Camp Kitchen Favourite - Ridiculously Easy Kai Si Ming

If you need a quick and simple meal to feed the family, give this variation of Kai Si Ming a try. It’s easy, tasty, and guaranteed to please everyone.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite meals mum cooked for us was her version of Kai Si Ming. I think everyone who grew up during the 70s and 80s, their mum had a recipe or Kai Is Ming of their own. It’s the very definition of comfort food. I believe inspiration came from a recipe that used to be printed on the back of a packet of Continental chicken noodle simmer soup and everyone just adapted it to suit their taste.

I had forgotten about it when I moved out of home and only rediscovered Kai Si Ming in recent times and realised it would be perfect for anyone caravanning or camping needing to feed a family or small group quickly and cheaply. This version is about as simple as it gets and the ingredients are readily available across the country. As always, you can vary the ingredients to suit your own taste but I have found that, with Kai Is Ming, less is more.

Enjoy..!

Ingredients:

500 grams of mincemeat (beef or pork and veal mix)
1 large onion chopped
4 cups of roughly chopped cabbage
4 stalks of celery roughly chopped
2 cups of snow-peas halved and de-strung
1 x 45g packet Continental chicken noodle simmer soup
1 to 2 tablespoons of curry powder
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
Olive oil
1.5 cups of water
2 cups of cooked Basmati or similar long-grain rice

Cooking:

In a large frypan or wok, cook the chopped onion in a drizzle of olive oil until soft.

Add mince mincemeat and cook until completely separated and browned.

Add curry powder, soup mix, and soy sauce to the mince and thoroughly stir through the meat.

Pour in the water, mix through and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid thickens.

Add the celery and continue simmering and stirring the mix for another 5 minutes.

Add the snow peas and cabbage, increase heat and stir fry until the cabbage is cooked to your liking.

Serve on a bed of boiled rice.

The original recipe that inspired this one came from the back of the packet of chicken noodle soup. Any curry powder will do but I think Keen’s is best for this dish. Remember to remove the string from the snow peas.

Variations:

Some may like more or less curry so adjust the amount to suit your taste. Similarly, the soup mix is quite salty so adjust the amount of soy sauce accordingly. If you can’t get snow peas, green beans will serve as an alternative.

If cooking for just two people, the leftovers will keep in the fridge quite well for a few days and some people reckon it tastes better reheated.

If you have a favorite recipe that is ideally suited to caravanning and camping, please share it with us by emailing SayHello@RVDaily.com.au

Safe travels