The Stats
| Company: Pinnacle Foods Co Meal: Sticky Teriyaki Chicken with Garlic Asparagus and coconut rice Meal Cost: $14.99 Calories: 640 Servings: 1 |
Backcountry Tasting Notes
I was looking for something a little different, and the Sticky Teriyaki Chicken fit the bill for me. Garlic Asparagus and Coconut rice is similar to one of the side dishes I make at home, but usually I use green beans. Something like this could give me a taste of home while I’m in the woods getting snowed on. Let’s take a look.
Preparation is with 1.5 cups of boiling water sitting 12 minutes for rehydration. The packaging doesn’t mention altitude and the company is from Missoula Montana so I’m rolling with it. Author’s Note: Upon further inspection of the website now back from my trip the food is packaged in North Carolina. Hmm… that might affect rehydration time.
I may have overshot the water. The asparagus is a nice surprise and tenders up nicely after sitting for a bit. There’s also what appears to be bamboo shoots and green onion in the mix. The chicken is chewy but the flavor is of teriyaki and heavily garlicked. It’s pleasant and not overpowering. The rice I’m having a hard time getting too much coconut but that might be because I added probably a quarter cup too much water. Just what I need for a lunch after setting up camp.
Of note the Pinnacle Foods packaging is taller than a Sea to Summit long handled spork. I’m not sure they make a longer handled spork but I found that irritating. Overall the meal is pleasant, 640 calories is more than enough for a regular dinner for me in the field. The price point for the meal is a little high at just under $15, putting it in the gourmet backpacking food category. This is, however, a pleasant departure from the Mountain House meals that many hikers down by the case full.
It’s pretty good, but I think you can do better from their lineup. My major gripe is the overall size of the packaging. One pro-tip I’ve learned from more experienced folks than myself is to use a pin, poke a single hole in the packaging and push out air. Then use a strip of packing tape to seal it back up. As long as you’re consuming soon you’re saving space and not compromising the shelf life of the product.
| Hey, what’s this? Backcountry Tasting Notes is a new series on APTOutdoors where I try all sorts of backpacking meals and review them so you don’t have to blind buy for your next trip. We look at everything, and I suppose I’ll try everything once. |
