Starting a rolling stock with dried vegetables

Oct 20, 2022by 小島怜

Rolling Stock with Dried Vegetables!
Be Prepared for Emergencies.

In Japan, we often hear news of natural disasters regardless of the season. Various disasters such as typhoons, heavy rains, floods, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions occur across the country. Many people are already taking disaster preparedness measures, but if you haven't yet, we recommend adopting the rolling stock concept.

What is Rolling Stock?

Are you taking any measures to prepare for such emergencies? When it comes to "preparation," many people might first think of "emergency food" or "preserved food." You have to prepare various specialized items, check if they're expired... and even though you know it's important, it often gets put off.

One way to solve this is through rolling stock. Instead of preparing a separate stockpile, this method involves incorporating long-lasting foods into your daily life, replenishing them as you consume them, and always maintaining a certain amount in reserve.

The key is to incorporate it into your daily life
and build up your stock.

For example, you might eat canned fruit for breakfast or instant ramen for lunch, consuming emergency food on a regular cycle and then replenishing your stock. Some of you might already be doing this routinely!

Traditional Preserved Foods

Canned goods and retort-pouch foods are generally popular for long-term storage at room temperature. From staple foods like pre-cooked rice and rice porridge to canned curries and stews, these are commonly available at supermarkets. Balance is important, and because these are incorporated into daily life as well as used in emergencies, it's good to choose items with nutritional balance in mind.

Dried Vegetables are Convenient for Stockpiling!

It's said that typical emergency foods are high in carbohydrates, leading to an unbalanced diet. While carbohydrates are very important as an energy source, vegetables are also necessary to get vitamins and minerals. That's where dried vegetables, which have a long shelf life at room temperature, come in handy.

Not only are they useful in emergencies, but having vegetables on hand daily can also help you use them in your cooking and address any daily vegetable deficiencies! Personally, I find it convenient to choose vegetables that are usually a hassle to prepare, or ones that are expensive out of season!

Dried Vegetable Recipes

So, how do you actually use dried vegetables? In an emergency, resources are limited, so it's great to have recipes that are easy to make without fire, water, or knives. Here's a simple dish you can make with dried vegetables and pantry staples.

Tuna and Kombu with Plenty of Vegetables

Ingredients

Dried vegetables (we used a mix this time, but single varieties like cucumber or carrot are also fine) 10-20g
Canned tuna 1 can
Salted kombu 2 pinches

Instructions

Put the dried vegetables, the tuna can (including the liquid), and salted kombu into a plastic bag and knead them together. The key is to let the dried vegetables thoroughly absorb the moisture from the tuna can.
Then, let it sit for about 20 minutes until everything is well blended.

If it's not an emergency, mayonnaise or sesame oil also go well with this! By cooking in a plastic bag, you can rehydrate dried ingredients with minimal water, making it a helpful recipe not only in emergencies but also when you're tired on a regular day.Recipe here

Rolling Stock is Convenient in Daily Life Too!

Rolling stock is something you want to start doing now for emergencies. It also provides a sense of security knowing you can eat familiar foods even during a crisis. Be sure to incorporate dried vegetable rolling stock into your regular grocery shopping!