HAS to make an appearance.
So when we headed up to the Adirondacks over 4th of July weekend, it was the perfect opportunity to get a campfire going, break out the beef jerky, and finally share this recipe with all of you. This curry ramen is best served in the great outdoors, but it can also be done on the stovetop!
You’ll need:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- a handful of thinly sliced onion
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped beef jerky (optional)
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 packet beef-flavored instant ramen
In a medium pot over medium high heat, add the vegetable oil, onion, and beef jerky (if using).
Sauté until the onion is slightly softened, and add the curry powder. Cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Add the water and bring to a boil.
Add the seasoning packet from the instant ramen package…
and then add the noodles.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the noodles are cooked but still al dente. Serve immediately!
If you want to do a variation on this recipe, feel free to add any leafy greens (my dad once found wild watercress while on a camping trip out west, and it went straight into the curry ramen pot), fish balls or beef balls (which go amazingly well with curry––just boil them in the soup for a few minutes before adding the noodles), or even a beaten egg (which takes any bowl of instant ramen to the next level).
Enjoy this camping curry ramen on your next outing everyone!
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- a handful of thinly sliced onion
- ¼ cup roughly chopped beef jerky (optional)
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2½ cups water
- 1 packet beef-flavored instant ramen
- In a medium pot over medium high heat, add the vegetable oil, onion, and beef jerky (if using). Sauté until the onion is slightly softened, and add the curry powder. Cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the seasoning packet from the instant ramen package and then add the noodles. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the noodles are cooked but still al dente. Serve immediately!
Daniel says
This sounds amazing!! I, since I’m going to make it at home, am going to skip the seasoning packet and just use some seasoned homemade beef stock. May have to make it over a fire in the back yard though. I fear the lack of smoke may change the flavor haha!
Sarah says
Haha backyard campfires are still campfires! Love this idea, Daniel.
Christina says
I want to try it but also really want to avoid using actual ramen. Any tips on how to replicate that seasoning powder? I’ve always got dried noodles at home and this sounds like a great variation on my standard pick-up dinner of spicy noodles.
Kaitlin says
Hi Christina, hmm that’s a tricky question. We’ve never tried replicating the ramen seasoning packet, but a quick google search shows that there are a bunch of recipes out there! Let us know how any attempts turn out!
Jennefer says
Thank you! I always have Ramen on camping/hiking trips it seems, so this is great!
Sarah says
You’re welcome!
BrowniferBites says
What an awesome idea! We camp ALL the time with our kiddos here in Oregon – we may have to come up with some version of this for our kiddos!!!!! Thank You for sharing!
Sarah says
You’re welcome!!
Karen says
I’m going to add this to the list for my Boy Scout. Most of the scouts just eat the ramen plain, but he much prefers to doctor his up. With some dehydrated green onions with would be backpack worthy!
Sarah says
That sounds awesome! How does he usually doctor his ramen? Always interested to hear new camping ramen hacks. :)
Angeline says
After reading both camping noodle posts I felt the pressure to elevate my camping cup ramen to your recipes!
Can you share your camping cooking utensils and how you set up the campfires?
Sarah says
Hey Angeline, here’s the link to the camping pots that we use: http://amzn.to/2aCiAdp. They’re sturdy stainless steel, and you can actually cook quite a bit of food in them––they’re a good size. In terms of setting up a campfire, we generally start with kindling and some balled up newspaper. Then we build up the fire with larger bits of dry wood. We then let the fire burn until we get some good hot coals going, and cook over those coals. My dad and sister are our family’s resident fire-builders, so they might chime in at some point haha.
Albert says
No beef jerky, no problem. Break up some crisp bacon left over from breakfast to add instead. Diced Spam works well for me too.
Sarah says
Thanks for the tip, Albert!
Ellen says
So good to see your family camping in the outdoors. We camped a lot also with family/friends and other times with my 45-girl Scouting troop. Of all those times, one of my favorite was with our neighbor and we caravaned to Sequoia. Ramen was my backpacking favorite; but it sure took a long time to boil water in the Rocky Mountains! Have you tried it with miso?
I just discovered blog and love it lots. Thanks!
Sarah says
Ooooh, miso sounds great!
Carlton Yee says
Easy to carry additions: dried shrimp or scallops, sliced dried mushrooms all go into my ramen dishes. Still the best choice for a quick lunch.
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing, Carlton!
Laura says
Genius! I can see why this one was an instant classic. I’m gonna try this one for sure.
Sarah says
Let us know how you like it, Laura!