Oni (Demon) Keema Curry
鬼キーマカレー
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Around Setsubun in early February, Japanese preschools celebrate by chasing away oni, the horned demons of folklore, with a shower of roasted soybeans and shouts of "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!" (demons out, good luck in). In the kitchen we join in with this playful plate: a flat oval of rice becomes the oni's face, gently spiced pork keema curry is its shaggy hair, and two little boiled carrot pieces stick up as horns, with ketchup eyebrows and a mouth and raisin eyes. The curry itself is mild and sweet, thickened with a little flour and rounded out with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, so it suits even the youngest children. Kids love spotting the funny face and then happily gobble up the demon, vegetables and all.
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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
- 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.
- 30 gcarrot
- 30 gonion
- 9 ggreen bell pepper
- 52.5 gground pork
- 37.5 gwater
- 4.5 graisins
Seasonings
- 6 gunsalted butter
- 3.5 gflour
- 0.3 ggarlic paste (tube)Grated garlic sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh garlic for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated garlic in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- 0.2 gcurry powder
- 8.3 gketchup
- 0.3 gconsommé bouillon (granules or cube)Japanese-style Western soup stock powder or cubes, similar to chicken or vegetable bouillon. Substitute: Chicken or vegetable bouillon granules or a bouillon cube.
- 0.2 gsalt
- 2.6 gWorcestershire sauce
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.
- garlic paste (tube) (にんにくチューブ)
- Grated garlic sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh garlic for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated garlic in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- consommé bouillon (granules or cube) (コンソメ)
- Japanese-style Western soup stock powder or cubes, similar to chicken or vegetable bouillon. Substitute: Chicken or vegetable bouillon granules or a bouillon cube.
- Worcestershire sauce (ウスターソース)
- Read the guide: Bull-Dog Worcestershire Sauce: Japan's Everyday Brown Sauce → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/bull-dog-worcestershire-sauce/
Directions
- 1
From the carrot, cut 2 small quarter-round slices (ichō-giri) per plate and boil them in hot water for 3 minutes; these will be the oni's horns. Boil the raisins in hot water for about 1 minute and drain.
- 2
Finely mince the remaining carrot, the onion and the green bell pepper. Heat the butter in a frying pan and sauté the vegetables over medium heat for about 6 minutes.
- 3
Add the ground pork, reduce to low heat and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat everything.
- 4
Add the garlic paste, curry powder, ketchup, consommé, salt, Worcestershire sauce and water. Return the pan to low heat and simmer, stirring, for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- 5
Cook the rice and shape it into a flat oval to make the oni's face. Spoon the meat curry over the upper part to make the oni's hair.
- 6
Push a quarter-round carrot slice into the hair on each side for the horns, then draw eyebrows and a mouth with ketchup. Add raisins for the eyes.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 472.5 kcal | 945 kcal | 472.5 kcal |
| Protein | 15.2 g | 30.3 g | 15.2 g |
| Fat | 14.7 g | 29.4 g | 14.7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 73.7 g | 147.3 g | 73.7 g |
| Fiber | 2.6 g | 5.1 g | 2.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.8 g | 1.5 g | 0.8 g |
| Calcium | 31.5 mg | 63 mg | 31.5 mg |
| Iron | 1.5 mg | 3 mg | 1.5 mg |
| Potassium | 453 mg | 906 mg | 453 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 472.5 kcal | 15.2 g | 14.7 g | 73.7 g | 2.6 g | 0.8 g | 31.5 mg | 1.5 mg | 453 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 945 kcal | 30.3 g | 29.4 g | 147.3 g | 5.1 g | 1.5 g | 63 mg | 3 mg | 906 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.
