Pad Thai Recipe for Dehydrating
Considerations for dehydrating your food:
Add low or no oil to the dish. Oil can cause the dehydrated food to become rancid and spoil it.
Cut all of the ingredients into small, consistent sizes. This helps them dehydrate and then rehydrate at a more similar rate.
Potency of flavour tends to be diminished during the dehydration process, so consider adding a bit of extra spice during the cooking process.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp water
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 onion, diced
3 tbsp garlic, diced
1 tbsp diced ginger
1 jalapeño, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup broccoli, chopped
2-3 carrots, diced
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup soy sauce
2-3 tbsp maple syrup or coconut sugar
2 limes worth of juice
250g rice noodles or mung bean noodles
¼ cup roasted peanuts (packaged separately)
Cooking Instructions:
In a medium pot, add 1 tbsp water and place the pot on medium heat.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic, ginger, and jalapeño and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the carrots. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add the red bell pepper and broccoli, cook for 2 minutes.
Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, and maple syrup. Cook for 2-4 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat once the soy sauce and peanut butter have become a consistent sauce.
Add lime juice to the pot and stir everything together.
In a separate large pot bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add your rice or mung bean noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes (or follow instructions on package and slightly under cook them). Strain the noodles and rinse with cold water.
Once both the vegetable mixture and the noodles are done, mix everything together in one large pot or bowl.
Please note: during the dehydration process, the flavours tend to lose intensity and become more subdued. You may want to add extra salt and/or cayenne pepper to compensate for the loss of flavour during the dehydration process.
Dehydrating Instructions:
Most consumer grade dehydrators should work for this process. I have one by Hamilton Beach. You can either use the tray liners that come with the dehydrator or parchment paper. I prefer using parchment paper, since it’s easier to remove the food once it’s been dehydrated.
Line all of your dehydrator trays.
Transfer the pad thai onto the dehydrator trays in a thin and consistent layer.
Once the dehydrator is full, turn it on and set the temperature. I usually use 160F and set it for about 20 hours. This meal usually takes 12-18 hours to fully dehydrate on my dehydrator.
You will need to run the dehydrator twice if all of the pad thai does not fit on the dehydrator trays for the first round. I usually put the leftover food in the fridge and then transfer it onto the trays once the first round is fully dried and removed.
Run the dehydrator until the food is completely dry. When you touch each ingredient it should be firm and not squishy nor soft.
Once all of the food is dried, you can remove them from the dehydrator.
Weigh out each camp serving. Each serving should be 150-200g (5-7 ounces) of dried food. Then divide the roasted peanuts amongst your servings. Wrap your peanuts in plastic wrap or in a ziplock bag. Then vacuum seal (or equivalent) the serving with the separately wrapped roasted peanuts. When you go to eat your meal in the backcountry, rehydrate your meal and then add the roasted peanuts as a garnish.
Now you’re done! I usually find this recipe makes about 2-4 x 150g camp meals; however, the amount does vary. I hope you enjoy this delicious Pad That while out in the backcountry!
Rehydrating Instructions:
Hot meal instructions:
Place your dehydrated food into your pot.
Cover your meal with water.
Bring water to a boil.
Turn off your stove and cover your pot.
Let sit for ~10 minutes.
Take off lid, sprinkle on roasted peanut garnish, and enjoy!
Cold soak instruction:
Place your dehydrated meal in your designated cold soaking container a few hours before you want to eat it.
Pour water into container to cover meal.
Let sit for ~3-4 hours.
Add your roasted peanut garnish.
Enjoy!
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