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.

Breakfast For Lunch Bento, Pt. 2

Breakfast For Lunch Bento, Pt. 2, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Let's hear it for breakfast for lunch! Actually, what happened is that I didn't have quite enough salmon to go around, so I decided to supplement the bento with tamagoyaki (rolled with chopped spinach and scallions) and nitrite-free gluten-free maple sausages. This sleek bento is for TinySprite, and includes the savory treats I just mentioned, plus a little grape tomato, a sectioned satsuma mandarin, a little steamed broccoli tucked into the free space, and some Okinawan sweet potato butterfly shapes. I've discovered that a very small sampling of each food item doesn't seem too overwhelming, and she's more likely to eat it all. One tier of this double stainless steel bento set serves her kindergarten appetite perfectly. She hasn't started using "real" chopsticks yet, but she's pretty close. I got this pair for her to practice, forgetting that she's a lefty and this kind of practice pair is sided! Hmm. I took it apart and put it back together in what I thought might be a backwards way, but I tried it and it didn't really work. I gave it to her anyway, and she was THRILLED. Didn't even notice that the thumb pad and finger indent were off. And get this: she actually uses it pretty well. Go figure. Haha! Whatever, right? ^_^

Salmon Butteryaki and Furikake Rice Bento

Salmon Butteryaki and Furikake Rice Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This one is a classic favorite bento of mine: pan-fried salmon butteryaki with furikake rice, fried kabocha and steamed broccoli. TinySprite's version is miniature-sized for her preschool appetite and packed in the adorable pink Hello Kitty bento box I found at Japanese Lifestyle (I think). She won't be able to use these tiny boxes much longer, so I should really use them now as much as I can. I have a Cinnamoroll one too; I really love them a lot. The removable smaller section contains a mini clementine with a star-shaped cutout which I cut by hand using a small paring knife, some blackberries and a grape tomato. Colorful, balanced, nutritious, and gluten-free. Win!

Salmon Butteryaki Bento

Salmon Butteryaki Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I'm trying to make an effort to cook salmon (or some other fish) at least once a week. I managed to squeeze it in this week, when I saw a beautiful wild Alaskan salmon fillet at the market. I prepared a simple butteryaki salmon on the stove, and roasted some sweet potato "fries" in the oven at the same time. There's also steamed Okinawan (purple) sweet potato, steamed broccoli, grape tomatoes, a strawberry, blood oranges and a blackberry. Nothing cute about this one, but it's pleasant-looking enough, largely due to the special "magic" round bento box. I love this box because of the removable sections, and also because a round box has an aesthetically pleasing kind of symmetry about it. There's no up or down, right or left. It's just perfect. Try it -- you'll find the meal somehow manages to look beautiful all by itself.

Butteryaki Salmon

Heat 1 T oil and 1 T butter in pan.
When hot, fry salmon fillets, skin side down, until crispy, a few minutes. Flip and cook a few minutes more.
Just before removing from pan, turn off heat and drizzle 2 tsp shoyu over fish and into pan.
Shake pan to distribute.
Remove and serve!

Deconstructed Salmon Sandwich Bento

Deconstructed Salmon Sandwich Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This bento is a do-it-yourself sandwich, featuring butteryaki salmon (see my method here), some wild greens, a few slices of buckwheat bread and provolone cheese. The components all fit nicely inside the separated section of this dual lunch box by Sistema. I wrapped the bread inside wax paper to keep it separate from the rest of the ingredients, and decorated with a triplet of provolone bunnies and a mushroom-cut radish. The other section is divided, and allowed me to fit quite a bit of extras: corn on the cob, broccoli, carrots, Okinawan sweet potato flowers and tomatoes on one side; and lychees, strawberries, superdark plums and blackberries on the other. The plums were so juicy I had to drain them off before packing them in! MisterMan loves these deconstructed bentos, and he gets a lot of attention during lunchtime while he assembles his lunch. A bright cheery summertime bento for my boy ^_^

Butteryaki Salmon Bento

Butteryaki Salmon Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I'm pretty happy with this omega-3-packed bento for MisterMan: it includes butteryaki salmon, mini red kabocha and little Okinawan purple potatoes lightly steamed and then fried in the same pan.

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To make my butteryaki salmon:

Heat oiled pan, sear salmon on both sides. 
Add a T butter and melt, turn off heat, drizzle shoyu over salmon and into hot pan briefly. 
Remove salmon and serve. 
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Yummy! There's also mixed rice (black, white, black quinoa, cracked wheat and bulgur) onigiri with cherry tomato, steamed broccoli, romanesco and yellow cauliflower, and tiny purple carrot flower shapes. Fruit section has alternating blood and cara cara orange wedges, along with two cherries in the last corner. I'm so happy to have more colors and fresh produce for bento now that spring is coming / here. Do you feel the same way?

In case you were wondering what my mini red kabocha squashes look like, here's a photo. There's a Cutie next to it for scale. Isn't it cute? ^_^