Polynesian-Inspired Camping

Thoughts on the long weekend ahead

We’ve been talking about camping a lot, and are even thinking about pitching a tent in our backyard this weekend. However, about a three-hour drive away, is a national park named Assateague Island, that’s known for beach camping and wild horses. This gorgeous park might be out of reach for this weekend, but it’s a great source of inspiration.

Riders on the Beach (also known as Cavaliers sur la plage) by Paul Gauguin

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, researching, writing about and talking about Polynesia. In ISLANDS, I share about my experiences traveling through Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tahiti and Hawai’i. At home, my personal book collection covers topics like Māori tattoo art and fish hook making to Native Hawaiian lei making. Plant life is essential to everything, as all of the needs are met through plants—shelter, clothing, food, medicine and entertainment, including music, arts and crafts. In this desire to return to nature, Polynesia becomes a guiding force.

To go camping is to be immersed in nature, and it’s also about eating well. As many of us know who prepare food regularly, planning is an essential part of the process. For a two-day, two-night camping trip, I would be pretty resourceful about what we would eat as a family, and then I would need to be a bit impractical because…that’s who I am.

From left to right: Camping in Baja with Justin during our newlywed phase, at my darling friend Nicole's camping wedding in Montana, creating a kamayan beach picnic in Sunset Cliffs, San Diego.

As far as a menu, I would like to consider Polynesia in the present with all of its multiculturalism, starting with Hawai’i. The largest population in Hawai’i is Asian, with the two largest subgroups as Filipino and Japanese. It just so happens that some of my favorite foods fall in these categories. When I visited Tahiti, I was pleasantly surprised by the many Chinese food restaurants. Chinese-Tahitian culture represents a vibrant fusion of Chinese immigrants (who first arrived in the 1800s to work on cotton plantations) and Tahitians. All of these cultures would inspire the camping meals.

From left to right: dried fruits and nuts with the salad I would make on a camping trip, the iconic SPAM, and a donabe hot pot meal

Here is what I would make before the trip:

• onigiri with canned tuna and canned salmon (great snacks)

• SPAM musubi (also great snack)

• homemade dashi

• several cups of cooked white short-grain rice (to be left overnight in the refrigerator before packing)

Here is what food I would pack:

• fresh fruits like ripe mango, oranges, avocados, limes

• dried fruits like dried mango and banana chips, and nuts like macadamia

• cucumber and tomato

• canned sardines

• onion, garlic, ginger

• small amounts of flavoring sauces like soy sauce, mirin, fish sauce, sake

• cooking oil

• miso

• thinly sliced ribeye or pork belly, and enoki mushrooms

• potatoes, corn on the cob, carrots, leeks

• eggs and bacon

Here are what tools I would pack:

• a single portable burner with several cans of propane

• a large carbon steel wok

• a large donabe for hot pot

• a cutting board and a couple of knives

• some light weight wooden bowls for serving the food

• a large cooler with lots of ice

Here is what I would make on site:

• For breakfast: Filipino inspired breakfast—rice and sardines, tomatoes, and cucumber

• For lunch: fried rice (Japanese version with egg and leek, Hawaiian version with egg and SPAM), and Hawaiian salad with mango, orange, cucumber, and avocado.

• For dinner both nights: hot pot donabe

The Sacred Mountain (Parahi Te Marae) by Paul Gauguin

When I’m not cooking, I’d be foraging for flowers to make lei, or if we were by the beach, I’d be looking for shells. At night, I would listen to the wind and gaze up at the stars.

I hope that nature is there for you this long weekend.

x Vanessa