How the fuck is all western MREs 30€-a-meal tacticool m4 extrem trail hike: school schooter edition when, going by sold out online listings, I could get a chinese self heating hot pot for like 5 eurodollars?

These things would be insanely convenient to just toss in my bike bag and have a warm vegan meal on a cold days bike ride

    • 7bicycles [he/him]
      hexagon
      hexbear
      50
      29 days ago

      I feel like every food that works as an MRE is some sort of slop (non-derogatory) because that just meshes will with how the thing be and that

      Pizza is decidedly not in the slop category and would never work. Hot pot is absolutely IN the slop category and that's why it's so good (assuming)

      • keepcarrot [she/her]
        hexbear
        24
        29 days ago

        Even frozen pizza for your home oven is pretty crap, an mre version oh no.

  • RyanGosling [none/use name]
    hexbear
    46
    edit-2
    29 days ago

    I remember watching that one popular MRE channel on YouTube and he reviewed some Chinese MRE. All the comments were talking about how “depressing” and “morale depleting” the food is because it was just nutrition brick lol. I imagine a giant military in a giant country like that will have different nutritional needs for different units.

    • CthulhusIntern [he/him]
      hexbear
      46
      29 days ago

      Our practical meals on the field in a pinch. Their morale depleting and depressing food blocks.

      • ShimmeringKoi [comrade/them]
        hexbear
        44
        29 days ago

        Me when communist food block (tough, depressing) dean-frown

        Me when colonial hardtack (rugged, traditional)dean-smile

    • ta00000 [none/use name]
      hexbear
      21
      29 days ago

      How many wars is China actually engaged in right now though? They probably more have them around in case and the quality reflects that, while American MREs are made with the expectation they will be used.

      I'm just throwing out an idea really, I'm not a military guy.

      • LaughingLion [any, any]
        hexbear
        19
        29 days ago

        maybe. some of it is the "what its used for". emergency rations for pilots used to be 5 packets of lifesaver candy because its sugar - easy calories and that was it.

        a nutrition brick is basically just a souped up energy bar if this was the ration doled out for a recon mission only expected to 4-6 hours you might get this. china has other rations for other situations

        • ReadFanon [any, any]
          hexbear
          4
          edit-2
          28 days ago

          5 packets of lifesaver candy sounds a lot more suitable than the Nazi German emergency rations ngl

          Show

    • Gucci_Minh [he/him]
      hexbear
      21
      29 days ago

      I kind of remember the one you're talking about, and I'm pretty sure that one was supposed to either be a survival ration or a long range patrol ration(everything optimized to save weight so you can carry it for a long time). The US has those too but neither military uses them as the standard ration, which has much less depressing ingredients that actually resemble food.

  • @TraumaDumpling
    hexbear
    38
    29 days ago

    China will be the first country to have those self-cooking ramen bowls from Cowboy Bebop where you pull a string on a metal base at the bottom of the cup and it cooks in a few seconds.

    • groundling20XX [none/use name]
      hexbear
      35
      29 days ago

      You can already buy those for a few hundred yen. They just are really niche since normally microwaves are available or hot water is.

      • @TraumaDumpling
        hexbear
        14
        29 days ago

        i didn't know that, still super cool that they exist even for limited purposes

    • Tankiedesantski [he/him]
      hexbear
      12
      29 days ago

      Haidilao already sells self-healing hotpot bowls, just add water. Pretty close imo:

      https://youtu.be/fAwP19hMiqk

  • Tunnelvision [they/them]
    hexbear
    33
    29 days ago

    Because they keep selling it as survival food as if any of the hogs who buy it would actually make it through the apocalypse.

    • 7bicycles [he/him]
      hexagon
      hexbear
      41
      29 days ago

      Ramen absolutely has it's place in the world and I do consider it one of the miracles of modernity but man, I want like some actual vegetables in my convenience foods occasionally instead of freeze dried flavor cubes

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
        hexbear
        26
        29 days ago

        I just throw in fresh green onion and sugar snap peas into the bowl before I pour the ramen in on top. Gives that veggie crumch that I crave.

        • 7bicycles [he/him]
          hexagon
          hexbear
          25
          29 days ago

          See my thing is if I had the facilities to store and prepare green onions and peas I could probably whip up like an actual meal, I like ramen for it's convenience of "throw it in my work locker and forget about it for 6 months until I forget or didn't manage to pack a lunch"

          Same deal with the hot pots, plus the self heating thing would be good as fuck for outdoorsy activities so I don't have to carry an extra thermos can of hot water

          • SkingradGuard [he/him, comrade/them]
            hexbear
            12
            29 days ago

            If you can't grow them I recommend buying then on special, chopping them up into however you like them best then freezing them. Then I have them all year round!

      • iridaniotter [she/her, they/them]
        hexbear
        24
        29 days ago

        Bruh even the Chinese instant noodles are more advanced. The other day I got one with a dehydrated veggie pack, peanuts, and dehydrated tofu skin. It's the only vegetarian instant noodles I've had that wasn't just a pitiful vegetable pack.

  • blakeus12 [he/him]
    hexbear
    26
    29 days ago

    where does one get these chinese mre's? I want to do big bike rides this summer and that sounds fucking awesome.

  • Nakoichi [he/him]M
    hexbear
    20
    29 days ago

    I went to the army surplus store and my friend paid like $30 for two lol

  • iridaniotter [she/her, they/them]
    hexbear
    17
    29 days ago

    I've heard of self-heating ekiben but I don't think they're sold in supermarkets like the hot pots are. My local Chinese grocery has the hot pots but they're like $12 😩 however they got a new brand that's $7 so I'm gonna try it sometime