Panda Rice Bento

Panda Rice Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today I made roasted sweet miso chicken a la hapabento's recipe... although I changed it up a bit... and I added a panda rice musubi because as I've mentioned before, I really like chicken with rice! I think they go together like peaches and cream! Or hugs and kisses! Anyway. I think I'm convincing MisterMan of this, as he is eating the riceballs every day, and I'm not hearing any complaints :)

For the chicken, I only had skinless boneless thighs, so that's what I used. I marinated the pieces whole in equal parts white miso and agave syrup, which is the juice from the agave plant and a sugar/honey substitute. I forgot the mirin, but I added it just before cooking. I roasted at 450F in my trusty toaster oven for quite awhile; I think maybe 40 minutes or so. I even had extra room in there so I also roasted some mini sweet peppers at the same time (though those came out after about 20 minutes).

After the chicken was done, I also roasted some baby bok choy, another hapabento idea. I had previously accidentally roasted some brussels sprouts leaves, and discovered the crunchy leaves are kinda fun to eat. Have you ever tried it? So, I thought I would try the same thing with the choy. It didn't crisp up as well, but it still came out okay, and I think it tastes neat this way. My kids swiped it through the miso sauce, and I guess it was acceptable, because they ate it all.

I added some raw carrots for extra color, and in the fruit section I put some chopped fresh pineapple, cherries, and blood orange wedges.
This bento came home completely empty; all the lettuce and sauce included -- it looked like he had washed it already! I guess he liked it :)