Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Panko Shrimp Bento


Panko Shrimp Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.
Today's bento contains panko-breaded shrimp, sweet potato and kabocha with a twist: they weren't deep-fried. They were broiled! What? I saw this "recipe" on the Japanese Timesaving Lifestyle Show, which is where I got the marmalade pork recipe that I used here. I can't really call it a recipe since the whole point of the show is that you can cook your favorite tasty dishes in a fraction of the time, which usually means forgoing the typical recipe and just quickly mixing a bunch of things together. It really looks haphazard on the show because they're madly racing against the clock, but at the end they always show the judges sampling the food and proclaiming it just as delicious as the regular version. So anyway, the contestant had used this method to make shrimp tempura. All you do is squirt kewpie all over the shrimp (and I also used kabocha and sweet potato), dredge it in panko, then broil (or grill) at high temperature until shrimp is cooked and lightly browned; around 15 minutes or so. If you like, you can add salt and pepper before adding panko. It is quick, but it doesn't get as crispy as deep-frying, obviously. You can serve it with tartar sauce, or cocktail sauce, or whatever you like. I steamed the kabocha and sweet potato before breading. In this bento I also added steamed broccoli, a radish heart, a cup of yogurt with chopped strawberries and sunflower seeds, carved carrots, and another cup of grapes and blueberries.

18 comments:

  1. Wow - thanks for the tip. It looks both easy and delicious. I can't eat shrimp because of allergies but I will definitely try this way of 'deep-frying'.

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  2. The kewpie is great because it has eggs and acts as binder but with extra taste. Hope you can try it :)

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  3. Ooohh.. un-fried shrimp FTW! I just bought a new bottle of kewpie. Will put it to use soon. Thanks for the tip. Keep wathing that show for us. :)

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  4. That's WATCHING, not wathing. :)

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  5. Great bento Sheri! The shrimp look delish!

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  6. Thanks Debra! Too bad, the show only had a limited run and now it's over. Have to go back and look at the archives :)
    Thanks tatabonita!
    Thanks Susan!

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  7. What a cute and colorful bento !! :)

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  8. Love it! I need to try the shrimp idea. Shaun loves fried shrimp, but we're supposed to be watching cholesterol. This could help!

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  9. I love the heart-shaped apple!

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  10. my kids love panko shrimp too
    and radish heart looks so sweet :)

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  11. Oooo... these shrimps look simply delicious!!!

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  12. Non-fried FTW! This looks great! I'm always afraid to pack yogurt, do you ever have trouble with it spilling?

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  13. The shrimp idea is so nice! I know a recipe for "light" Chicken Kiev using mayo and breadcrumbs. I remember "light" because it was oven baked to cut the calories :P. Maybe it gets the similar results , uuh, must try your shrimp one!
    Now... that sweet potato and kabocha... omg, i would eat those first!

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  14. Damn but you're good! Broiled shrimp with panko, I definitely want to try this now. A healthier alternative to all that frying we've been doing. Thanks Sheri!!

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  15. Salute again for your colorful healthy bento! No frying required? I want to try this for my kids. Thanks to introduce it to us :)

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  16. Thanks Yenny and Angeleyes!
    Heather, if you pile the toppings on top of the yogurt, it usually stays put. It's not so hot around here that the yogurt gets liquidy enough to slop around.
    karaimame, I never realized you could use kewpie like this. It's very convenient, and tasty too.
    Thanks Chantale and Lia!

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