When it comes to camping and cooking, we have a long and storied legacy. Braised lamb shoulder, rice and beans, rotisserie chicken, fried fillets of large mouth bass, smoked turkey legs, apple cobbler…
These are ALL things that we have cooked at one point or another, OVER A CAMPFIRE.
Over the top? Perhaps. An epic good time? Obviously.
The Origins of Pho Ramen: Family Campfire Cooking
The true origins of our camping cooking prowess are a bit more humble. When we were kids, we would pack up our camping gear, drive from the suburbs of New Jersey to upstate New York, hike into the park (usually somewhere like Bear Mountain), and camp for the night.
The menu for dinner? Piping hot instant ramen cooked on my dad’s Whisperlite stove.
My dad—the original camper of the family—would take out his kit of seasoning vials and sprinkle a few healthy pinches of curry powder and a few shreds of our trail-snack-leftover beef jerky into the noodles for an epic savory camping curry ramen recipe that really hit the spot when we were often parked on a log or rock and the air was cool and damp.
These trips were so enjoyable, in fact, that when we didn’t have the time for a full camping weekend, we would go for hiking day trips.
We’d climb deep into the trails, until we found a spot with perfectly scenic views, crisp air, and perhaps a few pieces of dried, downed wood around.
We’d admire nature, have a few restorative and refreshing sips of water, reflect on our place in the world…
AND THEN ROAST A COUPLE OF CORNISH HENS.
I kid you not, we once DAYTRIP hiked with two raw, marinated birds in my dad’s backpack on ice packs, and Macgyvered a rotisserie spit over an open fire.
You can barely see my mom behind all the delicious-smelling smoke coming off those babies:
And we (along with our cousin, who came along for the adventure) sat and ate those chickens, while bewildered slim campers powered by us in their North Faces and hiking boots with their tiny day packs filled with PowerBars and water bottles.
Sometimes laughing, sometimes just plain old confused, but always staring at this strange Chinese family that seemed way too committed to an out of the box culinary experience.
And our side dish with the chicken? Camping ramen, of course.
So, when my sister and I decided to take a California road trip this spring, with pit stops for camping, we of course packed up our mess kit and my dad’s old set of seasoning vials, and purchased a few packs of ramen on the road.
Except, instead of our traditional curry ramen (Someone *COUGH* SARAH *COUGH* forgot the curry powder…), we created something entirely new and extremely delicious over the fires at Potwisha Campground in Sequoia National Park (the next stop on our California road trip after Joshua Tree. Sarah will be posting that next week, so stay tuned! [Update]: Click here for the post!)
It’s camping ramen, THE PHO EDITION! Pho ramen is your standard instant beef-flavored ramen, a healthy amount of beef jerky, red onion–caramelized and stewed in the soup and served raw over the top, some greens if you’ve got them, and a generous squeeze of lime juice to finish it off.
It was delicious and perfect after a long day of driving.
And setting up camp—under a rainbow!
Add this pho ramen to your camp cooking repertoire for this summer, or just make it at home when you’re feeling lazy. Either way, you will enjoy it. Trust us.
Pho Ramen: Recipe Instructions
Put your pot over the flame (we used our trusty stainless steel camping cookset), and add the oil.
Using your handy dandy pocket knife (or regular knife if you’re not in the wilderness), prep your onions and beef jerky.
When the oil in the pot is hot (you can add a test piece of onion to check it out), add the large portion of your sliced onions. Stir for a minute, letting them caramelize. In the meantime, prep your beef jerky, and add that to the pot. Let cook for 2-4 minutes, depending on how hot your campfire is.
Add enough water to the pot to meet your soup preferences, and bring to a boil.
Add in the seasoning packet, the ramen noodles and vegetables (we used the leftover Tuscan kale from Joshua Tree!) and cook per package instructions.
When the noodles are cooked through…
Sprinkle the raw onion over the top, squeeze in the lime juice…
And serve your pho ramen in front of the campfire!
The textbook definition of a “happy camper,” with her pho ramen right here:
If you like our camping pho ramen and want to go bigger and make a real bowl of pho, check out Sarah’s pho recipe here! We also have an Instant Pot Pho recipe to satisfy your authentic pho craving that much faster.
Next post: Somewhere in the Woods: Sequoia National Park.
“Pho” Ramen (Over a Campfire…Or Your Stove!)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ a red onion (thinly sliced and divided into two portions––one large and one small)
- 1/4 cup sliced beef jerky
- Enough water to cook the noodles per package instructions
- 1 packet beef-flavored instant ramen
- 1 handful of any kind of leafy green vegetables
- Juice of half a lime (feel free to add more or less to taste)
Instructions
- Put your pot over the flame, and add the oil.
- When the oil in the pot is hot (you can add a test piece of onion to check it out), add the large portion of your sliced onions. Stir for a minute, letting them caramelize. Add the beef jerky and cook for 2-4 minutes.
- Add enough water to the pot to meet your soup preferences, and bring to a boil. Add in the ramen seasoning packet, ramen noodles, and vegetables and cook per package instructions. When the noodles are cooked through, sprinkle the raw onion over the top, squeeze in the lime juice, and serve!
nutrition facts
We are going camping next weekend and I am going to make this. We are mostly vegetarian so I am going to use a mushroom ramen and a plant based jerky. Will use spinach, kale or chard. So easy and I am sure it is great, especially with the lime. Will let you know after I make it. Love your recipes and hearing about your family life. Thanks for a great website.
Nice! Enjoy the trip, Carol!
the camp fire on my kitchen electric stove was used and I did not have spiced jerky, so adding
chili oil helped .. My picky husband even liked it! can’t wait to try the other ramen noodle recipes.
Glad you both enjoyed it, Eleanor!
This looks great, but it must be said that squeezing limes outdoors can be very hazardous. The juice makes your skin extremely photosensitive and you can end up with horrible burns and blisters. Please put a warning about photophytodermatitis so people can take precautions!
I’ve never heard that, Crystal! Will have to look into it more!
Yes, this happened to me while working at a compost collection. Must have come in contact with some lime scraps and a few hours later I had blisters all over my hands and arms. My skin was discolored for a long time and there was some mild scarring.
recipe aside, this is just such a beautiful piece of the internet. i can feel the nostalgia seeping through those photos and betting the flavors do too for you and your family. love you all so much! Thank you for the recipes and happiness.
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Liam!
This was outstanding! So satisfying after a long day’s hike and so easy. Don’t skip the onion, lime or veggie. (we opted for spinach.) Tomorrow, we’re going camping in Vt and this time we thought we’d try substitutung the beef for freeze-dried teriyaki chicken. Why not?
Really appreciate such a great recipe!
Love it! Happy trails and happy cooking!
Hurrah! So glad you loved it, Carey!
Definitely think I’m going to make this at home and dehydrate it for the next camping trip.
Love that, Christina––though if you’re just using instant noodles and beef jerky, there’s no need to dehydrate anything!
My oldest son has turned this into one of his favorite backpacking meals, using freeze dried onion, ramen, dried lime juice, teriyaki jerky and usually some peanuts. He says it is way better than the store bought options his friends use.
But personally I am excited to have found rice ramen so this can be one of our meals on our family trip this year!
Hi Karen, so sorry we missed your comment years ago! Thank you for reading and sharing. I’m so glad your son likes it! :)
OMGosh! I just had a flashback to when I used to go camping with a friend at San Clemente State Beach in California. We ALWAYS took a couple of Cornish game hens with us. We would grill the hens, which were accompanies withwith Kraft Mac and Cheese (still a guilty pleasure!!) and a veg of some sort, drink some cheap wine with it and we were GLAMPING (before glamping was a thing). We always used to get envious glances from passersby that were stuck with hamburgers and hotdogs.
And I remember having what we called “doctored” instant ramen when our kids were little. We’d top bowls of instant ramen with part of a thinly sliced pork chop, greens, sauteed mushrooms, an egg stirred into the cooking noodles, a little spinach, whatever I had in the house. What a great way to make everyone happy with their own “special” dinner.
I see more ramen in my near future: curry-style, pho-style and more.
Thank you!
WOWWW. We weren’t the only ones! Cornish game hens with Kraft Mac & Cheese sounds like camping perfection. That is so awesome. I love these camp cooking stories. Thanks so much for sharing. :)