Tori Okowa (Chicken Sticky Rice)
鶏おこわ · Tori Okowa
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Okowa is a Japanese dish of glutinous (mochi) rice cooked with savory ingredients, and this chicken version is a favorite on preschool lunch menus. Blending regular rice with mochi rice gives a pleasantly chewy, slightly sticky texture that small children love to eat. The chicken, carrot and gobo are simmered separately until soft and lightly seasoned with sake and soy sauce, then folded into the freshly cooked rice so every spoonful has a little of everything. Because everything is cut small and cooked until tender, it works just as well for toddlers as for older kids.
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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
- 22.5 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 gglutinous rice (mochi rice)Short-grain sticky rice that cooks up soft and chewy, used for okowa and mochi. Substitute: Any glutinous or sweet rice from an Asian grocery, such as Thai sweet rice.
- 6 gcarrot
- 6 ggobo (burdock root)A long, slender, earthy-tasting root vegetable with a pleasant crunch, usually scraped rather than peeled. Substitute: Parsnip or carrot.
- 15 gchicken thigh (skinless)
Seasonings
- 1 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.
- 1 gsoy sauce
- 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.
- glutinous rice (mochi rice) (もち米)
- Short-grain sticky rice that cooks up soft and chewy, used for okowa and mochi. Substitute: Any glutinous or sweet rice from an Asian grocery, such as Thai sweet rice.
- gobo (burdock root) (ごぼう)
- A long, slender, earthy-tasting root vegetable with a pleasant crunch, usually scraped rather than peeled. Substitute: Parsnip or carrot.
- 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.
Directions
- 1
Combine the rice and glutinous rice and soak in water for at least 30 minutes. Mix together the sake, soy sauce and salt to make the seasoning, stir 1/3 of it into the rice, and cook the rice.
- 2
Cut the carrot into short, thin matchsticks. Halve the gobo lengthwise, then cut it into thin diagonal slices. Cut the chicken into 1 cm cubes.
- 3
Put the carrot, gobo and chicken in a pot, add just enough water to cover, and simmer. When they are soft, add the remaining seasoning and simmer a little longer.
- 4
Mix the cooked rice with the simmered chicken and vegetables.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 190.5 kcal | 381 kcal | 190.5 kcal |
| Protein | 5.6 g | 11.1 g | 5.6 g |
| Fat | 2.6 g | 5.1 g | 2.6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39.6 g | 79.2 g | 39.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 7.5 mg | 15 mg | 7.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.3 mg | 0.6 mg | 0.3 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 190.5 kcal | 5.6 g | 2.6 g | 39.6 g | 0.5 g | 7.5 mg | 0.3 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 381 kcal | 11.1 g | 5.1 g | 79.2 g | 0.9 g | 15 mg | 0.6 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.
