MisterMan gets honey shiso pork in this bento. The meat was marinated in cider vinegar, honey and julienned shiso, then grilled. The recipe actually calls for pork chops, but I used pork strips for ease of eating. You could also simply cut the meat off the bone after cooking as well. Next to the pork I packed roasted brussels sprouts and diced purple potatoes. The sprouts and potatoes were roasted side by side, tossed in olive oil and garlic powder, as per my usual custom.
The other sections contain juicy ripe strawberries, blueberries, and a little cuplet of cottage cheese scattered with chopped raspberry jewel plum and wheat germ. On top, I placed a clover of pumpkin seeds -- after all, it's nearly St. Patrick's Day. Happy St. Patty's Day, bento friends!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
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interesting using cider vinegar for the marinade. read somewhere someone used it to poached eggs instead of normal white vinegar. do u drink apple cider vinegar solution - find the taste a little odd but everyone keeps telling me its good for the digestive system.
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious! I love your little four leaf clover nestled in the sweet plums! I never thought to do a marinade with shiso in it- what a great idea! The pork looks yummy. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks javapot; don't drink the cider vinegar. It may be sweeter than white vinegar for marinade, plus it has a darker color. Never heard that it's good for digestive system, cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan! I thought shiso might be too strong, but the sharp flavor is really nice with the pork.
Wow yummy! :D I love the way you cut the brussels sprouts! <3 And great idea for marinating things with shiso! I'll try it with tofu! =D
ReplyDeleteAgree with everyone here. Vote for delicious bento! I am curious whether my kids will notice if I use shiso for marinade ;) Cottage cheese and plum combination look yummy too!
ReplyDeleteLover the clover detail! Lots of St.Patrick's Day bentos coming by :)
ReplyDeleteOh that is such a great way to pack/display brussel sprouts! I am so going to try to duplicate that! KC
ReplyDeleteI can only chime in with what the others said before me. It looks delicious and I'm jealously eyeing up the strawberries ... they look so fresh and juicy. Yumm.
ReplyDeletei LOVE the tang that vinegar adds to a marinade - bet that pork came out great, especially with the sweet fruit section to compliment it. and those pumpkin seeds have to be the daintiest, cutest st. patrick's day decoration i've seen yet :-)
ReplyDeleteYum-another savory bento! Love the special touches here--agreeing with gamene that those seeds are really adorable! Happy St Patty's, sherimiya!
ReplyDeleteYour brussels sprounts always turn out so lovely and delicious looking. Looking at your mouthwatering bento makes me want to go eat some pork chops! :)
ReplyDeleteToken, thanks! I like the sharp taste of the shiso, have tried it with pork and egg so far. Now I want to grow my own this summer. Hope you try it too!
ReplyDeleteLia, you should try it. You might be surprised your kids have adventurous taste buds too :) Thanks!
Thanks gnoegnoe!
Thanks KC - if you cut the sprouts, you can cook it faster, and if you toss with balsamic vinegar, it gets inside and tastes really good! Hope you can try it :)
Thanks Ingrid!
Megan, I love vinegar marinades too. Adds the sour tang that I crave. Thanks for the sweet comments as always! My shamrock details are so last minute! I'll have to plan better next year, esp. with all the ideas I got from you guys this year!
Thanks bentobird! Appreciate your encouragement!
Debra, thanks!!
I came across your blog and it is just beautiful. You are a real artist with food! How in the world do you get your little boy to eat foods like this? Does he enjoy adult flavors like these all the time? I also wondered about the veggies, etc. Does he eat them plain, or do you have to include a dip for him? Excellent work mom!
ReplyDeleteI also forgot to ask you if your bentos are made up of leftovers mainly, or do you cook each morning?
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!
Yes, my boy is a bit unusual in that he has quite mature taste buds! He has always eaten everything offered him, ever. These veggies are roasted with olive oil and garlic powder, which is surprisingly tasty just like that. Sometimes if there is a gravy/sauce with the protein, he'll dip the veg in that. I don't put too many plain raw veg, but he'll eat carrots and other crudite too.
My philosophy is leftovers for bento. I'm not big on cooking/knife-wielding in the mornings! But I make my girl's bento during the mid-morning (after I've had coffee!). Also, with leftovers it's easy to make sure you have a balanced meal. You may not think of asparagus for school lunch, but why not? If it was good enough for dinner, it's good enough for lunch :)
Hope this helps!