dehydrating marinated foods

[Swass]

I'm not sure I could have come up with a clearer title, but here's what I mean:

I am trying to adapt some ethnic asian meals for the trail, just so I don't entirely change my eating habits. Basically, you can't cook vietnamese food without fish sauce or soy sauce. And I do NOT want to bring a small container of fish sauce in my pack (if you smelled it, you'd understand). So I'm thinking I should put it on my food before dehydrating?

What would be the best way to "marinate" my food before dehydrating? I guess I mean, which foods are the best vessels for flavor saturation? I've seen a lot of jerky recipes where the meat is flavored first, but what about vegetables? Will it completely change the texture to marinate them, then dehydate them?

I'm thinking mushrooms might be a good spongy veg.

Has anyone tried this? Soy sauce would be the closest thing to what I'm talking about.

Could I go ahead and stir-fry the entire meal at home, then dehydrate it? Or would the oils make it go all funky? (I'm pretty new at this, just got the dehydrator for Christmas!)

[Footslogger]

Closest I've ever come to what you describe is taking some extremely lean ground meat and "browning" it while stirring in some A1 and a few other odd spices. Drained off all the juices that would come, patted the ground meat down with paper towels and then put in the dehydrator for about 4 - 5 hours.

Worked great. All I can say is YUM !!

'Slogger

[hammock engineer]

I've done that jerky with soy sauce and other marinates. They came out pretty good. I tried to add olive oil before. That did not turn out very well. I could not fully dry the food with oil. It was more of a pasta dish than jerky.

Try a small sample and see how it drys. Let us know how it works out.

Post some good asian recipes too. I am always looking for a little variety in my meals.

[sarbar]

The easiest way is to make the meals you like, then dry them. Ready to go meals with no hassle :) By all means, add the fish and soy sauces. Just watch the oil being added (add it on the trail when you go to rehydrate your meal).
Store your dried meals in your freezer, and you will be fine for storage. (Oil is what can go rancid in storage, the freezer retards it going rancid.)
By all means, mariante the meats and veggies! It will give them a great punch.

[Jim Adams]

i marinate and then dehydrate all the time but i've never tried fish oil or any oil for that matter. i like fish but i don't know what this would taste like but have you tried adding anchovie paste from a tube while heating / cooking on the trail?
geek

[Froggy]

Have you tried drying the marinade all by itself and then grinding it up in a blender to use as a seasoning?

[Pringles]

I can't help with the fish sauce, but http://www.adventurefoods.com has soy sauce in a crystal or powdered form.

Beth

[Swass]

The fish sauce is very liquid, not oil at all. It's a lot like soy sauce. So I can't really put it in the dehydrator alone... or can i?

I think just making the entire meal then dehydrating it would be the best way to go. I'll definitely keep you all posted. There is a chicken/cabbage/rice dish that I make all the time - I'd really like to try to adapt that one first.

[hammock engineer]

Let us know how it turns out.

Careful with the chicken. I haven't got any to turn out yet. Chicken takes a long time to rehydrate. Some people pre-soak the chicken before heating. Also make sure you cut it into small pieces.

[sarbar]

The fish sauce is very liquid, not oil at all. It's a lot like soy sauce. So I can't really put it in the dehydrator alone... or can i?

I think just making the entire meal then dehydrating it would be the best way to go. I'll definitely keep you all posted. There is a chicken/cabbage/rice dish that I make all the time - I'd really like to try to adapt that one first.
Jus dry it in a WELL venilated area ;) The fish sauce will stink up your house big time, but it will dry into a crystal-y powder.