Koinobori (Carp Streamer) Hamburg Steak (Wheat-Free)
鯉のぼりハンバーグ（小麦なし） · Koinobori Hanbāgu
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Koinobori are the carp-shaped streamers that fly over Japanese homes and schools around Children's Day on May 5, wishing children strength and good health, and this is how we celebrate on the lunch plate. The patties are shaped like little carp, with a notched tail, a green pea for an eye and ketchup scales that children love to spot before they dig in. The patties are made with no egg, no milk and no breadcrumbs: soy milk and potato starch keep them tender and hold them together, so the recipe is egg-free, dairy-free and wheat-free. Baking them all at once in the oven is how we manage it in a preschool kitchen, and it keeps things easy at home too.
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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
- 4.5 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.
- 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
- 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/
- 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 chop the onion. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until it is soft and lightly browned, then let it cool.
- 2
In a bowl, combine the onion from step 1 with the ground pork, potato starch, soy milk, salt, and pepper, and knead well until the mixture becomes sticky.
- 3
Divide the mixture into equal portions and toss each one lightly from hand to hand to knock out the air.
- 4
Shape each portion from step 3 into a koinobori (carp streamer): roll it into a cylinder, then flatten it 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 patty for 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, when cutting the tail, cut it a little longer than you think you need (cut in to about 1/3 of the patty's length).
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 184.5 kcal | 369 kcal | 184.5 kcal |
| Protein | 12.6 g | 25.2 g | 12.6 g |
| Fat | 13.4 g | 26.7 g | 13.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 6.9 g | 13.8 g | 6.9 g |
| Fiber | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 12 mg | 24 mg | 12 mg |
| Iron | 0.9 mg | 1.8 mg | 0.9 mg |
| Potassium | 259.5 mg | 519 mg | 259.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 184.5 kcal | 12.6 g | 13.4 g | 6.9 g | 0.5 g | 0.3 g | 12 mg | 0.9 mg | 259.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 369 kcal | 25.2 g | 26.7 g | 13.8 g | 0.9 g | 0.6 g | 24 mg | 1.8 mg | 519 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.
