Shoyu Chicken Bento

If it seems like deja vu, it probably is because I've made this bento many, many times. It's a kid favorite and a guaranteed hit in our house so that's why it's on constant rotation. It was my favorite as a kid, so I can understand it! I made shoyu chicken and crispy potatoes for TinySprite, in a lettuce cup. I didn't cut the chicken this time; let's see what she says. There's also a broccoli tree, blood orange wheels, a couple of grape tomatoes, and some fresh cut pineapple. All packed up in our Sistema Bakery container. So perfect for this girl of mine. Happy Wednesday!

Salmon Salad EcoLunchBox Bento

A non-cutesy bento, after the deluge of cute ones from last week. This is the kind that I normally make: with a focus mainly on the nutritiousness and deliciousness of the food iteself. If I have extra time, I'll add a cute detail. But sometimes, I just don't. Like today. This one is just a basic salmon salad with halved tomatoes and a few red onions. MisterMan doesn't like added dressing, but you could easily send some along with your kid if you so desired. The lower tier of the EcoLunchbox Three-In-One serves well for this type of bento. The top tier is shallower and will hold a selection of grapes, blood orange segments, and carrots. The third box has a lid and I packed some yogurt (you could also use cottage cheese), sunflower seeds, and fresh pineapple chunks. This one will keep my middle-schooler satisfied, even without the food faces! ^__^

I Heart Chili Riceball Bento

Another cold day calls for homemade chili (I used this recipe but with lots of extra veggies thrown in, because you know me) in the 17oz. Stanley thermal food jar; this larger size is great for kids whose appetite is bigger than the usual 12oz. jar can hold (like my MisterMan). I also like this jar because it's virtually indestructible; very heavy-duty and all stainless steel. To pack alongside, I used two EcoLunchBox Eco Dippers: one holds a heart-shaped shiso musubi with a nori face in a lettuce cup and a grape tomato. The other holds sliced kiwi, blood oranges, and fresh (yes, fresh!) pineapple chunks. He'll take the very practical combo spoon/fork/knife with him too. Happy Wednesday, friends!

Tonkatsu and Pickles Bento

Tonkatsu and Pickles Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This is a bento of firsts: my first time packing tonkatsu, and my first time making pickled okra. As for the tonkatsu, there's not really a reason not to pack it for bento. I mean, it's true that it's crispier when eaten immediately, but it's still tasty the next day, and when you let the kids dip their own tonkatsu sauce, you'll find that they eat the cabbage too. Besides the mess and hassle of deep-frying, it's not hard to make tonkatsu. I use thin cut pork and dip in flour, egg and panko, and fry until golden brown. And of course, kids LOVE it. About the pickles; I've actually been on a kind of pickle kick. I am obsessed with pickling. My favorite is red onions. It's super easy, and amazingly enough you don't need to add anything at all except rice vinegar -- the onions just magically become sweet and delicious after a day or so. And look at the color! I mean, how can you resist? I also shredded some carrot and daikon and pickled those together with a little sugar, and then I saw a recipe for okra pickles. I think they are meant to be eaten relatively soon after preparing, due to the slime factor, but the flavor was really good! It called for shoyu, which made a big difference. I thought the kids might be grossed out but they actually finished this batch first. Kids eating raw okra? Score! The other box shows off all the spring color: pineapple chunks, carrots, blackberries, and supersweet baby farmers strawberries.
Added to What's For Lunch.

Sticky Rice Bento

Sticky Rice Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This bento contains sticky rice, one of my favorite one-pot meals (my basic method is here). For this batch I used regular white glutinous (sweet) rice, and mixed with Japanese brown rice. I presoaked for a few hours before cooking, and about 15 minutes before the end of the cycle I added sliced lup cheong, shiitake mushrooms, and shredded baby choy. You can add other ingredients if you like. I've made it with cubed kabocha, which resulted in a nice colorful batch. You can also add in chopped green onion after the rice is finished cooking, which is what I did here. I packed it inside a lettuce leaf, alongside some carved carrots and a piece of corn on the cob, which I decorated with Okinawan sweet potato hearts. The fruit square contains yellow peach, strawberry and blackberry. The last square has yogurt topped with chopped fresh pineapple, sunflower seeds and wheat germ. If I pack yogurt, I try to overlay it with fruit to keep it contained as much as possible. It's actually Greek yogurt, so it's not very runny. I also usually tell MisterMan when there's yogurt in his bento, so he can try to minimize the amount of swinging around he does with it >.<

Finally, remember the Bento & Co contest to "Make a Bento for Someone You Love"? There were 223 entries, from France, USA, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, England, Norway, Morocco, and Japan. I wanted to thank all of you for voting and supporting my entry. I didn't win the grand prize trip to Kyoto, but I did place high enough in the final 20 to receive a generous gift certificate to Bento & Co! So, thank you very much, bento friends! ^_^

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 :)

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?
^_^