Tanzaku Salad (Strip-Cut Vegetable Salad)
短冊サラダ · Tanzaku Sarada
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Tanzaku are the narrow paper strips that children write their wishes on and hang from bamboo for Tanabata, the Star Festival on July 7, and the tanzaku cut is named after them: thin, flat rectangles of vegetable that look just like those little strips. This salad shows up on school lunch menus around Tanabata, but it is simple enough to make any day. The daikon, cucumber, and carrot are briefly boiled so they are soft and mild rather than crunchy and sharp, and the dressing is warmed so the vinegar loses its bite, which is why even little ones happily eat their vegetables this way. A scattering of toasted sesame seeds adds a nutty aroma that makes the whole bowl more inviting.
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
- 55.5 gdaikon radish
- 19.5 gcucumber
- 13.5 gcarrot
Seasonings
- 0.9 gsugar
- 3 gvinegar
- 2.4 gsoy sauce
- 2.3 gsesame oil
- 0.8 gwhite sesame seeds
Directions
- 1
Cut the daikon, cucumber, and carrot into tanzaku (thin, flat rectangular strips) and boil each vegetable separately. Rinse under running water to cool.
- 2
Combine all the seasonings and heat them to cook off the sharpness of the vinegar. Toast the white sesame seeds (this can be skipped).
- 3
Squeeze the vegetables from step 1 to remove excess water, then toss with the dressing from step 2.
Toasting the sesame seeds brings out a nutty aroma that makes the vegetables easier for children to eat. (To save time, it is fine to skip this step.)
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 46.5 kcal | 93 kcal | 46.5 kcal |
| Protein | 0.9 g | 1.8 g | 0.9 g |
| Fat | 2.7 g | 5.4 g | 2.7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 5.3 g | 10.5 g | 5.3 g |
| Fiber | 1.5 g | 3 g | 1.5 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 31.5 mg | 63 mg | 31.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.2 mg | 0.3 mg | 0.2 mg |
| Potassium | 219 mg | 438 mg | 219 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 46.5 kcal | 0.9 g | 2.7 g | 5.3 g | 1.5 g | 0.3 g | 31.5 mg | 0.2 mg | 219 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 93 kcal | 1.8 g | 5.4 g | 10.5 g | 3 g | 0.6 g | 63 mg | 0.3 mg | 438 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.
