Zit gwa costs next to nothing, sits in every wet market in the city, and half the people reading this grew up eating it. It also happens to be excellent dog food: light, watery, easy to digest. This beef chinese squash rice dog food recipe is about as Hong Kong as a dog bowl gets, and it rotates beautifully against the heavier recipes here.
Beef round is a lean cut, keeping fat at about 28 g per 1000 kcal; Chinese squash (zit gwa) is a low-energy, easily digested vegetable found cheaply at every Hong Kong wet market. A moderate-lean formulation that rotates well as an everyday base.
Ingredients (standard batch)
| Ingredient | Amount | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Beef round | 1.8 kg | diced |
| Chinese squash (hairy gourd) | 600 g | peeled and diced |
| White rice | 400 g | rinsed (about 2 rice-cooker cups) |
| Carrot | 250 g | diced |
| Olive oil | 15 g (about 1 tbsp) | stirred in after cooking |
This batch yields about 3.2 kg of food (about 4,158 kcal), roughly 7 days for a 10 kg adult dog. Use a rice cooker of 8 cups or larger; if yours is smaller, cook in two rounds or halve the batch.
Method
- Rinse the rice and add to the rice cooker with about 550 ml of water.
- Layer the beef, squash and carrot on top and run a normal cycle.
- Rest 10 minutes after it switches off and confirm the beef is cooked through.
- Stir in the olive oil, fluff and cool.
- Portion per the dosing table.
Estimated nutrient analysis (base recipe, before supplements)
| Item | Per 100 g | Per 1000 kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Metabolisable energy | 130 kcal | – |
| Crude protein | 12.5 g | 96 g |
| Fat | 3.6 g | 28 g |
| Carbohydrate | 11 g | 85 g |
| Dietary fibre | 0.5 g | 4.2 g |
| Calcium | 11 mg | 0.09 g |
| Phosphorus | 101 mg | 0.78 g |
The base recipe supplies only 0.09 g of calcium per 1000 kcal, far below an adult dog’s requirement, so supplementation is essential. Adding Eggshell Calcium Powder as per the table below (this recipe needs about 3.1 g per 1000 kcal) brings calcium to 1.25 g/1000 kcal (the AAFCO adult maintenance level), with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of about 1.6:1 (ideal range 1.2 to 2:1). Daily Multi for Dogs, dosed by body weight, supplies 20 essential vitamins and minerals. Together they make the meal complete and balanced.
Feeding and supplement dosing (two meals per day)
| Dog weight | Daily energy need | Daily food | Batch lasts | Daily Multi (per meal) | Eggshell Calcium (per meal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 kg | 251 kcal | about 190 g | about 17 days＊ | 0.5 g | 0.4 g (about 1/8 tsp) |
| 5 kg | 368 kcal | about 280 g | about 11 days | 1 g | 0.6 g (about 1/4 tsp) |
| 10 kg | 619 kcal | about 480 g | about 7 days | 1.5 g | 0.9 g (about 3/8 tsp) |
| 20 kg | 1,040 kcal | about 800 g | about 4 days | 2 g | 1.6 g (about 5/8 tsp) |
| 30 kg | 1,410 kcal | about 1,090 g | about 3 days | 2 g | 2.2 g (about 7/8 tsp) |
*For small dogs one batch lasts beyond the 2-week freezer guideline – scale the batch down proportionally. If you feed once daily, combine both meal portions of the supplements. Stir supplements in only after the food has cooled to just warm. Energy needs follow NRC (2006) MER = 110 kcal x BW(kg)^0.75 and vary about plus or minus 15% with neuter status and activity; weigh your dog every 2 weeks and adjust to body condition score.
Storage
Let it cool, then divide it into daily portions. Three days worth goes in the fridge (4°C) and the rest straight into the freezer, where it keeps for two weeks. Move tomorrow’s portion down to the fridge the night before, and warm it in a bowl of hot water before serving. Skip the microwave: it heats unevenly and leaves scalding pockets next to frozen ones.
Clinical notes
- Peel the squash for dogs with sensitive stomachs – it digests more easily.
- Cook all meat and fish right through (core temperature above 75°C), and add no salt, sugar or seasoning at all. It will taste bland to you, which is exactly right for your dog.
- Onion, garlic, chives, grapes and chocolate are toxic to dogs. No amount is safe, and there is no exception to this one.
- Give your dog a week to change over, adding a little more of the new food each day, and keep an eye on stools, skin and appetite as you go. There is no prize for rushing it.
- These recipes are formulated for healthy adult dogs. For puppies, pregnant or nursing mothers, seniors, or any dog with a medical condition, talk to your vet before you start.
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