Mountain House Korean Inspired Beef

Mountain House Korean Inspired Beef has big pieces of beef, lots of veggies, and rice in a rich, flavorful Bulgogi sauce. Tasty and satisfying!

I needed a few meals for recent trips but didn't want to open a bunch of cans at this time of year so I picked up some pouches. Seemed a good time to try some flavors I don't normally get, so I put together some quick reviews. First up is Mountain House's Korean Inspired Beef.

Ingredients: 

Not a great pic, so here are the ingredients as listed on the MH website:

Parboiled White Basmati Rice, Seasoned Beef (beef, potato starch, salt, yeast extract, citric extract, natural flavor, spice), Bulgogi Seasoning (sesame seeds, dehydrated soy sauce [maltodextrin, soybeans, salt, cane, sugar], apple powder, brown sugar, cane sugar, spices, garlic, onion, salt, green onion), Vegetable Oil (high oleic sunflower oil and/or canola oil with rosemary extract and/or corn oil with rosemary extract), Toasted Sesame Oil, Brown Sugar (cane sugar, cane syrup), Corn Starch, Garlic, Zucchini, Carrots, Onion, Ginger, Paprika, Sea Salt, Seasoning (yeast extract, salt), Red Pepper

Nutrition:

• 2 servings per container
• Serving size 1 cup (63g) dry mix (makes 1 cup prepared)
• Calories/Per Pouch 580
• Total Fat 24g / 31% Saturated Fat 5g / 25% Trans Fat 0g / 0%
• Cholesterol 50mg / 17%
• Sodium 1360mg / 59%
• Carbohydrate 72g / 26%
• Dietary Fiber 4g / 14%
• Total Sugars 12g Incl. Added Sugars 8g / 16%
• Protein 22g / 26%
• Vitamin D 0mcg / 0%
• Calcium 80mg / 6%
• Iron 2mg / 10%
• Potassium 640mg / 15%

Dining Experience & Satiety:

The beef came out a little chewy, but I sort of like that in my backpacking meals as it lends a bit more sense of being real food if it's a bit tough heh. The sauce was excellent with a great balance between faintly sweet and faintly spicy, just as a good Bulgogi should. The veggies visually disappeared into the rice, but could be felt in the mouth.

I found this bag of food to be very satisfying! The double portion was just right. I wanted to eat more because it was delicious, but I was definitely full for a few minutes after polishing this off.

Live in the field testing:

Testing Conditions:

Lean To #4 at Russell Pond in Baxter State Park on a mid-October loop

Conclusions:

Oh I really liked this one! Bulgogi is a favorite flavor in our house so I was glad to find this tasted like it should. All the parts—meat, veggies, rice, and sauce—did what they were supposed to. It was no problem finishing off the double portion and I had a happy tummy when I was done.

My only issue is the packaging being so excessive. I am used to buying #10 cans and carrying dinners in ziploc bags. The MH pouches take up a lot of room before and after use.

Background

Only ate one bag of this stuff, but I eat a lot of meals on trail every year.