Yakiniku Don (Japanese Grilled Pork Rice Bowl)
焼肉丼（小麦なし） · Yakiniku Don
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Yakiniku don is a rice bowl topped with thin slices of pork in a sweet-savory soy and ginger sauce. In this preschool-kitchen version the onion, carrot and green bell pepper are cut into short, thin strips and stir-fried until soft, so even young children can eat them easily along with the meat. The pork is coated in joshinko (rice flour) instead of wheat flour, which keeps the meat tender and helps the sauce cling to every piece, and the whole dish is made without egg or milk. Spoon it over hot rice.
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 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.
- 60 gthinly sliced pork (komagire)Small, thin offcuts of pork sold in Japan for quick stir-fries and simmered dishes. Substitute: Thinly sliced pork shoulder or loin cut into bite-size pieces.
- 30 gonion
- 18 gcarrot
- 15 ggreen bell pepper
Seasonings
- 3 gsoy sauce
- 0.8 gsugar
- 2.1 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.
- 2.1 gwhite sesame seeds
- 0.6 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.
- 3 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).
- 2.3 gsesame oil
- 0.2 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.
- thinly sliced pork (komagire) (豚こま切れ肉)
- Small, thin offcuts of pork sold in Japan for quick stir-fries and simmered dishes. Substitute: Thinly sliced pork shoulder or loin cut into bite-size pieces.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
Directions
- 1
Cut the pork into 1 to 2 cm wide pieces and massage in the soy sauce, sugar, sake, white sesame seeds and ginger. Then massage in the joshinko rice flour.
- 2
Cut the onion, carrot and green bell pepper into short, thin strips.
- 3
Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the vegetables well. Add the pork and stir-fry, then add the salt to adjust the seasoning.
- 4
Serve over freshly cooked rice.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 427.5 kcal | 855 kcal | 427.5 kcal |
| Protein | 18.5 g | 36.9 g | 18.5 g |
| Fat | 10.4 g | 20.7 g | 10.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 67.4 g | 134.7 g | 67.4 g |
| Fiber | 2 g | 3.9 g | 2 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 45 mg | 90 mg | 45 mg |
| Iron | 1.4 mg | 2.7 mg | 1.4 mg |
| Potassium | 430.5 mg | 861 mg | 430.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 427.5 kcal | 18.5 g | 10.4 g | 67.4 g | 2 g | 0.6 g | 45 mg | 1.4 mg | 430.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 855 kcal | 36.9 g | 20.7 g | 134.7 g | 3.9 g | 1.2 g | 90 mg | 2.7 mg | 861 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.
