Soybean Curry Rice
大豆カレーライス
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Curry rice is one of the best-loved dishes on Japanese school lunch menus, and this preschool version adds boiled soybeans for extra protein and a soft, nutty bite that children enjoy. Instead of store-bought curry blocks, the roux is made from scratch with butter, flour and curry powder, so you control exactly how spicy it gets. A little skim milk stirred in at the end mellows the flavor and gives the curry a gentle, creamy finish that even the youngest eaters take to.
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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 gpork leg (lean pork)
- 19.5 gboiled soybeansWhole cooked yellow soybeans, sold canned or in pouches in Japan. Substitute: Canned chickpeas or other canned beans, drained.
- 22.5 gcarrot
- 37.5 gonion
- 52.5 gpotato
- 15 gflour
Seasonings
- 1.5 gvegetable oil
- 13.5 gunsalted butter
- 0.5 gcurry powder
- 195 gwater
- 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.
- 3 gketchup
- 4.5 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.
- 0.8 gsalt
- 3 gskim milk powderMilk with the fat and water removed. Substitute: No skim milk powder? Leave it out and use milk in place of the water it is dissolved in, in the same amount (for example, 30 g skim milk powder + 130 g water becomes 130 g milk). Milk still contains milk, so this swap is not for a milk allergy.
- 22.5 gwater
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.
- boiled soybeans (だいず（ゆで）)
- Whole cooked yellow soybeans, sold canned or in pouches in Japan. Substitute: Canned chickpeas or other canned beans, drained.
- 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.
- 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.
- skim milk powder (スキムミルク)
- Milk with the fat and water removed. Substitute: No skim milk powder? Leave it out and use milk in place of the water it is dissolved in, in the same amount (for example, 30 g skim milk powder + 130 g water becomes 130 g milk). Milk still contains milk, so this swap is not for a milk allergy.
Directions
- 1
Cook the rice.
- 2
Cut the pork into 2 cm-wide pieces. Cut the carrot and potato into thick quarter-rounds, and cut the onion into thin slices about half the usual length.
- 3
Melt the butter in a heated frying pan, add the flour and stir-fry until it becomes loose and powdery, then add the curry powder to make the curry roux.
- 4
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot and sauté the carrot, onion, pork, potato and soybeans, in that order. Add the water and simmer thoroughly, skimming off any scum as it rises.
- 5
When the ingredients from step 4 are tender, add the consommé, ketchup, chuno sauce and salt, and continue simmering.
- 6
Turn off the heat, then add the skim milk powder dissolved in lukewarm water and the curry roux from step 3. Stir well until the curry thickens.
- 7
Serve the rice in bowls and pour the curry from step 6 over the top.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 586.5 kcal | 1173 kcal | 586.5 kcal |
| Protein | 16.5 g | 33 g | 16.5 g |
| Fat | 19.5 g | 39 g | 19.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 94.7 g | 189.3 g | 94.7 g |
| Salt equivalent | 1.5 g | 3 g | 1.5 g |
| Calcium | 78 mg | 156 mg | 78 mg |
| Iron | 1.8 mg | 3.6 mg | 1.8 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 586.5 kcal | 16.5 g | 19.5 g | 94.7 g | 1.5 g | 78 mg | 1.8 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 1173 kcal | 33 g | 39 g | 189.3 g | 3 g | 156 mg | 3.6 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.
