Tangy Simmered Chicken (Wheat-Free)
鶏肉のさっぱり煮（小麦なし） · Tori no Sappari-ni
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Sappari-ni means "simmered light and refreshing," and that is exactly how this chicken eats. The thigh pieces are dusted with rice flour and baked in the oven first, then finished in a gently sweet sauce of ginger, sake, vinegar, and soy sauce until it clings to every piece. The vinegar keeps the meat tender and takes the heaviness out of the dish, so even on hot days children keep coming back for more. Because the coating is joshinko rice flour rather than wheat flour, and the recipe uses no egg or dairy, it fits easily into a preschool lunch rotation.
Wheat-free, but uses soy sauce (made with wheat). Japanese school-lunch allergy menus usually allow it, so check with your doctor. How to read the labels
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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 gchicken thigh
Seasonings
- 3.6 gjoshinko (Japanese non-glutinous rice flour)Fine flour milled from regular short-grain rice, used for chewy Japanese sweets like dango. Substitute: Plain rice flour (not glutinous/sweet rice flour).
- 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.
- 1.5 gsugar
- 0.8 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.
- 0.9 gvinegar
- 2.3 gsoy sauce (wheat-free)Soy sauce brewed without wheat; regular Japanese soy sauce is made with roasted wheat. Substitute: Tamari, which is usually brewed without wheat; check the label.
- 34.5 mlwater
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- joshinko (Japanese non-glutinous rice flour) (上新粉)
- Fine flour milled from regular short-grain rice, used for chewy Japanese sweets like dango. Substitute: Plain rice flour (not glutinous/sweet rice flour).
- 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.
- 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.
- soy sauce (wheat-free) (しょうゆ（小麦不使用）)
- Soy sauce brewed without wheat; regular Japanese soy sauce is made with roasted wheat. Substitute: Tamari, which is usually brewed without wheat; check the label.
Directions
- 1
Coat the chicken in the joshinko, arrange the pieces on a baking sheet, and bake in an oven preheated to 200°C (400°F) for about 10 minutes.
- 2
In a pot, combine the ginger, sugar, sake, vinegar, soy sauce, and water and bring to a boil. Add the baked chicken from step 1 and simmer until the sauce clings to the chicken.
The vinegar makes the meat tender and gives the dish a light, refreshing taste.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 162 kcal | 324 kcal | 162 kcal |
| Protein | 12.8 g | 25.5 g | 12.8 g |
| Fat | 10.6 g | 21.3 g | 10.6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 4.5 g | 9 g | 4.5 g |
| Fiber | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 4.5 mg | 9 mg | 4.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.5 mg | 0.9 mg | 0.5 mg |
| Potassium | 229.5 mg | 459 mg | 229.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 162 kcal | 12.8 g | 10.6 g | 4.5 g | 0 g | 0.5 g | 4.5 mg | 0.5 mg | 229.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 324 kcal | 25.5 g | 21.3 g | 9 g | 0 g | 0.9 g | 9 mg | 0.9 mg | 459 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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