Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Panda Rice Bento


Panda Rice Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.
Today I made roasted sweet miso chicken a la hapabento's recipe... although I changed it up a bit... and I added a panda rice musubi because as I've mentioned before, I really like chicken with rice! I think they go together like peaches and cream! Or hugs and kisses! Anyway. I think I'm convincing MisterMan of this, as he is eating the riceballs every day, and I'm not hearing any complaints :)

For the chicken, I only had skinless boneless thighs, so that's what I used. I marinated the pieces whole in equal parts white miso and agave syrup, which is the juice from the agave plant and a sugar/honey substitute. I forgot the mirin, but I added it just before cooking. I roasted at 450F in my trusty toaster oven for quite awhile; I think maybe 40 minutes or so. I even had extra room in there so I also roasted some mini sweet peppers at the same time (though those came out after about 20 minutes).

After the chicken was done, I also roasted some baby bok choy, another hapabento idea. I had previously accidentally roasted some brussels sprouts leaves, and discovered the crunchy leaves are kinda fun to eat. Have you ever tried it? So, I thought I would try the same thing with the choy. It didn't crisp up as well, but it still came out okay, and I think it tastes neat this way. My kids swiped it through the miso sauce, and I guess it was acceptable, because they ate it all.

I added some raw carrots for extra color, and in the fruit section I put some chopped fresh pineapple, cherries, and blood orange wedges.
This bento came home completely empty; all the lettuce and sauce included -- it looked like he had washed it already! I guess he liked it :)

17 comments:

  1. Looks yummy! The panda is super cute.

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  2. Hi sherimiya, thank you for the shout-out! I wonder if my toaster oven dial isn't reading correctly and it's hotter than the indicator? In anycase, your bento is awesome and I agree about chicken and rice. It's perfect.

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  3. Hi Debra,
    Thanks for the ideas! It's good to have someone with similar tastes passing recipes to me, hehe!
    I don't know about your T.O. but I'm always afraid mine is too hot so I'm constantly checking it. Of course it doesn't occur to me to get a thermometer. Maybe mine is actually too cool, so it took longer. Who knows.
    Thanks for your nice comment!

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  4. Oh my, this little panda is so cute ^-^ Yup, I think too, that rice and chicken go along well together ^.^

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  5. roasting bak choy - that's something new to me, we usually stir fry with a little garlic. nice colours on the bento.

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  6. colorful and yummy.
    and... cherries?! yay!

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  7. very cute panda! You always make your bento look so delicious and beautiful at the same time! :D

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  8. Hi Lil'chan! Thanks. Don't know what it is about chicken & rice; such a great combo :)

    javapot, we always stirfry in garlic too -- it's excellent that way. I never roasted it before like this, but it's nice for a change. Thanks!

    Thanks a lot mook! Yep, we've got cherries now!

    Thanks a lot Susan! This one was fun :)

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  9. Chicken and rice are surely soul mates. Your panda is so cute *wink* Roasted baby bok-choy is kind of interesting as we don't roast much for home meal. Always love your bento Sheri (^.^)

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  10. Hi Lia, glad you agree about the chicken & rice. We usually stirfry bok choy too, but this was interesting for a change. Thanks so much for your nice words, I love to hear from you!

    Hi amanda, thanks a lot!

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  11. i love reading about how you influence your kids to try new culinary adventures - they're lucky to have you! this panda is adorable, you are really on a roll with simple but SUPER kawaii details!

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  12. Sheri, I would like you to have the 'I LOVE YOUR BLOG' award. Please pick it up here.

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  13. Hi megan,
    It's always interesting around here, that's for sure. Thanks for the encouraging words!

    Hi Lia,
    Thanks a lot for the sweet award; you are so kind with your compliments; I would give it back to you if I could 'cuz I LOVE YOUR BLOG too!!

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  14. LOVE da panda! Can he come over and play? Please?

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