Sweet and Sour Yellowtail (Su-Buri)
酢ブリ · Suburi
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Su-buri is a school-lunch classic: cubes of yellowtail are marinated in soy sauce, sake and ginger, dusted with potato starch and baked until crisp, then tossed with softened vegetables in a gentle sweet-and-sour sauce. Yellowtail (buri) is a rich, meaty fish that Japan enjoys most in winter, and the tangy ketchup-and-vinegar glaze keeps it from tasting heavy or fishy, so even children who are wary of fish tend to clean their plates. Baking instead of deep-frying keeps things light and much easier at home, and cooking the vegetables in water before adding oil gets them soft enough for little mouths without drying them out.
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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
- 67.5 gyellowtail (buri), skinless and bonelessA rich, firm Japanese fish (Japanese amberjack), here sold as boneless, skinless fillets. Substitute: Salmon or mackerel fillets.
- 15 gcarrot
- 10.5 ggreen bell pepper
- 19.5 gonion
Seasonings
- 0.5 gsoy sauce
- 0.9 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.
- 0.3 gginger paste (tube)Grated ginger sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh ginger 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 ginger in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- 6.8 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.
- 4.5 gvegetable oil
- 90 gwater
- 0.2 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.
- 0.8 gsugar
- 0.8 gsoy sauce
- 0.1 gsalt
- 2.1 gvinegar
- 4.5 gketchup
- 7.5 gwater
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- yellowtail (buri), skinless and boneless (ぶり，骨皮抜)
- A rich, firm Japanese fish (Japanese amberjack), here sold as boneless, skinless fillets. Substitute: Salmon or mackerel fillets.
- 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.
- ginger paste (tube) (しょうがチューブ)
- Grated ginger sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh ginger 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 ginger in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- 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/
- 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
Video is in Japanese and may show a different version of this dish (other ingredients or steps). Follow the ingredients and steps on this page, especially when cooking for allergies.
- 1
Cut the yellowtail into 2.5 cm cubes. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, sake and ginger paste, then add the yellowtail and mix to coat.
- 2
Coat the yellowtail pieces in potato starch and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (For a crisp finish, don't just stir the starch into the bowl - coat each piece thoroughly, one at a time.)
- 3
Bake the coated yellowtail in a toaster oven for about 15 minutes (if using a regular oven, preheat to 180°C (350°F) and bake for about 15 minutes).
- 4
Cut the carrot and green bell pepper into thin strips 4 cm long. Cut the onion into thin slices, then cut the slices in half so they are half the length.
- 5
Put the water and the sliced vegetables in a frying pan and simmer over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until the water has completely evaporated. Add the vegetable oil and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. (If there is still water left in the pan, turn the heat to high and cook it off completely before adding the oil.)
- 6
Add the baked yellowtail and mix so the oil coats the fish and vegetables. Add the consommé, sugar, soy sauce, salt, vinegar, ketchup and water, and heat over low heat, tossing until everything is evenly coated in the sauce.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 237 kcal | 474 kcal | 237 kcal |
| Protein | 15 g | 30 g | 15 g |
| Fat | 16.4 g | 32.7 g | 16.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 8.1 g | 16.2 g | 8.1 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 13.5 mg | 27 mg | 13.5 mg |
| Iron | 1 mg | 2.1 mg | 1 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 237 kcal | 15 g | 16.4 g | 8.1 g | 0.5 g | 13.5 mg | 1 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 474 kcal | 30 g | 32.7 g | 16.2 g | 0.9 g | 27 mg | 2.1 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.
