Garlic Chili Oil Noodles

Had a craving for some spicy noods so did a quick search for a garlicky chili oil sauce to go with my new batch of knife-cut noodles.

Have you tried these before? I bought mine dried, and after you boil them you can see they have a frilly edge which is thinner than the center. They are cut using a special tool to create this unique shape. I admit I bought them because of their delicate beauty. But also I heard that they hold onto the sauce well. Big plus.

I sort of followed a general recipe but took a few liberties. The basic gist is shoyu, dark shoyu, black vinegar, chili oil (I used Lao Gan Ma chili crisp), extra chili powder, minced garlic, chopped scallions, sesame oil, and roasted peanuts (I pan toasted these in oil separately to get them crunchy before I added them). After the sauce is done, toss the drained noodles into the pan, coat thoroughly and enjoy!

Everyone else here seemed to like it but I'm looking for something a tad bit more spicy (and oily) with less soy. I should have known just by looking at it. Why didn't I just go with my gut and dump some chili oil on my bowl? Sometimes I just want chili and oil. But probably the garlic is crucial here too. I'm just going to have to tweak the proportions to suit my particular taste. This version is worth keeping for the fam though👍🏼

Baked Spaghetti Bento

Quick and simple one using leftovers from last night's dinner of baked spaghetti and steamed broccoli, including cheese blossoms, strawberries, cottage cheese topped with sunflower seeds and more blossoms cut from Okinawan sweet potato. Have a great Thursday friends!

😊❤🍱

Happy Girls' Day Bento!

Happy Girls' Day and wishing all our little girls the happiness, strength, and good health to achieve their goals and make all their dreams come true!

We love you! 🥰

😊❤🍱

Chef Bento Noodle Contest by Bento & Co

Hello Bento Friends!

Bento & Co held a contest this past week for a Noodle Theme Bento. The contest is open to any and all, and it's a fun way to challenge yourself into making a bento using the ingredient or element called for. The company holds a similar contest every year with different themes, and I decided to enter this year (I also participated in a past contest here).

I was pleased and honored to have been selected as one of the ten finalists! 💖💖💖
You can see the other nine finalists in the collage above; they are beautiful! The ultimate ranking of the 10 bento will be determined by public vote, meaning people like you! If you are so inclined, please click over to the Bento & Co website to view the entries in closeup, and cast your vote for your favorite. Voting is open until Wednesday! If you vote for me, thank you! 😘💕

While you're there, you can check out the super cute and practical bento and kitchen items offered in the shop. I love the quality and selection of the goods offered by this Kyoto-based company!

In case you were wondering, my entry is this one (top middle in the collage): Soba Totoro Bento! 

Hope you are enjoying a wonderful week so far! 😊❤🍱

Soba Salad Bento

Hello! I know it's the middle of March, but it has been feeling like summer these past few days in the Bay Area. It was too hot in the kitchen to cook, believe it or not, so I decided to make a fresh cool salad for dinner. And tomorrow's lunch as well! Soba salad is convenient because everyone can use whatever toppings they choose: this one has snap peas, tomatoes, ham, egg, shiitake mushrooms, sesame seeds and green onion. The tsuyu goes into a separate small container on the side, but if you have a leakproof lunchbox you can drizzle it right on top ahead of time (or just omit it if desired). You can also sprinkle furikake as well. I hope this weather means the worst of the rainy winter season is over!

Won Ton Bowl Bento

Another bowl type bento today; this time in an actual round bowl. I really like this apple-shaped two tier metal container. It's cute and handy and just right for meals like this. I lay some soba noodles on the bottom, added shredded romaine lettuce, cilantro and green onions, then topped with as many won tons as would fit. You can drizzle a little shoyu, chili oil, and black vinegar, or use a separate condiment bottle for that. I have a current obsession with scallion ginger sauce so I ate mine with that - SO good. One day I'll share that with you but that's for another day. Since there aren't too many fruit in season right now, I cut some red grapefruit. You might think it sounds tart and sour but they are actually quite sweet! I know some folks sprinkle sugar on top but trust me, you don't need to. If it's not sweet enough for you, maybe toss in some oranges (or squeeze some juice over). I hope you try it!

Won Ton Filling

1 lb ground meat (I used turkey but pork is traditional)
1 scallion, chopped
1 t grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T shoyu
1/2 T cornstarch
1 egg

Mix all together and fill dumpling skins. You can change the amounts of the ingredients to suit your taste. Drop in boiling water and when they float to the surface, wait 30 more seconds and lift out gently. Serve with soup, noodles, or just as is.

Totoro Soba Saladbook Bento!

Hello from Totoro! Yup, it's another Totoro bento. It may be true that we are in the midst of Fall, but we are still digging the cold noodle bento these days. This one is a soba salad, with chopped romaine, shredded carrot, fishcake (kamaboko), nori, grape tomatoes, and steamed Okinawan sweet potato soot sprites. I poured tsuyu directly on the noodles because the lid is gasketed and advertised to be leakproof. Spoiler: it didn't leak! This is a new lunchbox called SaladBook by Smart Planet. It's only the first time we've used it so we'll reserve judgement until we use it again. Stay tuned!

Chow Mein Life Without Plastic Bento

We are using the Life Without Plastic lunch container again, this time with the removable dividers in place to test out the separating quality of the separators (last time I used the box with just a round cup in the center of our somen salad - that worked very well). MisterMan doesn't usually care whether the food happens to touch each other or the pickle juice gets into the strawberries, but I still wanted to find out just how much mixing occurs. I did use a silicone cup for the pickles, as I usually do, but I probably didn't really need to.

I placed chow mein in two of the four sections, then fruit (cantaloupe, raspberries and strawberry) in one of the remaining sections and sliced Okinawan sweet potato and pickles in the last. The box held everything together without much movement of the food inside; nothing leaked or spilled. Yay!

I used spinach noodles for the chow mein, and stir-fried fresh green beans, chopped baby bok choy, and beech mushrooms alongside. I seasoned with oyster sauce and shoyu to taste, plus garlic and onion. Top with a drizzle of sesame oil and chopped green onions. Quick, easy, and tasty!

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On a side note, The Whole Foods Market blog wrote a piece focusing on Bento Box Lunch Ideas, and I share some bentomaking tips from Happy Little Bento over there. Please click over and take a look if you're interested! It's called:
Bento Box Lunch Ideas: 6 Easy (and Insta-worthy!) Options 
Thanks!
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Cold Penne Pasta Salad

Looks like we're on a cold noodle salad roll over here. I really don't know why it didn't occur to me to make pasta salads ALL SUMMER long, but the idea is now in my head. This one doesn't have a sauce, but gets all its flavor from the diced garlicky chicken sausage, roasted red peppers, and pickled onions. I parboiled broccoli that I had chopped finely and tossed that in too, because you know me, I gotta have some green in there. I loosely used a Serious Eats recipe for Spanish Pasta Salad but adapted some ingredients because it was more convenient. It still tastes good!

Spanish Pasta Salad With Chorizo, Piquillo Peppers, and Pickled Onion

(from Serious Eats recipe)

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1 pound small pasta, such as macaroni (I used penne because I like the color of this carrot version)

Kosher salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

6 ounces Spanish chorizo (about 2 sausages), diced (I used chicken garlic sausage)

4 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)

1/4 cup chopped roasted or grilled piquillo peppers from 1 (12-ounce) brine- or oil-packed jar (I used roasted red peppers)

1/3 cup chopped parsley leaves and tender stems (about 1/2 bunch)

2 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias

2 to 3 teaspoons zest from 1 lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small mixing bowl, cover onion with sherry vinegar and let stand until lightly pickled, at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
2. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until very tender throughout, 2 to 3 minutes longer than al dente stage according to package. Drain in a colander, then chill under cold running water. Let drain well, then drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss to coat. Set aside.
3. In a small skillet, cook chorizo over medium-high heat until fat has rendered and chorizo is crisp, about 8 minutes; during last 1 minute of cooking, stir in garlic.
4. In a large serving bowl, toss pasta with chorizo, garlic, and its rendered fat, along with olive oil, piquillo peppers, parsley, scallions, and lemon zest. Drain onions and toss into salad. Season with salt and pepper. Serve right away at room temperature or make up to 1 day in advance, refrigerate, and return to room temperature before serving. 

The rest of the bento contains sliced plums and white nectarines, as well as a grape tomato. I hope TinySprite enjoys her Paperchase lunch box bento!

Mermaid Pasta Quinoa Bento!

Hi! This one is a "just for fun" snack bento that I made for a contest. I wanted to try making a mermaid using pasta for hair and quinoa for sand. I know now why I don't regularly make decorative charaben -- it is very time-consuming! At least for me. I knew I was going to use a quail egg for her face, and cheese for her body, and Okinawan sweet potato for her colorful tail and bikini, but the execution and cutting and placement took a lot longer than I envisioned. Luckily my miniature garden kale came in handy as seaweed stand-ins, and carrots and strawberries added color as other sea creatures. It was fun though, and the littles got a kick out of it. ^__^

Mama Bird Loves Her Baby Chicks Valentines Day Bento!

I didn't think I would be able to get around to a Valentines Day bento this year, but I just made it! I know I should have put more hearts in it, but you get the picture. I think I made a similar bento last year too, to show my babies how much I love them. That's me, with my MisterMan and TinySprite! That's what bentomaking is all about! 

I used a hen's egg for the mama bird, and two quail eggs for the babies. To get the eggshell effect, use a small paring knife to make zigzag cuts all the way around the hard-boiled egg (not too deep, or you'll scratch the yolk). Then, gently pull the top white part off. These eggs are sitting on a nest of soba noodles, with two grape tomato hearts. The upper tier holds a colorful variety of other stuff: Okinawan sweet potato, kiwi, blueberries, blood orange, carrots and a strawberry. I put a container of tsuyu sauce (not shown) too. Hope you guys all have a fantastic Valentines Day with your loved ones! Muah! 

Easter Chick Soba LunchBots EcoLunchBoxes Bento

Easter Chick Soba Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I squeezed in one last Easter theme bento: a little chickie atop a soba nest. Actually, this is a hen's egg, so it's a pretty big chick, but all the better to see his little face. Quail eggs are easier to cut, but I managed to get the "eggshell" off this one pretty much intact after a lot of finagling. The containers hold soba tsuyu and furikake for TinySprite to add to her soba at lunchtime. The LunchBots Clicks is perfect for this because it's totally leakproof; if she doesn't finish it all, it won't spill out into her lunch tote afterwards. The EcoLunchBoxes Ecodipper was a nice-sized accompaniment to hold her strawberry, Moloka'i Okinawan sweet potato, house-pickled cucumbers and carrots. I won't see you until next week, so enjoy your weekends! Happy Easter, happy Passover, or happy egg hunting!

Singapore Rice Stick Ladybug Bento

Singapore Rice Stick Ladybug Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

We just got back from a long weekend in L.A. visiting the in-laws, so there was no cooking done today >.< Still have yet to hit the grocery; maybe tomorrow. We had a lot of fun, but were all so exhausted. TinySprite had the longest nap in recent history this afternoon -- 3 hours. She had kung fu class this afternoon so she still was tired enough to go to bed at a decent hour. Yay! Luckily we have store-bought Singapore rice sticks, which is a semi-spicy curry type of noodle dish, mixed with egg, meat, bean sprouts and mushrooms. It used to be too spicy for MisterMan, but lately he's been getting a bit more adventurous and we're trying to "break in" his tastebuds so we can all eat more spicy foods as a family. I put a couple of grape tomato ladybugs atop the noodles, with nori decorations. I made a similar ladybug bento (here) not too long ago. Well, they are a sign of spring, aren't they? And so cute! I layered some cara cara oranges and kiwi on the other side, with grapes underneath. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend too. Welcome back to the routine ^_^

Chow Mein Bento

Chow Mein Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Slow Monday means another quick and easy bento. Spinach chow mein noodles get stirfried with a variety of whatever vegetables are on hand; in this case: bean sprouts, shiitake, garlic, carrots, and baby spinach. I added oyster sauce and shoyu for taste, and a little sesame oil. I also added sliced Chinese sausage as well.

We are getting so low on fruits these days -- he gets grapes, blood oranges and kiwi flowers. 2 grape tomatoes. Several maroon carrot tiny flowers scattered around to suggest spring. Is it working? It was such a dreary day too... so I couldn't get much light in the photo.

Happy March!

Four Squares Bento

Four Squares Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

On my recent trip to L.A. over the long weekend, I scored a bunch of new bento stuff. Yay! This multi-sectional box is one of them. I found this one at a store in Little Tokyo called Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle. It's a very cool store, and you should check it out if you're in the area.

This box also came as a two-tier option, with the lower tier a box of the same size without dividers or containers. Each section of this box holds 170 mls, and the label claims the total volume is 1.2L. I guess this takes into account the convex lid (which I don't show here), which does allow you to stuff extra food in there.

Anyway, this size is just perfect for my first-grader. I don't have to fill up the sections fully, but yet each stays separate from the others to keep sauces and flavors distinct. I love it!

For the first use, I gave him Singapore rice sticks in the red box, a green salad with marinated artichoke hearts and grape tomatoes topped with crumbled feta in the green box, pan-fried garlic enoki and broccoflower along with 2 carrot goldfish in the purple box, and a selection of desserts in the yellow box: cherries, kumquats, a beautiful strawberry and a piece of homemade zucchini bread.

This box is a little wider than my others, and it barely fits in his insulated lunch tote, but I squeezed it in there. What do you think? It's a pretty fun box, eh?

The Floating Bento

The Floating Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I have powers of levitation that I put to use in my magical bento today...what do you think? Actually, the light blue background I used just makes it appear as if there's no background at all! Also, it must have been a particularly bright day. Now that the days are getting shorter, I find my pictures might be getting darker with more shadows. Since I have no professional lighting equipment, this lack of natural light must be reflected in my photos, *sigh*. Do you use high-wattage lamps? Or like me, is the quality of your photo dependent upon the weather?

MisterMan has standard vermicelli noodles with grilled chicken, cherry tomato, cucumber baran, broccoli, purple potato wedges and bursting yellow carrots. Fruit side has satsuma mandarins, grapes (underneath), kiwi, blackberries and raspberries.

This bento is so simple, but it includes my boy's favorite kind of food: noodles, so I know it will be a hit. As for the rest of it, as usual I just throw in whatever I have in the vegetable crisper, making sure there is representation of most of the color groups. This is for nutritional balance as well as aesthetics. Starting after this bento, I am trying to put a festive touch into each one. There are only a few weeks left until Christmas, so we might as well make the most of it, right? Happy holidays, friends!

Chow Mein Bento

Chow Mein Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Chow mein with various veggies, satsumaimo flowers, broccoli, peapods, roasted sweet peppers, garlic roasted purple potatoes. Fruit side has grapes, one whole satsuma mandarin, and purple carrot discs. I wanted some contrast to the orange, and wished I had blueberries. Oh well -- the purple carrots seemed to do a sufficient job.

This is a handy Monday bento, when after the weekend I am too tired to cook anything. A quick chow mein can be supplemented with onions and mushrooms, then roast a few other things on the side and add them too. Even decoration is minimal, with only simple florettes. Still, the effect may be pleasing, especially since the boy loves fried noodles (his favorite food, I think!)

Yakisoba Bento and Happy Mama Blogger Award

Yakisoba Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I made yakisoba for this bento, with (store-bought) spinach noodles, baby bok choy, mushrooms, chicken, carrots, garlic and green onion. A huge batch, for dinners and lunches - yay! Cucumber baran, yellow carrot skewer, peach (!?), star radish, purple potato slices, strawberry, blackberries and raspberry. MisterMan will love this bento; he had thirds for dinner!

Yakisoba is a great go-to quick and easy meal (I have lots of these; have you noticed?) especially when you use readymade noodles. I use spinach noodles for the nice green color. You simply toss in whatever veggies you have available (sound familiar? It's the same with fried rice!). We're running low on the fresh fruit, but I can still find a nice strawberry here and there. Not sure where this peach came from, but it is definitely past peach season! I'm happy to still have purple potatoes around, for that jolt of color. It'll be a challenge to keep the bento "happy and fresh" throughout the coming winter months. We'll see if I can manage it :)

And finally, thanks to Lia of MyBentolicious for passing this award to me! Lia's blog is full of cute and adorable bento ideas. She never seems to run out of sweet little touches to make the bento look nice. I get lots of ideas from her. I would like to pass on this award to some other fun and happy mamas:

Pigs Do Fly

Texasmomof4

An Array of Noodles

From left to right: cha-soba (green tea soba), udon, (regular buckwheat) soba, somen.

Aren't they pretty? Somehow they look very pleasing to me like this ~ calming and comforting.

Making (Vegetarian) Pad Thai

Pad Thai is a very popular noodle dish and one of the few Thai recipes that can be adjusted nicely to suit those who favor less spicy flavoring. It also has the added benefit of providing a means of offering all kinds of vegetables that kids might not otherwise be likely to eat on their own! You might like to try it with your own kids, or other picky non-veggie eaters. Besides the veggie aspect, the fact that it is a noodle dish makes it a great standard, and one we often turn to in our kitchen. It's quite easy to prepare at home.

First, start with the noodles. You will use rice sticks, the kind which are wide and broad. Soak them first in hot water until they soften, about 20 minutes, and then boil them for 5 more minutes or so until they are just done, but not mushy. You may have to keep watch on them, and taste for done-ness. When they are done, drain and rinse. Let rest in a colander. In the meantime, you can prepare the vegetables: I used bean sprouts, julienned carrots, chopped bok choy, green onion. I don't stick to traditional recipes; it's okay to use whatever vegetables you like. Also, you should use fried tofu, which can be purchased in the refrigerated section of your local Asian grocery.

Chop the tofu into small cubes. Heat the wok or skillet, and saute some chopped garlic in olive oil for a few minutes. Add 3 lightly beaten eggs, and scramble. Then, throw in your chopped veggies, noodles and tofu. Stir fry until everything is heated through. Add a mixture of 1/4C fish sauce (note: there is a vegetarian fish sauce, available at Vietnamese groceries. It does not have the anchovy, but it contains a mixture of soy beans, salt, sugar, water, chili, and citric acid as a preservative since this type isn't fermented), 1/4C lime juice, and 2T sugar (double if necessary). If you like it spicy, you may add crushed red pepper, chili sauce or sriracha -- but in our house we add it after serving, to suit individual varying tastes. Toss in chopped peanuts and green onion.

Now doesn't it look good? You may also serve it with a slice of lime to garnish, and cilantro on the side. Enjoy! Don't forget, pad thai is excellent the next day, and makes a great bento lunch :)