Meatballs in Ketchup Sauce
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By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Meatballs are a preschool lunch favorite, and this is the version we serve in our kitchen: tender ground pork balls simmered in a gently sweet ketchup sauce. Instead of egg and milk, the meat is bound with potato starch and soy milk, so the dish is made without egg or milk. Sautéing the onion first brings out its sweetness and keeps the meatballs soft, and the ketchup-and-soy-sauce glaze is the kind of familiar, mild flavor that gets even picky eaters to clean their plates.
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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
- 67.5 gground pork
- 22.5 gonion
Seasonings
- 2.3 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
- 30 gwater
- 4.1 gketchup
- 0.5 gsugar
- 0.5 gsoy sauce
- 0.3 gconsommé bouillon (allergen-free)Japanese-style consommé stock granules or cubes, used as a Western-style soup base. This kind is made without egg and milk, but most recipes on this site that use it list wheat in their allergens, so check the label if you avoid wheat. Substitute: A chicken or vegetable bouillon powder or cube made without egg, milk or wheat (check the label).
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.
- consommé bouillon (allergen-free) (コンソメ（アレルゲン不使用）)
- Japanese-style consommé stock granules or cubes, used as a Western-style soup base. This kind is made without egg and milk, but most recipes on this site that use it list wheat in their allergens, so check the label if you avoid wheat. Substitute: A chicken or vegetable bouillon powder or cube made without egg, milk or wheat (check the label).
Directions
- 1
Finely chop the onion and sauté it in the vegetable oil.
- 2
Combine the ground pork, sautéed onion, potato starch, soy milk, and salt, and knead well until the mixture becomes sticky. Roll into bite-size balls.
- 3
Heat oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs on both sides.
- 4
Add the water, ketchup, sugar, soy sauce, and consommé, and simmer over low heat, turning the meatballs over now and then, until they are coated in the sauce.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 193.5 kcal | 387 kcal | 193.5 kcal |
| Protein | 12.6 g | 25.2 g | 12.6 g |
| Fat | 14.1 g | 28.2 g | 14.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 7.5 g | 15 g | 7.5 g |
| Fiber | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 12 mg | 24 mg | 12 mg |
| Iron | 0.9 mg | 1.8 mg | 0.9 mg |
| Potassium | 262.5 mg | 525 mg | 262.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 193.5 kcal | 12.6 g | 14.1 g | 7.5 g | 0.5 g | 0.5 g | 12 mg | 0.9 mg | 262.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 387 kcal | 25.2 g | 28.2 g | 15 g | 0.9 g | 0.9 g | 24 mg | 1.8 mg | 525 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.
