Three-Color Ohitashi (Spinach, Bean Sprouts and Carrot)
三色おひたし · Sanshoku Ohitashi
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Ohitashi is one of the simplest Japanese side dishes: vegetables are blanched, cooled, squeezed, and lightly dressed. This three-color version pairs green spinach and white bean sprouts with orange carrot, so it brightens up a lunch tray even before anyone takes a bite. The seasoning is just soy sauce and katsuobushi, whose savory aroma softens the slightly bitter edge of spinach that some little ones are wary of. Everything is cut short so the strands are easy to pick up with a small spoon or fork, and cooling the vegetables under running water keeps their color fresh.
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
- 51 gspinach
- 16.5 gbean sprouts
- 10.5 gcarrot
Seasonings
- 1.8 gsoy sauce
- 0.9 gkatsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)Paper-thin shavings of dried, smoked skipjack tuna that add a savory, smoky depth as a topping or stock base. Substitute: A pinch of dashi powder, or omit.
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (かつお削り節)
- Paper-thin shavings of dried, smoked skipjack tuna that add a savory, smoky depth as a topping or stock base. Substitute: A pinch of dashi powder, or omit.
Directions
- 1
Cut the spinach and bean sprouts into 2 cm lengths, and cut the carrot into short, thin matchsticks.
- 2
Boil each vegetable separately, then rinse under cold running water to cool.
- 3
Squeeze the cooled vegetables from step 2 to remove excess water, then toss with the soy sauce and katsuobushi.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 19.5 kcal | 39 kcal | 19.5 kcal |
| Protein | 2.3 g | 4.5 g | 2.3 g |
| Fat | 0.2 g | 0.3 g | 0.2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3.3 g | 6.6 g | 3.3 g |
| Fiber | 2 g | 3.9 g | 2 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 30 mg | 60 mg | 30 mg |
| Iron | 1.2 mg | 2.4 mg | 1.2 mg |
| Potassium | 412.5 mg | 825 mg | 412.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 19.5 kcal | 2.3 g | 0.2 g | 3.3 g | 2 g | 0.3 g | 30 mg | 1.2 mg | 412.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 39 kcal | 4.5 g | 0.3 g | 6.6 g | 3.9 g | 0.6 g | 60 mg | 2.4 mg | 825 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.





