Simmered Soybean Hamburg Steak
煮込み大豆ハンバーグ · Nikomi Daizu Hambagu
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Hamburg steak is a favorite on almost every Japanese school lunch menu, and this version stretches the ground pork with chopped boiled soybeans for extra protein and fiber. Soy milk and potato starch bind the mixture instead of egg and milk, so the patties stay tender without a dairy or egg binder. Baking the patties in the oven and then simmering them briefly in a ketchup and chuno sauce gravy keeps them moist and easy for little mouths to chew, and the sweet, tangy sauce is one kids happily mop up with rice.
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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
- 37.5 gboiled soybeans (canned or vacuum-packed)Plain cooked whole soybeans sold in cans or pouches, ready to use. Substitute: Canned chickpeas or white beans.
- 37.5 gground pork
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.
- 8.3 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
- 3 gchuno sauce (Japanese medium-thick brown sauce)A sweet, tangy, fruit-and-vegetable-based brown sauce that sits between thin Worcestershire and thick tonkatsu sauce. Substitute: Tonkatsu sauce, or Worcestershire sauce mixed with a little ketchup.
- 30 gwater
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- boiled soybeans (canned or vacuum-packed) (大豆水煮)
- Plain cooked whole soybeans sold in cans or pouches, ready to use. Substitute: Canned chickpeas or white beans.
- 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.
- chuno sauce (Japanese medium-thick brown sauce) (中濃ソース)
- A sweet, tangy, fruit-and-vegetable-based brown sauce that sits between thin Worcestershire and thick tonkatsu sauce. Substitute: Tonkatsu sauce, or Worcestershire sauce mixed with a little ketchup.
Directions
- 1
Finely chop the onion. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until soft. Roughly chop the soybeans (or mash them).
- 2
Combine the onion from step 1 with the ground pork, potato starch, soy milk, salt and pepper, and knead well.
- 3
Shape the mixture from step 2 into hamburg steak patties and arrange them on a baking sheet. Bake in a 200°C (390°F) oven for about 20 minutes.
- 4
In a small pot, bring the ketchup, chuno sauce and water to a boil, add the patties from step 3 and simmer briefly.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 187.5 kcal | 375 kcal | 187.5 kcal |
| Protein | 12.8 g | 25.5 g | 12.8 g |
| Fat | 12 g | 24 g | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 11 g | 21.9 g | 11 g |
| Fiber | 3.6 g | 7.2 g | 3.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 42 mg | 84 mg | 42 mg |
| Iron | 1.5 mg | 3 mg | 1.5 mg |
| Potassium | 376.5 mg | 753 mg | 376.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 187.5 kcal | 12.8 g | 12 g | 11 g | 3.6 g | 0.5 g | 42 mg | 1.5 mg | 376.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 375 kcal | 25.5 g | 24 g | 21.9 g | 7.2 g | 0.9 g | 84 mg | 3 mg | 753 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.
