Koinobori (Carp Streamer) Hamburg Steak (Milk-Free)
鯉のぼりハンバーグ（乳なし） · Koinobori Hanbāgu
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Koinobori are the carp-shaped streamers that fly over Japanese homes around Children's Day on May 5, a wish for kids to grow up strong like a carp swimming upstream. In preschool kitchens we bring the festival to the lunch tray with these little carp-shaped Hamburg steaks: a green pea for the eye, a notched tail, and scales drawn on with ketchup. The patties are baked in the oven rather than pan-fried, which keeps them tender and makes a whole batch easy to cook at once, and soy milk stands in for milk so the dish is made without milk.
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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
- 22.5 gonion
- 67.5 gground pork
- 0.8 gfrozen green peas
Seasonings
- 1.5 gvegetable oil
- 7.8 gpanko
- 7.5 gsweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu)Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
- 0.2 gsalt
- to tastepepper
- 3 gketchup
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- sweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu) (調製豆乳)
- Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
Directions
- 1
Finely mince the onion. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until it softens and takes on a little color, then set aside to cool.
- 2
In a bowl, combine the cooled onion from step 1 with the ground pork, panko, soy milk, salt and pepper. Knead well until the mixture becomes sticky.
- 3
Divide the mixture into equal portions, then toss each portion lightly from one hand to the other to knock out any air pockets.
- 4
Shape each portion from step 3 into a koinobori (carp streamer): roll it into a cylinder, then press it flat into an oval (you can also trim it into a rectangle with a knife). Cut a triangular notch into one end and remove the piece to form the tail.
- 5
Press a green pea into each one to make the eye, then bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) for about 20 minutes.
- 6
Once baked, draw scales on each carp with ketchup.
The patties shrink as they bake, so when shaping them in step 4, aim to make them long and thin. Likewise, cut a generous piece away when making the tail (cut about one-third of the way into the length of the patty).
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 196.5 kcal | 393 kcal | 196.5 kcal |
| Protein | 13.8 g | 27.6 g | 13.8 g |
| Fat | 13.7 g | 27.3 g | 13.7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 8.6 g | 17.1 g | 8.6 g |
| Fiber | 0.9 g | 1.8 g | 0.9 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 13.5 mg | 27 mg | 13.5 mg |
| Iron | 1 mg | 2.1 mg | 1 mg |
| Potassium | 270 mg | 540 mg | 270 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 196.5 kcal | 13.8 g | 13.7 g | 8.6 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g | 13.5 mg | 1 mg | 270 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 393 kcal | 27.6 g | 27.3 g | 17.1 g | 1.8 g | 0.9 g | 27 mg | 2.1 mg | 540 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.
