Slow-Cooked Pork Bento

Slow-Cooked Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento contains some sliced pork, cooked in the slow-cooker, Okinawan style. Slow-cooking meat is easy and effortless, and you always end up with tender, moist, delicious meat. This recipe is no exception. It's sweet and rich, and the sauce is delicious over rice and veggies. Perhaps you've noticed we like to use all kinds of meat sauces over our veggies. In our house, such a tasty sauce will magically make ANY veggie desirable. Guaranteed. You should really try it with your little ones. Broccoli, choy, cauliflower, even sweet potatoes get dipped in sauce. You might be surprised at what they'll agree to eat!

3-4 pounds pork butt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 inch ginger root, crushed
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup mirin
1/2 cup shoyu
1/2 cup miso

Combine all ingredients except the pork, mix well, put in slow cooker.
Place pork in slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-9 hours, until tender.
Turn over midway through cooking to brown the other side.
Cool, then slice. Enjoy!

The rest of the bento includes a mixed rice onigiri which is hidden beneath a flower made of sliced radish, purple potato and peapods, steamed broccoli, and a hard boiled egg shaped into a bear face. I know it looks really weird, but I put nori dots in the eye and nose indentations, and a nori strip in the mouth, because I thought you would be able to see it better. Um, I guess I have to change the settings on my camera since a few of the last photos have had a lot of glare and intense brightness. You can't even tell I shaped it; but believe me -- I did, and it came out perfect too, no cracks or anything! Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.

There's also a yellow carrot flower, white peach slices, a strawberry and some blackberries. All packed in my stainless steel Lunchbots box. This one has no dividers, but never mind; the silicone cups do well at separating the fruit from the rest of the meal. This nice compact box fits well in my boy's little insulated tote.

Oh, and I almost forgot: this one qualifies for Hapabento's BOMB contest for Flowery Bento, yay!
Happy bento!

Honey Shiso Pork Bento

Honey Shiso Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

MisterMan gets honey shiso pork in this bento. The meat was marinated in cider vinegar, honey and julienned shiso, then grilled. The recipe actually calls for pork chops, but I used pork strips for ease of eating. You could also simply cut the meat off the bone after cooking as well. Next to the pork I packed roasted brussels sprouts and diced purple potatoes. The sprouts and potatoes were roasted side by side, tossed in olive oil and garlic powder, as per my usual custom.

The other sections contain juicy ripe strawberries, blueberries, and a little cuplet of cottage cheese scattered with chopped raspberry jewel plum and wheat germ. On top, I placed a clover of pumpkin seeds -- after all, it's nearly St. Patrick's Day. Happy St. Patty's Day, bento friends!

Olympics Bento: Snowboard Cross

Olympics Bento: Snowboard Cross, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento has a theme: Olympics! It's an easy one, and it might even provide more than one themed bento over the next week. I'll tell you what this one shows, since you may not be able to decipher it on your own: Snowboard Cross.

Yes, I know it doesn't look like a snowboard but the truth is he was supposed to be a downhill skier. After I cut out the carrot man, I couldn't get him to stand on two skis so I used only one. And didn't bother to cut a proper snowboard by that time :) But luckily this way I don't need to figure out how to put poles either.

I made honey garlic pork, using sliced pork loin instead of chops so it's easier for the kids to eat and better for bento. I also stirfried yellow zucchini (squash) and sweet red pepper with olive oil and garlic powder. There's also steamed broccoli, a maroon/purple carrot skewer and a grape tomato. The snowboarder is made of carrot with a grape head and a purple carrot ski, and he is perched on a tofu hill. In the fruit section I put sliced blood oranges, a strawberry, a yellow carrot star and some red grapes (underneath).