Yakiniku Don (Japanese Pork Rice Bowl)
焼肉丼 · Yakiniku Don
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Yakiniku don is a rice bowl topped with pan-fried pork and vegetables in a sweet soy and ginger sauce, the same flavors you find at a Japanese yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant. Kids love the savory-sweet sauce soaking into the rice, and the sliced onion, carrot and green pepper go down easily alongside the meat. Rubbing a little flour into the pork before cooking keeps it soft and tender, which matters when small children are still learning to chew. The seasoning is added in two stages, so you can set aside a milder portion for toddlers and finish the rest a touch stronger for older children.
Toddlers to adults. Portion out the children's share before the final seasoning, then season the rest for adults.
Added. Open the recipe helper (bottom right) → ☰ Menu → 🛒 Shopping list to see the ingredients for your family size.
Printing uses the number of adults and children set under Ingredients, so set those first.
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
- 72 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.
- 3.6 gflour
- 36 gonion
- 21 gcarrot
- 16.8 ggreen bell pepper
- 1.2 gsesame oil
Seasonings (A)
- 4.8 gsoy sauce
- 1.2 gsugar
- 1.2 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.
- 3.6 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.
- 2.4 gwhite sesame seeds
To Finish
- 0.4 gsalt
- 0.9 cup (rice bowl)warm cooked rice
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- 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.
- 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.
Directions
Video is in Japanese — the steps below are synced to it, so tap ▶ on a step to jump to that moment.
- 1
Cut the pork into 2 cm wide pieces, rub in the Seasonings (A) and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Note: If you are also making a toddler portion, rub in only about 70% of the combined Seasonings (A), then continue from step 2 in the same way.
- 2
Rub the flour into the pork.
- 3
Cut the onion in half and slice it thinly; cut the carrot and green bell pepper into thin 4 cm strips. Put them in a heatproof bowl, add 1 tbsp water (not included in the ingredient amounts) and mix. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, leaving a gap for steam to escape, and microwave at 1200W for about 4 minutes.
- 4
Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the carrot, green bell pepper and onion over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
- 5
Add the pork, turn the heat to low and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until the meat changes color. Note: The flour makes the pork clump together easily, so break it apart as you stir-fry.
- 6
Add the salt and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Serve over the rice. Note: For toddlers, set aside their portion once about 70% of the salt has been added. For elementary-school age and older, add the remaining seasonings from step 1 and the rest of the salt, tasting as you go, and stir-fry for about 1 minute more.
Tips for Best Results
・Rubbing flour into the pork keeps it soft and tender even after stir-frying.
How to Freeze
Layer the rice and then the yakiniku topping in a microwave-safe container, put on the lid and freeze. When ready to eat, reheat in the microwave right in the container.
Keeps for: about 2 weeks (best eaten as soon as possible).
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 193.5 kcal | 387 kcal | 193.5 kcal |
| Protein | 16.4 g | 32.7 g | 16.4 g |
| Fat | 9.9 g | 19.8 g | 9.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 11.1 g | 22.2 g | 11.1 g |
| Fiber | 2.1 g | 4.2 g | 2.1 g |
| Salt equivalent | 1.2 g | 2.4 g | 1.2 g |
| Calcium | 46.5 mg | 93 mg | 46.5 mg |
| Iron | 1 mg | 2.1 mg | 1 mg |
| Potassium | 433.5 mg | 867 mg | 433.5 mg |
| Phosphorus | 186 mg | 372 mg | 186 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | Phosphorus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 193.5 kcal | 16.4 g | 9.9 g | 11.1 g | 2.1 g | 1.2 g | 46.5 mg | 1 mg | 433.5 mg | 186 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 387 kcal | 32.7 g | 19.8 g | 22.2 g | 4.2 g | 2.4 g | 93 mg | 2.1 mg | 867 mg | 372 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.
