Chicken Nanbanzuke (Sweet-Vinegar Marinated Chicken)
鶏肉の南蛮漬け（小麦なし） · Toriniku no Nanbanzuke
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Nanbanzuke is a Japanese dish where fried fish or chicken is dressed in a sweet, tangy vinegar sauce. In this preschool version the chicken is coated in rice flour and baked in the oven instead of deep-fried, and the sauce is softened with dashi so the vinegar stays gentle enough for little ones. The boiled cucumber and peeled, diced tomato give it a bright, summery feel, and the sauce soaks into the crisp coating so kids clean their plates. The whole dish is made without egg or milk and with no wheat flour.
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
- 75 gchicken thigh
- 12 gcucumber
- 24 gtomato
Seasonings
- 0.3 gginger paste (tube)Grated ginger sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh ginger for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated ginger in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- 1.5 gsakeSake (Japanese rice wine) is used in small amounts to soften the smell of fish and meat and add depth. Japanese "cooking sake" often contains added salt. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: The same amount of water (the taste will be a little simpler), or dry white wine.
- 0.8 gsoy sauce
- 7.5 gjoshinko (Japanese non-glutinous rice flour)Fine flour milled from regular short-grain rice, used for chewy Japanese sweets like dango. Substitute: Plain rice flour (not glutinous/sweet rice flour).
- 1.5 gvegetable oil
- 2 gsugar
- 2 gsoy sauce
- 2.4 gvinegar
- 9.8 gdashi stockJapanese soup stock, usually made from kombu (dried kelp) and/or bonito flakes; the base of most Japanese soups and simmered dishes. Substitute: Instant dashi granules dissolved in water, or a mild unsalted chicken or vegetable stock.
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- ginger paste (tube) (しょうがチューブ)
- Grated ginger sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh ginger for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated ginger in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- sake (酒)
- Sake (Japanese rice wine) is used in small amounts to soften the smell of fish and meat and add depth. Japanese "cooking sake" often contains added salt. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: The same amount of water (the taste will be a little simpler), or dry white wine.
- joshinko (Japanese non-glutinous rice flour) (上新粉)
- Fine flour milled from regular short-grain rice, used for chewy Japanese sweets like dango. Substitute: Plain rice flour (not glutinous/sweet rice flour).
- dashi stock (だし汁)
- Japanese soup stock, usually made from kombu (dried kelp) and/or bonito flakes; the base of most Japanese soups and simmered dishes. Substitute: Instant dashi granules dissolved in water, or a mild unsalted chicken or vegetable stock.
Directions
- 1
Cut the chicken into 20 g pieces. Combine the ginger paste, sake, and soy sauce and marinate the chicken in it. Grease a baking sheet with the oil, coat the chicken in joshinko, and arrange the pieces on the sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C (400°F) for about 20 minutes.
- 2
Cut the cucumber into half-moons, boil it, then squeeze out the excess water. Blanch the tomato in hot water to peel it, then cut it into dice.
- 3
Combine the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and dashi stock in a small saucepan and heat. Turn off the heat and stir in the cucumber and tomato.
- 4
Plate the chicken and spoon the sauce from step 3 over the top.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 198 kcal | 396 kcal | 198 kcal |
| Protein | 13.4 g | 26.7 g | 13.4 g |
| Fat | 12.1 g | 24.3 g | 12.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9.5 g | 18.9 g | 9.5 g |
| Fiber | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 9 mg | 18 mg | 9 mg |
| Iron | 0.5 mg | 0.9 mg | 0.5 mg |
| Potassium | 315 mg | 630 mg | 315 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 198 kcal | 13.4 g | 12.1 g | 9.5 g | 0.5 g | 0.6 g | 9 mg | 0.5 mg | 315 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 396 kcal | 26.7 g | 24.3 g | 18.9 g | 0.9 g | 1.2 g | 18 mg | 0.9 mg | 630 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.
Ingredients in this recipe
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