The Best Groceries to Take Camping Don’t Even Require a Cooler, According to a Chef

Ah, the great outdoors. If you’re anything like me, you love to get out in nature, feel the fresh air on your skin, and soak up time appreciating the natural world around you. I’m currently planning a camping weekend with your family, and while cooking outdoors is part of the fun it can present some challenges — so tips to make it go more smoothly are always welcome. 

Jon Kung, chef and author of Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third-Culture Kitchen, has camping food down to a science. To get some of his intel, I asked him to share the best foods to bring on a camping trip, how to maximize cooler space, and his favorite tools and camping nonnegotiables. 

For Kung, camping is all about the outdoor cooking — and he especially loves grilling meats (be it steak, wings, or shrimp). “It gets this smoky goodness that you cannot replicate at home or on a gas grill. The trick is to build your fire over the course of the day and let it burn down into coals and grill over the hot coals for a more controlled and flavorful burn.” To infuse even more flavor into the meat, Kung shares the following tip: “A trick I learned from S.S. Gai in Nashville is to let your marinade drip over the coals just a little so it creates even more smoke that penetrates the meat.” 

Space is at a premium when you’re camping, and you want to make sure you have more than enough room in your cooler for the things that really need to be in there, such as meat. Thankfully, not everything needs to be refrigerated; with a little bit of planning, you can have delicious, diverse, well-rounded meals. “Fruits and vegetables that can be kept in a bag are great because cooler space is precious. Everything needs to earn the space you give it,” Kung says. Here are some items he recommends that don’t require any refrigeration at all.

Kabocha squash, also known as Japanese pumpkin, has a dark green outer skin and bright orange interior that’s nutty in flavor and fluffy in texture. “It’s sweet and doesn’t need to be refrigerated and can be chopped up easily after being put over a fire for a few minutes,” Kung says. His favorite way to prepare it is to make a Japanese pumpkin porridge. “On a hiking day, we need some good fuel that will keep us moving and full. Add it to oatmeal with maple syrup and cinnamon (or, better yet, Chinese five spice) and you have a warm, stick-to-your-ribs meal that will keep you going to where the really good views are.” 

Tinned fish has made a comeback lately (hello, Fishwife). And it’s shelf-stable, so it’s a perfect option to bring on your camping trip. Nowadays, there are so many varieties — from small sardines to yellowfin tuna. “They can be a topping over noodles in a pinch, but really just go well with some crackers or bread and cheese,” Kung says.

They’re a classic for a reason, and not just for hungry college students either. “Camping isn’t camping without a bunch of different kinds of instant noodles for me,” Kung says. Fly by Jing and Buldak are some of our favorite varieties. 

Potatoes are another great option, and they’re super versatile too. Chop some up for a breakfast hash, bake them for a simple side, or grill some with sausage and peppers for an easy skillet meal. 

No dish is complete without onions and garlic as a base in my opinion, and Chef Kung seems to agree. But they also work double duty. “Onions make meats taste better and can clean a dirty grill if you’re desperate,” he says. 

Having some fruits on hand that don’t require refrigeration make for great snacks, but they also can be whipped up into different elements of your meals. “Apples and pears can go into an oatmeal or [can be] chopped and cooked in syrup for pancakes. I’ll use oranges for their juice for a dressing or a sauce,” Kung says. 

Another double duty item, carrots can double as a snack (served alongside your favorite hummus), but can also be incorporated into an easy meal like a stir-fry. 

• Cooler: “A good cooler is a non-negotiable. Get a couple: one for beverages, and one for meat, cheese, and eggs, and make sure you’ve got plenty of ice packs.” We’re big fans of this YETI one. 
• Granulated allulose: “It works like sugar, kinda tastes like sugar, but, more importantly, ants aren’t attracted to it. [It’s] fine in coffee and fine cooked with fruit in a skillet to make a compote.” 
• Fire pit grill: “Whether it be something fancy like from SnowPeak or just a steel grid that’s propped over a fire, this can be the thing that cooks your food, boils your water, or makes your coffee. Cooking on fire is the whole point [of camping].” 
• Gas burner: “I use this mainly for emergencies, but having a controlled gas source is always good. My Coleman stove has helped me out on many a rainy day.” 
• Camp battery: “When I camp, I go out for the week. So when I ‘work from home from the woods’ I rely on a camp battery to keep all my gear charged up. It’s a good thing to have if you’re car camping. If you want to unplug, leave it in the car but at least have it in case of emergencies or if your speaker dies.”  
• Butane torch: “You’re camping, you’re not surviving. Stop proving that you can make a fire out of two sticks and some fried grass and get that fire started. People are hungry and it’s getting dark.” 

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: The Best Groceries to Take Camping Don’t Even Require a Cooler, According to a Chef