Shrimp Cream Rice (Elementary School Portion)
【小学校】えびクリームライス
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese elementary school lunch menu
Shrimp Cream Rice is a Western-style Japanese lunch: rice cooked with finely minced carrot, a little sake, salt and butter, then topped with a creamy sauce of shrimp, chicken and shimeji mushrooms. The sauce is thickened with flour and finished with milk and consommé, so it stays mild and gentle enough for children while the carrot rice underneath adds a touch of sweetness and color. This is the elementary school version, and it is the kind of comforting cream dish that shows up regularly on Japanese school lunch menus, where even the shy eaters tend 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 elementary school, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 111 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.
- 22.2 gcarrot
- 44.4 gonion
- 14.4 gshimeji mushroomsSmall brown-capped mushrooms sold in clusters, with a mild, slightly nutty flavor and a pleasant chew. Substitute: Oyster mushrooms or sliced button mushrooms.
- 22.2 gboneless skin-on chicken thigh
- 36.6 gsmall shrimp (shiba shrimp)A small, sweet variety of shrimp commonly used in Japan. Substitute: Any small peeled shrimp.
Seasonings
- 5.1 gsakeSake (Japanese rice wine) is used in small amounts to soften the smell of fish and meat and add depth. Japanese "cooking sake" often contains added salt. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: The same amount of water (the taste will be a little simpler), or dry white wine.
- 1.2 gsalt
- 5.9 gsalted butter
- 4.4 gvegetable oil
- 8.9 gflour
- 66.6 gwater
- 58.8 gmilk
- 0.5 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.
- to tastepepper
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.
- sake (酒)
- Sake (Japanese rice wine) is used in small amounts to soften the smell of fish and meat and add depth. Japanese "cooking sake" often contains added salt. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: The same amount of water (the taste will be a little simpler), or dry white wine.
- shimeji mushrooms (ぶなしめじ)
- Small brown-capped mushrooms sold in clusters, with a mild, slightly nutty flavor and a pleasant chew. Substitute: Oyster mushrooms or sliced button mushrooms.
- small shrimp (shiba shrimp) (しばえび)
- A small, sweet variety of shrimp commonly used in Japan. Substitute: Any small peeled shrimp.
- 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.
Directions
- 1
Rinse the rice and soak it in water (the usual amount for cooking) for at least 30 minutes (this soaking keeps the rice from staying hard in the center once the seasonings are added later). Stir in the finely minced carrot, the sake and the salt, set the butter on top and cook in the rice cooker (the finer you mince the carrot, the better it blends into the rice).
- 2
Cut the onion into thin slices and halve them in length, cut the shimeji into 2 cm pieces, and cut the chicken into 1 cm cubes. Rinse the shrimp under running water to remove the ice glaze from the surface.
- 3
Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan, add the onion and sauté over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add just enough water to cover the onion (not included in the ingredient amounts) and simmer over low heat until soft (simmer until the onion is as soft as you like; about 7 to 10 minutes is recommended).
- 4
Turn the heat under the pan from step 3 up to medium-high and keep stirring to cook off the liquid. Once almost all the liquid has evaporated, add the chicken, shrimp, shimeji and sake and sauté until the chicken and shrimp are cooked through.
- 5
Turn off the heat, add the flour and stir until it is fully blended in. Once no dry flour remains, return the pan to low heat and add the water.
- 6
When the sauce starts to thicken, add the milk, consommé, salt and pepper and simmer briefly over low heat, stirring.
- 7
Once the carrot rice is done, fluff it gently to mix. Spoon the shrimp cream sauce over the carrot rice.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 628.5 kcal | 1257 kcal | 628.5 kcal |
| Protein | 20.9 g | 41.7 g | 20.9 g |
| Fat | 15.8 g | 31.5 g | 15.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 102.9 g | 205.8 g | 102.9 g |
| Fiber | 2.6 g | 5.1 g | 2.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 2.1 g | 4.2 g | 2.1 g |
| Calcium | 106.5 mg | 213 mg | 106.5 mg |
| Iron | 1.5 mg | 3 mg | 1.5 mg |
| Potassium | 547.5 mg | 1095 mg | 547.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 628.5 kcal | 20.9 g | 15.8 g | 102.9 g | 2.6 g | 2.1 g | 106.5 mg | 1.5 mg | 547.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 1257 kcal | 41.7 g | 31.5 g | 205.8 g | 5.1 g | 4.2 g | 213 mg | 3 mg | 1095 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese elementary-school 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.
This is the elementary-school portion of Shrimp Cream Rice (larger quantities, same method).
