- 3 min read

High End Emergency Meals

Trying out Forica Foods' curry rice set

Having experienced more than its fair share of natural disasters, Japan continues to learn and innovate on disaster preparedness. It is now one of the most disaster-ready countries in the world. In almost every shop you visit, you will most likely find a section for emergency supplies and stockpiles.

I've always been curious about the nicely packaged emergency meals. Do they taste as good as they look? One year, my daughter in elementary school brought home one such package -- not as nice as the ones I see in the store though. Her school was replacing their stock of emergency meals which were nearing their expiration date and so they gave these away to be consumed. It was a mabo tofu meal. First, I tried it at room temperature as you would during a disaster and may not have access to hot water or a stove. It tasted awful. Next I tried heating it up hoping it might taste better. No such luck. We sadly had to discard the food. I suppose that during an emergency and if one is really really hungry, one wouldn't pay attention to the taste.

But I later learned that the quality of emergency meals varies depending on how much you are willing to pay. A public elementary school understandably has a limited budget for emergency supplies. But some people do not mind spending a lot more to make sure they have a good meal should disaster strike.

I came across Forica Foods' Curry Rice Single Meal Set. It was elaborately packaged with detailed instructions on how to prepare it during an emergency. Because of my mabo tofu experience, I had very low expectations. But I gamely followed the instructions. The set came with a big plastic bag to put the rice and the beef curry pack in. It also came with a heating agent and special water to activate the heating agent.

The box contains everything you need for a piping hot curry rice meal.
The box contains everything you need for a piping hot curry rice meal.

Within seconds of pouring the special water, burning hot steam started coming out of the holes in the plastic bag. I left it in the bag and in the box for 20 minutes as instructed.

Caution! Burning hot steam!
Caution! Burning hot steam!

After twenty minutes, I took everything out. I had to be careful as the bag and its contents were as hot as if they had been sitting in boiling water. The rice was fluffy soft and did not have the sour taste usually found in emergency rice. Although all the meat and vegetable pieces sunk to the bottom of the sauce (unlike the photo on the box which shows them floating to the top), it tasted as good as a premium packet of retort curry.

Ready to eat and looking almost like the photo on the box.
Ready to eat and looking almost like the photo on the box.

The box came with a spoon and a wet towel. Forica Foods has elevated rescue meals to a whole new level. The price: A single meal set retails at least ¥1,000+. If you interview survivors of disasters, one of the things they find most comforting is a hot meal. In this respect, Forica Foods got it right.

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Elizabeth S 4 years ago
I stock my emergency bag with ¥100 shop items. This emergency food is a splurge, but you can’t put a price on comfort.
Kim 4 years ago
I'll have to stock up on some of these for our emergency kit!
Sherilyn Siy Author 4 years ago
These are definitely top of the line!

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