Per pound of chicken thighs (cut into cubes):
4T cornstarch
4T mochiko
6T shoyu
4T sugar
2T sake
2 eggs
2T chopped green onion (white part), chopped garlic (to taste), and grated ginger (to taste).
Marinate a few hours, then bake in preheated, oiled pan at 400F. Turn to get all sides brown and crispy. It won't be as crispy as deep-fried, but it's still quite tasty. You can sprinkle with sesame seeds after (which I forgot to do) and serve with rice. Yummy! Both kids get chicken, roasted Brussels sprouts, steamed broccoli and yellow cauliflower, sweet potato, and assorted fruits (cara cara oranges, grapes, berries, and a mini mandarin). These bentos look the same size, don't they? Eek! I'm interested in whether she'll end up eating the whole thing. She LOVES chicken so I wanted to make sure she had enough, but she has a tendency to eat the fruits first. Plus, she's a slow eater. My boy's bento is deeper and actually has a lot more chicken, and it's packed a lot tighter than hers. I have no doubt that he will finish his :)
The chicken looks very tasty! I love how you put so many fruits inside your kids' bento. They are healthy and colorful. Both bento are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lia. It's easy when spring arrives. We have so many more colorful fruits this time of year than the last 3 months!
ReplyDeleteyour lunches are amazing so tasty and healthy lucky kids
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteIts nice to hear your boy finish every bento you made, as its always so yummy and colourful.. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Bobo. I'm lucky he is an adventurous eater and excited to try new things. I never had to worry about his appetite or nutrition :) My girl is very picky compared to him, and easily distracted away from eating. He will barely talk until he's finished, haha!
ReplyDeleteI think we ate the same foods growning up. Because we cook similar recipes. :)
ReplyDeleteI covet that HK bento.
I think so too. Same time, same place :)
ReplyDeleteThis HK bento came in 4 different colors / pictures but I couldn't justify all of them. Super cute!
Moi from Finland Sherri!!
ReplyDeleteI so love your blog and I am a happy little bento student! I'm American and married to a Fin so I can tell you that my heart longs for all the wonderful sun-drenched produce you prepare for your beautiful family! Anyways we DO get fresh brussle sprouts often in the stores here and I wondered do you add anything to make them tasty cold. My three year old( though easily distracted at meal times as well) will try anything once...and if it tastes good, she munch and chatter away. But if thumbs down...oh boy!
Kiitös for the amazing inspiration everyday Sheri!!!
Hi I'm back again!
ReplyDeleteI just noticed the Muumi fork for little man!! That's a Finnish cartoon!! Small world!
These are gorgeous! I'm going to have to try your baked mochiko chicken recipe. I made some fried chicken last night and absolutely hate the way it makes the house smell. I see little flowers, did you get your cutter working again? :)
ReplyDelete=) eh, I might try your recipe and your oven method... I am not a bit fan of deep frying (kitchen is so small and and and... ) but a huge fan of mochiko chicken!
ReplyDeleteAw... so lovely bentos! The produce is wonderful, I keep telling every time I see your meals they are just like sunshine straight to our home ^_^.
(btw, nice fork there :P)
Yummy mochiko chicken!!! Beautiful bentos as always Sheri!
ReplyDeleteYou have lots of energy! These are beautiful...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteberrygirl,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the sweet words! I love to hear from folks all over the world. You are only the second person from Finland I have met, and both of you through bento! Karaimame ( a few commenters below you) is the other one. It's great that you are cooking for your little one too. It's a very gratifying experience isn't it? My kids seem to like the Brussels sprouts at room temp, so I pack them after roasting in olive oil and garlic (or sometimes balsamic vinegar) and that's it. And yes, the Moomin cutlery is from my Finnish friend!!! Love it!
Hi Heather! I agree with you about the frying oil smell. Funny how the roasting smells is so delicious by comparison! Yes, I taped the cutter with duct tape, heh. It holds the ends together pretty well, but doesn't cut perfectly at that junction. Too bad. Thanks!
Karaimame, the roasting version doesn't taste exactly as the real fried mochiko chicken, sadly, but it's still worthwhile! And much cleaner and nicer-smelling! I'm hoping for sunshine for you very very soon. You like my Moomin? So do we!! Thank you dear!! (It's our most special set "all the way from Finland" they say :)
Thanks a lot Susan!
Thanks sheri (you have the same name and same spelling as me?)
Ok, roast in olive oil, garlic or balsamic vinegar..Yum, yum!! Marley's already gone for the day but that's lunch for me!! Yay!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sheri!
Hauska tutustua!! Karaimame!
That's great~ I hope you enjoy it dear!~
ReplyDeleteI've never used mochiko to make chicken. It's very interesting!! Looks delicious too!
ReplyDeleteNami, it's normally deep-fried, which makes it nice and crispy like karaage. The mochiko makes it delicious. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sheri for sharing your Mochiko chicken recipe! I love roasting/baking compared to deep-frying too. It makes me feel so much better (less guilt about the frying part & its so easy), eventhough the texture may not be quite the same! I always marvel at your colourful and yummy display of peaches & berries! So much love and sunshine oozing out of those cute boxes! I'm in Thailand, so these fruits are luxuries :D
ReplyDeleteYes, it takes some getting used to. But I certainly don't miss the super oily quality! You can still get a crispy crust if your oven can reach a high enough temp. Thanks so much for your sweet comments; although I bet you can get lots more colorful and exotic tropical fruit than me!
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