Tanabata Chirashi Sushi (Star Festival Rice)
七夕ちらし · Tanabata Chirashi
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Tanabata, the Star Festival on July 7, celebrates the legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi, two stars who are allowed to meet across the Milky Way just once a year. In Japan, children write wishes on strips of paper and hang them on bamboo branches, and preschool lunch that day often gets a festive touch too. This chirashi sushi ("scattered" sushi) keeps things simple for little ones: lightly seasoned sushi rice topped with star-shaped carrots, golden corn and juicy red tomato, so the bowl looks like a night sky full of stars. Kids love spotting the stars, and the mild sweet-sour rice goes down easily even with children who are new to vinegar.
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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.
- 22.5 gtomato
- 15 gcarrot
- 10.5 gwhole kernel corn (canned or frozen)
Seasonings
- 7.5 gvinegar
- 4.5 gsugar
- 0.3 gsalt
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.
Directions
- 1
Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt into the freshly cooked rice to make sushi rice.
- 2
Blanch the tomato in hot water to peel it, then cut it into 1 cm dice. Cut tomato releases liquid, so keep it in a sieve until you are ready to plate.
- 3
Cut the carrot into star shapes with a small cutter. Boil the carrot stars and the corn separately (canned corn needs no cooking), then rinse under cold running water to cool.
- 4
Spoon the sushi rice into bowls and arrange the tomato, carrot stars and corn on top in a colorful pattern.
When blanching the tomato to peel it, don't leave it in the hot water too long or it will soak up water and turn soggy. Lift it out as soon as the skin starts to split and curl back.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 294 kcal | 588 kcal | 294 kcal |
| Protein | 5.3 g | 10.5 g | 5.3 g |
| Fat | 0.8 g | 1.5 g | 0.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 67.1 g | 134.1 g | 67.1 g |
| Fiber | 1.5 g | 3 g | 1.5 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 10.5 mg | 21 mg | 10.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.6 mg | 1.2 mg | 0.6 mg |
| Potassium | 174 mg | 348 mg | 174 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 294 kcal | 5.3 g | 0.8 g | 67.1 g | 1.5 g | 0.3 g | 10.5 mg | 0.6 mg | 174 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 588 kcal | 10.5 g | 1.5 g | 134.1 g | 3 g | 0.6 g | 21 mg | 1.2 mg | 348 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.
