Hi everyone, this is Tsukui from WAITER-U, a cafe in Shimokitazawa that has a campsite-like atmosphere. Today, I'll share a special method to solve some common problems you might encounter when cooking while camping.
Cooking while camping sounds appealing, doesn't it? But if you're doing it for the first time, it can be quite challenging with unfamiliar equipment and environment. So today, I'd like to suggest trying to cook a meal at home using your usual camping gear before you head out.
There are all sorts of camping gear, aren't there? Kettles, mess tins, skillets... I'm the kind of person who does everything with a mess tin. Some of you might be wondering, "What's a mess tin?" Simply put, a mess tin is a cooking pot. Apparently, originally, the product made by a Swedish company called Trangia was called a "mess tin," but recently, inexpensive ones have been released by stores like Daiso, and of course, the original Trangia mess tin is always sold at camping gear shops.
While a mess tin is originally designed for cooking rice, it can also be used as a makeshift frying pan by turning the lid upside down and placing a burner with a trivet underneath. It's also great for steaming and simmering. It truly is a versatile cooking tool that can do just about anything.
However, if you suddenly try to make a recipe you saw online or on YouTube while camping, you'll often find that things don't go as planned because camping is full of unexpected events. I experienced this myself. So, I recommend trying to make one appetizer for dinner using only a mess tin on a weekday evening beforehand. If you do that, cooking during your actual camping trip will go surprisingly smoothly.
So, how exactly do you use it? What are some recommended dishes to make? Let me introduce two of my favorite mess tin recipes.
Item 1: Easy Cheese Fondue
First up is cheese fondue. However, this isn't the kind where you melt authentic Emmental cheese and eat it with baguette slices; it's a relatively easy "cheese fondue-style" recipe.
All you'll need is Camembert cheese, such as the kind sold by Snow Brand. The key is to buy the kind that's wrapped in paper and requires you to cut it yourself, rather than the pre-cut kind.
Line a mess tin with aluminum foil and place the Camembert cheese inside. Make a cross-shaped cut on top of the Camembert cheese and wrap it in aluminum foil. This way, when it's finished, the top of the cheese will melt and widen the opening for dipping.
Next, add things that would taste good dipped in cheese fondue, such as sausages like Schauessen, asparagus, baby corn, and green beans. Fill the mess tin with water to a height of about 5mm from the bottom.
Close the lid of the mess tin and place it over the fire. If using solid fuel, burn the 14g solid until it goes out. If using a CB canister burner, the heat is strong so it will be ready in 2-3 minutes, or 5 minutes at most. The cheese inside will be melted, and the vegetables and sausages added with it will be ready to eat, making it the perfect snack. It's really easy as you just throw everything into the mess tin and it's ready in 5 minutes. Please give it a try!
Item 2: Mentaiko Takana Rice
The second dish is mentaiko takana rice, a very satisfying meal for one serving. This is also easy to make and I make it often. When cooking rice in a mess tin, you absolutely have to soak the rice first. When going camping, I recommend using pre-washed rice to save the trouble of washing the rice.
Put 1 cup of pre-washed rice into a mess tin and let it soak for about 30 minutes. This will result in fluffy and delicious rice. If you soak the rice when you get home and before doing chores like washing dishes, you'll be ready to start cooking in 30 minutes. When you go camping, if you set up a table and soak the rice before starting tasks like setting up your tent, the cooking process will go much more smoothly afterward.
After soaking the rice for 30 minutes, add 330cc of water for every 1 cup of rice. Some mess tins have instructions on how much water to use per cup of rice, so check those. While most recipes call for around 200cc of water per cup of rice, in my experience, 200cc tends to leave the rice undercooked, so I recommend using a little more, around 330cc.
After adding water, add enough pickled mustard greens to cover the rice, and finally place one mentaiko (spicy cod roe) in the center. Then just put it on the heat. If using a CB canister burner, cook for 10 minutes, or if using solid fuel (14g), cook until the flame goes out (about 14 minutes). Steam will start to come out from the gap in the lid, which is a sign that the rice is cooked.
Once you remove it from the heat, wrap it in a towel or something similar and let it steam for about 10 minutes. This allows the heat to distribute evenly throughout the rice, resulting in a delicious dish. Just before serving, add two slices of butter and let it melt as you eat. This is also really easy and delicious, so please give it a try!
This recipe can be made on a regular home stovetop as well as a camping burner. Try it out on a weekday evening to ensure smooth cooking during your actual camping trip.
Today, we introduced two easy camping meal recipes using a mess tin. In this program, we will continue to deliver information to help camping beginners and those who are thinking about going camping for the first time to enjoy camping more easily, as well as topics to alleviate any anxieties about camping. See you next time!
