Green Bell Pepper and Tuna Salad
ピーマンのツナ和え · Piman no Tsuna-ae
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Green bell pepper is famously the vegetable Japanese children love to refuse, so in the preschool kitchen we pair it with things they already like: savory canned tuna, sweet cabbage and carrot, and a nutty sesame dressing. The vegetables are blanched and cut into short, thin strips so they are soft and easy to manage with small spoons and chopsticks. Warming the dressing takes the sharp edge off the vinegar, leaving just a gentle sweet-and-sour flavor that helps the pepper disappear quietly into the bowl.
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 preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 10.5 ggreen bell pepper
- 45 gcabbage
- 10.5 gcarrot
- 7.5 gcanned tuna (in oil)
Seasonings
- 2.3 gwhite sesame seeds
- 2.1 gsoy sauce
- 3 gvinegar
- 1 gsugar
Directions
Video is in Japanese and may show a different version of this dish (other ingredients or steps). Follow the ingredients and steps on this page, especially when cooking for allergies.
- 1
Cut the green bell pepper, cabbage, and carrot into short, thin strips. Boil each vegetable separately, then rinse under running water to cool.
- 2
Drain the oil from the canned tuna.
- 3
Combine all the seasonings and heat them to cook off the sharpness of the vinegar. Toast the white sesame seeds and grind them (pre-ground sesame seeds are fine).
- 4
Squeeze the vegetables from step 1 to remove excess water, then toss them with the tuna from step 2 and the dressing and sesame from step 3.
Toasting and grinding the sesame seeds brings out a nutty aroma that makes the vegetables easier for children to eat (you can skip this step to save time).
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 55.5 kcal | 111 kcal | 55.5 kcal |
| Protein | 2.7 g | 5.4 g | 2.7 g |
| Fat | 2.8 g | 5.7 g | 2.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 5.7 g | 11.4 g | 5.7 g |
| Fiber | 1.7 g | 3.3 g | 1.7 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 51 mg | 102 mg | 51 mg |
| Iron | 0.3 mg | 0.6 mg | 0.3 mg |
| Potassium | 171 mg | 342 mg | 171 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 55.5 kcal | 2.7 g | 2.8 g | 5.7 g | 1.7 g | 0.3 g | 51 mg | 0.3 mg | 171 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 111 kcal | 5.4 g | 5.7 g | 11.4 g | 3.3 g | 0.6 g | 102 mg | 0.6 mg | 342 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.
