Chinjao Rosu Rice Bowl (Elementary School Portion)
チンジャオロース丼 · Chinjao Rosu Don
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese elementary school lunch menu
Chinjao rosu is Japan's take on the Chinese stir-fry qingjiao rousi: thin strips of pork and green bell pepper tossed in a savory soy-based sauce. It is a staple of Chinese-style home cooking in Japan, and piled over rice it becomes a donburi that kids can eat with a spoon. In this school lunch version, matchsticks of potato and carrot stand in for the bamboo shoots you often find in the dish, and a touch of sugar and sesame oil rounds out the seasoning so that even children who are wary of green pepper give it a try. Cutting everything into short, fine strips means the pepper flavor blends in rather than standing out.
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
Added. Open the recipe helper (bottom right) → ☰ Menu → 🛒 Shopping list to see the ingredients for your family size.
Printing uses the number of adults and children set under Ingredients, so set those first.
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 elementary school, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 75 griceJapanese short-grain white rice (japonica), which cooks up soft and slightly sticky. The amount listed is for uncooked rice. Substitute: Sushi rice, or another short-grain or medium-grain rice such as Calrose.
- 45 gthinly sliced pork (komagire)Small, thin offcuts of pork sold in Japan for quick stir-fries and simmered dishes. Substitute: Thinly sliced pork shoulder or loin cut into bite-size pieces.
- 15 gpotato
- 15 gcarrot
- 15 ggreen bell pepper
Seasonings
- 0.5 gsalt
- 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.
- 1.8 gpotato starch (katakuriko)Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness.
- 1.5 gvegetable oil
- 0.9 gsugar
- 1.4 gsoy sauce
- 0.8 gsesame oil
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- rice (米)
- Japanese short-grain white rice (japonica), which cooks up soft and slightly sticky. The amount listed is for uncooked rice. Substitute: Sushi rice, or another short-grain or medium-grain rice such as Calrose.
- thinly sliced pork (komagire) (豚こま切れ肉)
- Small, thin offcuts of pork sold in Japan for quick stir-fries and simmered dishes. Substitute: Thinly sliced pork shoulder or loin cut into bite-size pieces.
- 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.
- potato starch (katakuriko) (かたくり粉)
- Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness. Read the guide: Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch) and What to Use Instead → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/katakuriko-potato-starch/
Directions
- 1
Cut the pork into thin strips and rub in the salt and sake. Then rub in the potato starch.
- 2
Cut the potato, carrot, and green bell pepper into short, fine matchsticks.
- 3
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the vegetables, and stir-fry well. Add the pork and stir-fry.
- 4
Drizzle in the sugar, soy sauce, salt, and sesame oil and give everything a quick stir-fry. Serve over freshly cooked rice.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 382.5 kcal | 765 kcal | 382.5 kcal |
| Protein | 14.7 g | 29.4 g | 14.7 g |
| Fat | 7.7 g | 15.3 g | 7.7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 65.6 g | 131.1 g | 65.6 g |
| Fiber | 2.6 g | 5.1 g | 2.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 12 mg | 24 mg | 12 mg |
| Iron | 0.9 mg | 1.8 mg | 0.9 mg |
| Potassium | 366 mg | 732 mg | 366 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 382.5 kcal | 14.7 g | 7.7 g | 65.6 g | 2.6 g | 0.6 g | 12 mg | 0.9 mg | 366 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 765 kcal | 29.4 g | 15.3 g | 131.1 g | 5.1 g | 1.2 g | 24 mg | 1.8 mg | 732 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese elementary-school 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.
