Soybean Kakiage (Japanese Fritters)
大豆のかき揚げ（卵なし） · Daizu no Kakiage
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Kakiage is a Japanese fritter in which small pieces of vegetables or other ingredients are bound together with a light batter and deep-fried, and it is a familiar dish in school lunch. This version uses boiled soybeans, gobo, carrot and ground chicken in an egg-free batter lifted with a little baking powder, so it stays light and crisp without any egg. Chopping or lightly crushing the soybeans helps everything hold together, and the savory chicken and soy sauce make even earthy gobo an easy sell for young children.
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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
- 9 ggobo (burdock root)A long, slender, earthy-tasting root vegetable with a pleasant crunch, usually scraped rather than peeled. Substitute: Parsnip or carrot.
- 13.5 gcarrot
- 21 gboiled soybeans (canned or vacuum-packed)Plain cooked whole soybeans sold in cans or pouches, ready to use. Substitute: Canned chickpeas or white beans.
- 33 gground chicken
Seasonings
- 0.2 gsalt
- 1.4 gsoy sauce
- 1.4 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.
- 6 mlwater
- 3.3 gflour
- 0.3 gbaking powder
- 9 gvegetable oil
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- gobo (burdock root) (ごぼう)
- A long, slender, earthy-tasting root vegetable with a pleasant crunch, usually scraped rather than peeled. Substitute: Parsnip or carrot.
- 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.
- 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.
Directions
- 1
Cut the gobo and carrot into short, thin matchsticks.
- 2
Roughly chop (or crush) the soybeans, then combine with the ground chicken, salt, soy sauce, sake and the vegetables from step 1. Mix the water, flour and baking powder to make a batter, add it to the mixture and fold together lightly without overmixing.
- 3
Heat the oil to 170°C (340°F), scoop the batter in with a spoon and deep-fry. (Tip: pour a little oil into a small container and rest the spoon in it before scooping - the batter will slide off the spoon much more easily.)
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 195 kcal | 390 kcal | 195 kcal |
| Protein | 9.8 g | 19.5 g | 9.8 g |
| Fat | 15 g | 30 g | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 7.2 g | 14.4 g | 7.2 g |
| Fiber | 2.8 g | 5.7 g | 2.8 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 36 mg | 72 mg | 36 mg |
| Iron | 0.8 mg | 1.5 mg | 0.8 mg |
| Potassium | 283.5 mg | 567 mg | 283.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 195 kcal | 9.8 g | 15 g | 7.2 g | 2.8 g | 0.3 g | 36 mg | 0.8 mg | 283.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 390 kcal | 19.5 g | 30 g | 14.4 g | 5.7 g | 0.6 g | 72 mg | 1.5 mg | 567 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.
Ingredients in this recipe
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