Hello Kitty Bento (just for fun)! =^.^=

Hello! The kids have no need for a bento today, but I thought I would make a bento in imitation of the most kawaii charm I have ever seen. It is of course a Hello Kitty bento charm. Have you seen it? I got mine at the gift shop at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles during the Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty exhibit. It just so happens I own the same bento box in real life, so I tried to recreate all the foods I can see in the charm. I took some artistic and culinary liberties, though. I also used TinySprite's toys for my props today...

Happy Friday, friends! Have a great weekend! ^__^

Added to What's For Lunch.

Bentobuddies Ebi Fry Bento

Bentobuddies Ebi Fry Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Look at the cute bento picks. So so adorable! I had to make a bento to match them, so this one is for my TinySprite. I made ebi fry (fried shrimp), octodogs, hard-boiled egg, steamed broccoli, tomato and strawberry. My girl loves ebi fry. I mean she LOVES it. I don't usually deep fry at home because I don't like to deal with the cleanup or the splattering oil. But it's totally worth it for this super crispy crunchy ebi fry. I used the recipe and method I found at Just One Cookbook, which calls for double dredging of the shrimp before panko. I think this results in the extra crispiness. When you make this, you should make a lot because the kids will end up grabbing them by the fistful and chowing down. I had them pack their own bento so they would be sure to save some for tomorrow! Delicious!

Hello Kitty and Octodogs Bento

Hello Kitty and Octodogs Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I haven't shown a TinySprite bento in while -- they're usually a smaller version of her big brother's, so I only snap a photo of his bento. Lately, however, her appetite has been uneven, and there've been a few times that she's only eaten the fruit and left the main part of her meal uneaten. I find that when she eats lunch at home with me she has a much bigger appetite. Her favorite things to ask for are: a hot dog wrap (with melted cheddar and lettuce), egg-in-the-hole (basically buttered toast with an egg pan-fried right into a hole cut out of the center), string cheese, "whatever meat we might have leftover in the fridge", berries and yogurt. Yes, ALL of that. So I'm thinking that it may be she's eating less at school because she talks too much with her bff Ava R. Her teacher says they do everything together: ride bikes, hold hands on walks, even paint on the same paper. Okay, fine. So I've made a little cute bento in hopes that she'll gobble this one all up. I used a whole turkey dog to make two octopi and one crab (hidden under the broccoli tree), some peapods, and a quail egg Hello Kitty with radish ears, nori eyes and a yellow carrot nose. I poked the ears into slits I made with my knife, and I also pushed the nose into a slit as well, to keep it in place. At first I pushed it too far in, so I reached in with my plastic tweezers and pulled it back out. No problem! It just occurred to me that you might even cut a hole and let the yellow yolk show through for the nose. I also added a tiny strawberry and some chopped cara cara oranges, all in the cute My Melody aluminum box I found at Marukai on sale. Yay! How can she resist this one? ^_^

Octodog and Salted Salmon Onigiri Bento

Octodog and Salted Salmon Onigiri Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I made salted salmon last weekend, and have been enjoying it in all kinds of ways. Today I made a salted salmon onigiri for my second-grader, who will like the flavor the fish imparts to the plain mixed rice. I added a couple of octodogs with sesame seed and nori facial details, and a quail egg with a molded bear face. I dipped the egg in shoyu for flavor and to add contrast. I filled in the gaps with steamed broccoli, and I also fried some partially steamed kabocha in the same octodog pan. I drizzled shoyu on the wedges at the end to give a bit of salty flavor. The plum slices are accented with watermelon radish and pink carrot flower.

I used Maki's Just Bento recipe for salted salmon. Briefly, all you do is coat a fresh piece of salmon with sea salt, wrap in paper towels and refrigerate for 24 hours to draw the liquid out. After the salting period, you can slice the filet and cook in a few different ways. I chose to pan-fry; a few minutes on each side until cooked through. It is quick and easy to do, and so versatile. I've eaten it in jook, ochazuke, onigiri, and just as is with plain hot rice. It's simply delicious. And since Maki says you can freeze the salted pieces, that's just what I've done. It'll only take a few minutes to fry some up whenever the mood strikes me.