As the weather starts getting cooler, I inevitably begin craving warm soupy, saucy, noodly dishes. These vegan gochujang noodles (a backcountry-friendly adaptation of Rainbow Plant Life’s delicious recipe) hit the spot with a flavourful, slurp-a-licious sauce.
It’s also one of the most beginner-friendly recipes on this blog, because you’ll make the sauce at home by mixing just 3 ingredients: gochujang paste, soy sauce (or tamari) and sesame oil. At camp, you’ll cook the noodles + add-ins and simply pour in the sauce to coat once everything is cooked.
For the main add-ins, I chose dried mushrooms and pea protein crumbles to keep the weight low and quick-cooking, but feel free to use soy chunks, vegan jerky or sliced up vegan sausages instead. A handful of Thai basil leaves and as sprinkle of sesame seeds pack even more flavour, but are totally optional.
The entire thing comes together in under 15 minutes (unless you’re cooking in a snowstorm at high elevations…), so you can call it an early night if you need to!
For more saucy noodle recipes, check out: Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce and Saucy Backcountry Pad Thai.
Saucy Gochujang Noodles
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 300 g noodles1
- 100 g pea protein crumbles2
- 20-30 g dried mushrooms
- 1 handful Thai basil leaves optional
Sauce Mix
- 3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 2-3 tbsp gochujang paste
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
At Home
- Pack the sauce mix in a container with a tight lid. Pack the dry ingredients into a resealable bag. If carrying Thai basil leaves, pack them separately.
At Camp
- Cover the dry ingredients with enough water3 and cook until the noodles are done. Depending on the weather and altitude, this would take 5-7 minutes.
- Take off flame. If there's a lot of water leftover, drain some, leaving a little behind to thin out the sauce. If there isn't much left, add a dash more.
- Pour the sauce into the pot and toss to thoroughly coat the noodles.
- Sprinkle the Thai basil leaves over top and enjoy!
Notes
- Use any noodles of your choice. I like using these millet and brown rice noodles because the cake shape is easier to pack. 300g works out to roughly 4 of the cakes.
- Substitute with soy crumbles/TVP, vegan soy jerky, or if weight isn’t a concern, sliced up vegan sausages.
- I aim for half a pot full of water. I can cook all of the noodles by occasionally stirring, so that parts sticking out of the water are submerged later on. Heating up more water than you need wastes fuel; it’s easier to add some water later if it starts looking too dry.