Australian Hiker

Rating

Back Country Cuisine Nasi Goreng Review

The Back Country Cuisine range of outdoor meals is probably the best known in Australia. These meals are stocked by the majority of outdoor stores and many people consider them the staple meal choice for outdoor activities. Back Country produces a huge range of meal choices and many stores seem to select a ‘top ten’ so you are unlikely to find the full range in any one store. In addition to the large variety of twin serves, the company also has single serves (entrée size) although the single serve options don’t seem to have as large a variety at least as far as what the stores seem to stock. I’m still working my way though the very large range but I am finding this adventure is a bit hit and miss. Everyone’s tastes are different I guess!

For me the Nasi Goreng is a ‘middle of the road’ choice. The pack says that this meal is a mixture of brown rice, vegetable and egg omelette – I couldn’t work out the egg omelette until I looked at the packet.  The ratio of rice to vegetables is fine but I found the taste a bit bland however this may suit some palettes. I also like rice but brown rice is always last on my list of rice choices. The meal left me feeling full but didn’t provide that feeling of contentedness as the  Mexican Chicken option.

These meals are very convenient and preparation only requires the addition of 220 ml of boiling water and a recommended ten minutes to rehydrate. I have found leaving the meals for about 11-12 minutes tends to get a better result and I would suggest cutting the water back by about 10 ml as well to get a slightly thicker consistency.

The normal price sits around the AUD $12.99 RRP mark for a single serve pack with the twin serves working out to be more cost effective at AUD $19.99 RRP. Most of the larger chain stores offer member discounts or have regular sales so its worthwhile looking around. I bought this meal and a number of others at 20% off at an ‘end of year financial sale’ so this makes a difference when you are buying up big. These products do have a long shelf life so you can stock up as the sales come on line in anticipation of an upcoming trip.

The meal comes in a bag that is well designed and the bottom opens out to provide a flat base for those minimalists who want to leave the bowl at home. The option exists to tear the top off the bag to allow easy access to the food but you if you have a long handled spork/fork/spoon you won’t need to tear the bag. My other reason for not tearing the top off the bag is that you minimise any mess and after you’re done, you can re-zip the zip lock.

So what is the final verdict? I didn’t dislike this meal nor would I rave about it either. While I am happy to eat this Nasi Goreng there are too many other excellent options from both Back Country and Outdoor Gourmet that I prefer to eat.

We Like

• Three year warranty which means you can buy these when you see them discounted thereby reducing the price. You also know the meals will always be edible
• Minimal preparation time.  All you are doing is rehydrating these meals so once you add boiling water there’s only a 10-12 minute wait
• If you eat from the bag there is only your eating implement to clean up. In fact you may not even need to carry a bowl at all thereby limiting the weight you carry
• A very large variety of meals from which to choose both single and double serves so it’s unlikely you will become bored unless you are on a really long hike
• Freeze dried. This takes much of the weight out of the meals and helps to limit the impact on your body
• Single serve option provides just the right size for solo travellers on short trips

We Don't Like

• The main negative of any commercially preprepared dehydrated/freeze dried meals is the cost. The Back Country Cuisine meals are cheaper than their competitors which only offer twin serve meals however per person this single serve meal is AUD$12.99 RRP which is not cheap. These meals are cheaper/serve when bought in the twin serve size
• Single serves start being a bit small on longer trips when you burn through the calories. I will usually pack a mix of single and double meals on longer trips.

Best Uses

An easy to prepare meal whether it be on a short or long trip for camping and hiking

Buy One

You can purchase the Back Country Cuisine Nasi Goreng meal online from Macpac, Wild Earth, Wildfire Sports, or from Snowys

Disclosure: We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

Back Country Nasi Goreng as purchased

Back Country Cuisine open bag bottom

Back Country Nasi Goreng with bag open and uncooked

Back Country Nasi Goreng rehydrated with the bag torn down

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

Last updated

18 March 2024

Shares

Related articles