Cooking Channel Bentos

Cooking Channel Bentos, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Here are two of the bentos I made for the shoot on Sunday. (See the finished commecial here!) There was another one but that was the one TinySprite grabbed and scarfed up in addition to the heaping one she made herself. Each kid made their own bento and then ate it. There wasn't any way I could take a picture of theirs. I should have taken a photo of these bentos before all the activity, but I didn't think of it, which is why these had to be shot in bad (artificial) light. Both feature Korean chicken in a lettuce leaf along with steamed broccoli, carrots and carved cucumbers; and varied berries for dessert. I added steamed corn and a shoyu bear egg to one, and a rice section (which I rarely do but which provides a very nice backdrop for a charaben design) with a matryoshka made of Okinawan purple potatoes, cheese, sweet potato and nori to the other. Some cute picks add color and whimsy.

I was surprised to find that making three bento at once wasn't much more work than one (or two, which is the most I ever make at a time for my two kids). And even though the third bento contained totally different ingredients (rollups), it still was pretty manageable. The key is to be prepared and have everything you need at hand, which saves time. MisterMan and TinySprite took these to school the next day, with furikake sprinkled on the rice. I'm thinking in addition to making their own bento, they can soon begin to cook the food for me too... ^_^

Added to What's For Lunch!

Bunny Kimchi Fried Rice Bento

Bunny Kimchi Fried Rice Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I made kimchi fried rice (Kimchi bokkeumbap), inspired by a twitter friend whose dinners often inspire mine! As an aside, I've found that twitter has given me cooking/food ideas/recipes on several occasions. Of course, I follow quite a large number of "foodie" types, so that explains it. Invariably the folks I've met and chatted with are always generous and helpful. It's been a great resource for me.

Anyway, back to the bento:
My kimchi rice is vegetarian; it's also mild, since my kids are heat-intolerant! But, not totally mild, since kimchi is in there! Also, being the healthy mom that I am, I added some nontraditional ingredients. I understand that the recipe can be fairly flexible and may include "leftover" kimchi and assorted vegetables. I began by sauteeing minced garlic, then adding carrot, onion and shredded baby bok choy. I also used minced kale! I've already mentioned how I add this ingredient to rice occasionally for added vitamin enhancement. This dish is so highly flavored, I doubt the kale is even noticable. I forgot the mushrooms, but this would have added a nice rich flavor. Then I put the cold rice in the pan and let it get crispy on one side before I began tossing it. This is because I love crispy rice. Then I added the chopped kimchi (napa cabbage type). You should add in the liquid from the kimchi as well, but as I mentioned I was wary of doing that. However, I could not avoid the liquid which was retained in the kimchi itself after I cut it. Okay, I could have, but I didn't. I really wanted the orange rice color. I also drizzled some shoyu and sesame oil for taste. If this were for me, I would have added a lot of gojuchang, but as it was, it was still pretty tasty. Top with chopped green onions and a fried egg, and it's a very satisfying meal!

I fried a quail egg in a metal bunny mold, and the yolk managed to stay in the exact center of the face. Now that I look at it, I wish I had used the yellow yolk as the nose. Wouldn't that have been cute? I almost forgot, the bunny makes this bento eligible for Hapa Bento's B.O.M.B. Yay! I added a nori face, some maroon carrot and peapod flowers, and I was done. The extras include cut carrots, a bit of broccoli, strawberries and black grapes.

Verdict? It was a hit :)

Sakura Branch Bento

Sakura Branch Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

This bento includes some roasted chicken with Korean sauce (premade and stored in fridge), lotus root (renkon) in shoyu mirin sauce, steamed broccoli, a grape tomato and some raw star-cut baby carrots. The sakura blossoms are cut from steamed purple potato with sesame seed detail. For fruits he gets a giant strawberry, past-their-prime red grapes, and slices of blood orange.

So simple, right? But in the magic round bento box, it all looks like a bright spring day. More and more life is emerging in my humble backyard garden, and each new sprout and leaf bud makes me feel more excited each day. I have Blenheim apricot and nectarine trees in my yard, and I'm crossing fingers for buckets and buckets of fruit this year! I remember one year we couldn't give them away fast enough; we had so many.

I haven't started any seeds yet, but I have big plans for this growing season. Heirloom tomatoes! Basil! Cilantro and green onion! Mizuna! Shiso! Edamame? How about you?

Mauna Kea Korean Chicken Bento

Mauna Kea Korean Chicken Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Actually this is not exactly Mauna Kea Korean Chicken, since it's not deep fried... but it still uses the same Korean barbeque sauce. It's sweet, so the kids like it.
Here's how I made it:
1/2 C shoyu
1/2 C sugar (I used raw sugar)
1T sesame oil
1T toasted sesame seeds
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1T ginger, grated
green onion, chopped
Traditionally, you should add Korean Kochujang (chili) sauce, but I omitted it since my kids are sort of intolerant of too much spice. It's still good without it!
If you were making kalbi you would marinate the meat and then grill. For the original chicken recipe you would deep fry the chicken so it's crispy, but instead I simply broiled the chicken after marinating. I precut the chicken into smaller pieces so it's easier for my kids to eat. If you do this, you should watch to see when the chicken is done. It might take about 30 minutes or so. Flip to brown the other side. You can serve with extra sauce for dipping, which kids love to do. The sauce is also excellent for dipping assorted other vegetables that happen to be around, which greatly increases the likelihood that your kids will eat them. In this case, broccoli and squash.

The broccoli is simply steamed, and the sweet dumpling squash is roasted. I added brown sugar to the squash and my 2 year old girl gobbled it up. It didn't go over very well with my boy, but with the barbeque sauce the taste seems to improve :)

I also put in two mini onigiri because I really think chicken should go with rice, even though my 6 year old often doesn't agree. I think he doesn't like to take the time to eat rice when he'd rather eat more interesting foods during their short lunch period. We'll see if he goes for it. I am so short on fruits that all he gets is cherries! Carrot stars complete this bento.
Luckily it's the end of the week and maybe I can find more interesting fruits this weekend at the farmers markets. Happy weekend friends! ^_^