Hawaii Bento

Hawaii Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

We're baaa-aack! Spent the last two weeks on Oahu visiting family and not making bento. Well, I did make one. I used my "heirloom" aluminum bento box that belonged to my grandmother. It's quite small, with a permanent divider and a lovely oval shape, and a tight-fitting domed lid (including a rubber gasket) with double latches on each end. It's very cool and unique.

This bento contains homemade fried rice with egg, kamaboko, green onions and ham. There's also a piece of steamed corn and Okinawan purple potato in the main compartment. In the small section I stuffed the Awesomely Unbelievably Delicious Hilo Lychees, which you will be familiar with if you follow me on twitter.

I have been totally obsessed with these fruit during my whole vacation, which happened to coincide perfectly with the height of Hilo lychee season. The reason this variety of lychee is so superior to all others is because of its generous size, large quantity of juicy sweet flesh, nice easy-peel skin, and teeny-tiny seed. It really is the most luscious thing you will eat all summer. If you get a chance, you really must try it. Don't let the high price deter you. It's totally worth it. Okay! Let's move on.

For color contrast I tossed in a few boiled peanuts, which -unpeeled- are great for keeping kids busy for an hour or so on a hot afternoon. And I forgot to bring any cute accessories, but my mom did have some picks, so I added the leaf pick for fun. There! I worked my bento chops. A little.

Furikake Mahi Mahi Bento

Furikake Mahi Mahi Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Furikake mahi mahi, brown rice, kimchi, cherry tomato. Pineapple and sliced grape. All my Hawaii bento are non-cooked by me! (so far)
We're still in Hawaii on vacation, and that is my excuse for another ready-made bento. I love furikake mahi mahi. You have to use lots of mayonnaise to get the furikake to stick while you cook the fish, and so it's not super healthy. Plus, I can't ever get it to cook without burning. But it's very yummy! I got this one from Loco Moco. Have you been eating healthy over the holidays? I am definitely eating more than usual, and more sweets than usual too. I know the new year has nearly started (a few more hours here), but I will go back to cooking healthy bento as soon as we get back! Til then, maybe this one and another local grinds bento to fill in the blog?
^_^

Kimbap Bento

Kimbap Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

We are spending the holidays in Hawaii with family this year. I was born in Hawaii and lived here until I went to California for college. Lots of my family are still here, so there's plenty of reason to visit as often as we can. Here is my first bento in Hawaii, using local eats that were already hanging around the house: kimbap, long rice, smoked tako, Kahuku cherry tomatoes, pickled daikon-carrots-bittermelon-cabbage-cauliflower-red onion.
Packed in my lovely Japanese field-worker's bento, happily the perfect size for a hot weather appetite.
It's so good to come back home to the familiar local flavors again! It might look like a mishmash of stuff, but to me it's just a mix plate bento :)