Japanese · Authentic-ish Japanese
Hayashi Rice
443 kcal a serving, against 625 for the traditional version. That is 182 kcal off, or 29%, with 28.6g of protein. Serves 4. .
What the traditional version is
Sauté sliced onions in butter until golden, then add sliced beef (usually chuck or short rib) and brown heavily. Stir in plain flour, then pour in red wine, demi-glace sauce (homemade or tinned), tinned tomatoes and a splash of Worcestershire. Simmer with mushrooms until thick and glossy.
What changed, and what each change costs
Short rib swapped for beef braising steak
Short rib brings more fat and loads of flavour, but braising steak is leaner and still tender if you don't boil it half to death. It bumps up the protein per forkful.
What it costs you. You lose that lip-coating richness. Nobody's fooled, but the sauce still tastes beefy and you can finish a plate without slipping into a nap.
Butter slashed and replaced with a little olive oil
Butter makes the sauce glossy and slides over everything. A splash of olive oil is enough to soften the onions and mushrooms. The sauce doesn't set as thick, but your arteries will be less alarmed.
What it costs you. The missing butter means the sauce isn't quite velvet. You get fewer shiny lips, and the onions don't turn sweet and fudgy - but it's still miles from bland.
Flour replaced with cornflour slurry
Cornflour thickens in seconds, but doesn't need a roux. That means you can skip an entire flour-and-butter ceremony. Less faff, less stodge, more stew.
What it costs you. The sauce turns glossy, not creamy. It'll never cling quite as much as a proper demi-glace, but you won't need a knife to eat it.
Rice trimmed back by a third
A smaller mound of rice cuts a chunk of starch with hardly any actual loss - there's still something to soak up all the sauce.
What it costs you. Absolutely nothing unless you were determined to build a snowdrift. If you want more, you know where the bag is.
Extra mushrooms in for bulk
More mushrooms stand in for the fat, give the sauce body, and you barely notice the difference once everything's simmered.
What it costs you. If you hate mushrooms, you'll notice. Otherwise, it just means you find more with every spoonful.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 625 | 443 |
| Protein | 28.1g | 28.6g |
| Fat | 18.4g | 8.2g |
| Saturated fat | 9.3g | 2.1g |
| Carbohydrate | 81.7g | 58.3g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.5g | 6.5g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Japanese prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. fish, gluten, sulphites.
The method is in the book
This isn't the hayashi rice of hotel lounges and childhood nostalgia - the sauce doesn't set in a wobble and the beef won't leave a slick on your plate. But it does taste rich enough for a Tuesday night and you'll get a proper bowlful without the regret. Nobody's ever going to call it restaurant-perfect, but the point is it disappears quickly and you don't feel like napping under the table. The short rib version wins on silk, but this one at least lets you stand up afterwards.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Japanese, along with 48 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.