Furikake Salmon Lunchbots Bento

Two in a row! I'm on a roll now.

I recently learned that to ensure a crispy salmon skin you need to remove all the moisture from the fish first. I patted the filet with paper towels and let it air dry for a while before pan frying. Came out good! I love salmon and cook it once a week. I eat mine very simply with a bowl of 🍚 or on a salad🥗. So ono😋

In TinySprite's Lunchbots Trio: furikake salmon on soba noodles, assorted vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, tomato, carrots, edamame, Okinawan sweet potato), kiwifruit, pickled radish and red onion.

Salmon Salad LunchBots Bento

I made salted salmon (shiozake) to serve over baby lettuce greens in a simple salad for my kids' bento today. Since we still have fresh corn, I added fresh cooked corn off the cob as well. The salmon has flavor enough to make this small portion quite tasty. And since she loves them, I also pan fried some potato wedges and sprinkled with furikake in the next section. In the last section of our well-used LunchBots Trio I placed sliced elephant heart pluots (I think this may be our last batch of the season. So sad! I love these sweet dark red fruit very much) and carrots to round out the bento. The lid stays on well enough to keep everything separate for them come lunchtime. Perfect!

Miso-Glazed Salmon LunchBots Trio Bento

Today I packed TinySprite a colorful meal in our LunchBots Trio: miso-glazed salmon on a few kale leaves, pepperonata (a mixture of red and yellow peppers pan-fried in olive oil with anchovy paste and garlic, then sprinkled with basil), roasted broccoli, and assorted blueberries, tomato, carrots and Asian pear.

I've made misoyaki butterfish before many times, as it is maybe my all-time favorite fish meal, but this is the first time I made miso-glazed salmon. I used a variation on a Simply Recipes recipe:

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Miso-Glazed Salmon Recipe

1/4 cup white miso

3T sake

1T sugar

1T shoyu

Heat mixture in double-boiler until smooth, and sugar is dissolved. Let cool, and marinate salmon for 3 hours up to overnight. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes.

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It's pretty good, and a nice change from the regular way I usually prepare salmon (shoyu butteryaki or furikake style). I saw Sam Choy has a recipe that includes ginger and rice vinegar along with the miso that sounds interesting too. 

Frankenstein Sandwich LunchBots Bento

Frankenstein Sandwich Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made TinySprite a couple of mini ham and cheese sandwiches on sandwich thin rectangle breads. And what to do with brown sandwich rectangles? Well, besides the obvious: Domokun. That's right; Frankenstein! I decorated his face with olives (for eyes, ears and scar) and cucumber (for hair). Oh yeah, she'll love it. There's also some plum, pickled stuff, strawberries and grapes. All packed into the LunchBots Trio. Done!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Tortilla Spiders Halloween LunchBots Bento

Tortilla Spiders Halloween LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento is one you've seen several times before, because it's a fun way to present fish: deconstructed fish tacos. The cod is pan fried in lemon pepper and served with a cabbage slaw tossed with red onion, tomato, and orange. Instead of the usual tortillas I cut little bunny shapes and layered them to make cute spiders. Yes, I know they look as though they only have 4 legs each. That's because you didn't notice the other 4 legs located precisely behind the 4 which are visible. Trust me, they're there. The last compartment holds a handful of grapes and some sliced strawberries. The LunchBot Trio is ideal for this lunch because there aren't any saucy or gravy parts to worry about. I love it!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Herby Chicken LunchBot Bento

Herby Chicken LunchBot Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

When I need an easy standby, and we already had shoyu chicken, this one usually fills the bill. TinySprite especially loves this chicken. It's broiled with olive oil and a toss of Provencal herbs, and mixed in the pan with halved baby potatoes. It's a one dish meal, and there's always extra for bento. I steam some broccoli alongside so the kids can wipe the plates with it. There's also steamed corn off the cob, the usual pickled cucumbers, cubed nectarines and grapes. All packed in the LunchBot Trio. Happy Monday!

Salmon LunchBots Brainfood Bento

Salmon LunchBots Brainfood Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Second bento of the school year, and I fell back on another easy one. Salmon! I like to prepare salmon about once a week because I think it's good "brain food" for the kids, packed with healthy omega-3s and all. I usually pan fy the fish in butter or olive oil, and just after I turn off the heat, drizzle shoyu around the pan. I served TinySprite's helping over roasted garlic potatoes and kale chips (I didn't pack the kale chips because they get soggy overnight. If your kids don't mind, you can pack them in the bento too. They're very tasty!). She also gets a cabbage carrot daikon slaw with vinegar dressing and topped with halved cherry tomatoes. Her fruit treat includes green and purple grapes, and super sweet cantaloupe. This time we used the LunchBots Trio. I made this one myself, since the kids were at an afternoon activity until late, but it only took me a few minutes to do. Thank goodness it's a short week. I'm already ready for the weekend; how about you?

Chimichurri Pork LunchBots Bento

Chimichurri Pork LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I packed TinySprite's bento with pan-fried peppery thin cut pork chops on shredded cabbage, topped with a chimichurri sauce (parsley, cilantro, shallot, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, pepper, sherry vinegar). This version is a bit on the spicy side, so there's just a very little bit for flavor. She also gets sesame-marinated mini bell peppers, pickled cucumbers, carrots and daikon. The last section of the very practical LunchBots Trio holds strawberry, a quartered donut peach, and cherries. And that's it for the week!

Herby Chicken Lunchbots Bento

Herby Chicken Lunchbots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Here's the last bento for the week: and it's good old chicken and rice. I loved this combo when I was a kid, and my kids kind of do too, minus the rice. Sigh. But I find that they will grudgingly eat rice with furikake (and also in hot dog maki, fried rice, sticky rice, or jook), so I put a cup of it in here. This rice is black rice and pearl barley. I disguised it as a cupcake with a tomato "cherry". The chicken is just garlicky herbes de provence olive oil chicken, oven baked. I made more kale chips tonight, which didn't survive for bento extras. The rest of the LunchBot Trio holds a variety of pickled stuff, carrots, cherries, strawberry and baby peach. Oh, and a broccoli tree. Have a great day!

I Love Watermelon (Radish)! Bento

I Love Watermelon (Radish)! Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

You can't see the burger in the photo, but I tried a new meatless recipe. It consists of about a cup of roasted sweet potato, a cup of brown rice / barley, and a cup or two of black beans, processed along with sauteed onions, garlic, cumin, and Worchestershire sauce to taste. The patties stuck together pretty well, which often is not the case (in my experience) with bean burgers. I melted cheese and served with tomato slices next to a side of cabbage / onion / carrot slaw tossed with vinegar, shoyu and a bit of superfine sugar. The last section of the LunchBots Trio contains the miniature spring selection of fruit at my farmers market: strawberries, apricot and nectarine. We have watermelon too, but the cheddar bear is actually enjoying a slice of watermelon radish. Those are good too, even if they're not quite as sweet!

Vegetarian Spices LunchBots Bento

Vegetarian Spices LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

So today we are starting a week of unseasonally warm temperatures over here in the Bay Area; today was predicted to be the warmest, and it reached the upper 70s in my 'hood. It was a fantastic harbinger of summer! I decided I wanted to not-cook tonight, and just have salads, in honor of the heat and also the fact that it's Earth Day. I almost did no cooking, but I did griddle up some veggies to go with the chickpea salad. It didn't take long, though. I sliced some eggplant, zucchini, shallots, tomatoes and garlic, and fried in olive oil until tender. I drizzled honey and sprinkled oregano to taste -- very simple. The chickpea salad is simply fork-mashed chickpeas tossed with sliced onion, cilantro, cumin, lemon, salt and pepper. The next section has grated carrot and beet salad (tossed with cider vinegar, pomegranate juice, a sprinkling of ground ginger, salt and pepper), beside the pickled cucumbers, daikon, baby turnips and kumquats. I also added pickled red onion since she likes that. Some fresh farmers market strawberries and a little sprig of broccoli for color round out this fresh vegetarian bento for TinySprite. Happy Earth Day!

Pan-Seared Chicken in LunchBot Bento

Pan-Seared Chicken in LunchBot Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I never buy skin-on chicken these days, but I wanted to try cooking it in a hot pan to make crispy skin. It was tasty, but not really worth the splattering oil factor. I'd rather have oven-broiled tebasaki, which also gets nice and crispy, but behind the oven safety glass! Still, my little girl liked it, of course. Chicken is her favorite food, I think, after bread. And cheese, and ice cream. Also in the LunchBot Trio: steamed broccoli sprig, fried lotus root (renkon), pickled cucumber / onion / carrot / daikon, sweet baby organic strawberries, blackberries, and blood oranges.
Added to What's For Lunch.

This n' That LunchBots Bento

This n' That LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

For TinySprite's last bento of the week, I used the LunchBots Trio and packed some makizushi (with brown rice, barley and ham), tamagoyaki with spinach and broccoli stems, carrot, broccoli, steamed Moloka'i Okinawan sweet potato, pickled cucumbers and wakame, and baby sweet strawberries. Simple, fresh and tasty for my girl. Her brother MisterMan comes home tomorrow, and we can't wait!

Easter Bunny Pals Deconstructed Fish Tacos LunchBot Bento

Easter Bunny Pals Deconstructed Fish Tacos LunchBot Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento is deconstructed fish tacos in the LunchBots Trio. I've packed fish tacos like this before (here and here and here and here), because there's no good way to pack fish and salsa inside a tortilla without everything getting soggy and falling apart. In fact, I'd rather just omit the tortilla altogether, but the kids love their bready carbs, so I added two bunny shaped tortilla pieces in this one to appease them (and make it count as an Easter bento as well. Score!). I put the fried snapper on a bed of spinach in one compartment, with the cabbage tomato onion orange pepper slaw next to it. The last section holds strawberries, sliced steamed Okinawan sweet potato, and carrots. In case you didn't notice the Easterness right away, the little chickies should give it away. Happy Easter! ^__^

Chili LunchBots Bento

Chili LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Chili! I scooped it into the LunchBots Trio over a layer of spinach leaves to keep the juices contained. But as TinySprite said, I probably should have used a container with leakproof sections (or a thermal food jar). The other thing I could have done is packed rice over the chili. Some people also do that in a thermal jar to keep the chili from mixing into the rice until you're ready to eat. But then she wouldn't be able to enjoy the cheddar sun and rays that I decorated! Anyway, she was pretty careful and it didn't spill out of the box; yay! She also finished it all, along with the pickled red onion and cucumbers, carrots, mandarins, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Shoyu Vinegar Chicken LunchBot Trio Bento

Shoyu Vinegar Chicken LunchBot Trio Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The shoyu chicken I grew up with includes just shoyu, sugar, ginger, and garlic. I recently added a new twist to the sauce when I found a recipe that used honey instead of sugar. That turned out to be a big hit. This time I decided to try the version I saw on David Lebovitz' site, which uses vinegar and shoyu together. Hmm. The caramelized shallots are supposed to add some sweetness to the mix. I thought it was nice, but I think the flavor is probably not as appealing to kids. Mine seemed to like it enough, but I think they prefer the other versions. Along with some chicken pieces in this LunchBot Trio: steamed Okinawan sweet potato flower shapes, red rice with furikake, carrots and pickles, melons and cara cara orange chunks.
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Roast Chicken with Caramelized Shallots (from David Lebovitz)

Adapted from French Farmhouse Cookbook (Workman) by Susan Herrmann Loomis

I use a whole chicken cut into eight pieces; two legs, two thighs, and I cut each breast piece in half, crosswise, keeping the wings attached. You could also just use eight of your favorite chicken pieces.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 large shallots, peeled and minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
One whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
one generous handful of coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).

2. In a large baking dish, one which will hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer, mix the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, shallots, and some salt and pepper.

3. Toss the chicken in the mixture, so they’re completely coated with the shallots. Turn the chicken pieces so they are all skin side up.

4. Roast the chicken for about twenty minutes, until it starts to brown on top. Turn the pieces of chicken over. Scrape any juices and shallots over the chicken that may be clinging to the pan, and bake for another twenty minutes, or until the pieces of chicken are cooked through and the shallots are well-caramelized.

5. Remove from oven and toss in the chopped parsley, then serve.

Added to What's For Lunch.

Salmon, Kabocha and Potatoes LunchBots Bento

Salmon, Kabocha and Potatoes LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It's still pretty cold (around freezing temps at night), but we're taking a break from the thermal soups and stews to get in some omega-3s. I made salmon butteryaki, which is my favorite way to make this fish. I first slice it into portions, then pan-fry in olive oil on all sides, a few minutes, until crispy. At the end, drop a pat of butter down the side of the pan, swirl all around the fish until sizzling. Turn off heat and drizzle with shoyu. Yum! I also cubed some kabocha and fried them in the same pan, then sprinkled them with garlic powder and parmesan. There's also a sprig of steamed broccoli tucked in next to the fish. I oven-baked some potato wedges to go with the fish, tossing in olive oil, garlic powder and dried parsley (p.s. potatoes are delicious with cracked black pepper too!). There are a few house-pickled cucumbers in there as well. Finally, a little fruit section: strawberries, blackberries and blueberries -- finish out this colorful LunchBot Trio for TinySprite.

Balsamic Vinegar Sesame Chicken Lunchbots Bento

Balsamic Vinegar Sesame Chicken Lunchbots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Chicken and rice, chicken and rice... la la la la laaaa... Is there any more that needs to be said? Well, all right; I'll say a little more. This is the balsamic vinegar sesame recipe I got from Maki at Just Bento, except I used a shoyu substitute and kept it sweeter and less vinegary. I made it before here. It gets divided treatment in this Lunchbots Trio, in a bed of lettuce by itself, next to a cup of furikake rice, homegrown cherry sunsugar tomatoes, and steamed Okinawan sweet potatoes. Peaches and berries round out this plain jane basic lunch bento. I've resolved to start with the Halloween bento next week. For sure I'll be able to get in at least a week of spooky scary creepy bento! Or at least a few cute jack-o-lantern ones. Those are my favorite!

Caterpillar Meatball Lunchbots Bento

Caterpillar Meatball Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Mini burgers! Or meatballs. Whichever. TinySprite asked for this shape specifically, for the second bento in a row, so I obliged. I used the dot picks for antenna, and cut a tulip shape from cucumber for the face, and decorated with nori. The bug lies on a bed of lettuce in this Lunchbot Trio. Her veggie sides: corn off the cob, carrots and Okinawan sweet potato. Fruit sides: grapes, strawberries and blueberries. All done!

Pickled Sticky Rice LunchBot Bento

Pickled Sticky Rice Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made one of my favorite one-pot meals for today: sticky rice! See my method here. Since TinySprite is allergic to soy, I omitted the lup cheong (Chinese sausage) and replaced the meat with regular ham. I've also used Canadian bacon before (in this bento) and it went over just fine. This batch got shiitake mushrooms and a new kind of green: broccoli stalks. I thought it would give a little bite to the rice. And another new kind of green as well: pickled mustard greens. I know it sounds crazy, but my kids love pickled vegetables. Even mustard greens. Weird, right? It has a very strong flavor and totally changed the way I usually think of this dish, but in a good way. They liked it! Go figure. I put my girl's portion in the LunchBot Trio alongside: fresh pear slices, blueberries, strawberries, Okinawan sweet potatoes and carrots.