Bansansu (Glass Noodle Salad)
バンサンスー（卵乳なし） · Bansansu
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Bansansu is a Chinese-style salad of glass noodles tossed with thin strips of vegetables, and it is a fixture on Japanese school lunch menus. The name comes from the Chinese for "three shredded things mixed together," which is exactly what it is: slippery harusame noodles, carrot and cucumber in a light sesame-and-vinegar dressing. Children love the slurpy noodles, and briefly heating the dressing takes the sharp edge off the vinegar so even little ones who shy away from sour flavors will happily eat it. Everything is cut short so it is easy to pick up with a small spoon or chopsticks.
Wheat-free, but uses soy sauce (made with wheat). Japanese school-lunch allergy menus usually allow it, so check with your doctor. How to read the labels
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 6 gharusame (glass noodles)Thin, translucent noodles made from potato or mung bean starch that soften quickly in hot water. Substitute: Mung bean glass noodles or thin rice vermicelli.
- 7.5 gcarrot
- 15 gcucumber
Seasonings
- 1.4 gsugar
- 1.2 gsesame oil
- 2.3 gvinegar
- 1.2 gsoy sauce
- 0.3 gsalt
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- harusame (glass noodles) (春雨)
- Thin, translucent noodles made from potato or mung bean starch that soften quickly in hot water. Substitute: Mung bean glass noodles or thin rice vermicelli.
Directions
- 1
Boil the harusame and cut it into 3 cm lengths. Rinse under running water to cool.
- 2
Cut the carrot and cucumber into short, thin matchsticks and boil each separately. Rinse under running water to cool.
- 3
Combine the dressing ingredients and heat them to cook off the sharpness of the vinegar.
- 4
Squeeze the noodles and vegetables to remove excess water, then toss them with the dressing.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 43.5 kcal | 87 kcal | 43.5 kcal |
| Protein | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Fat | 1.2 g | 2.4 g | 1.2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 8 g | 15.9 g | 8 g |
| Fiber | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 7.5 mg | 15 mg | 7.5 mg |
| Iron | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Potassium | 58.5 mg | 117 mg | 58.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 43.5 kcal | 0.3 g | 1.2 g | 8 g | 0.6 g | 0.5 g | 7.5 mg | 0 mg | 58.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 87 kcal | 0.6 g | 2.4 g | 15.9 g | 1.2 g | 0.9 g | 15 mg | 0 mg | 117 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
