Pork Veggie Rice Noodle Makizushi Bento

I made Vietnamese style pork chops and instead of packing them in lettuce wraps, which is how we ate them for dinner and how I usually pack them (which makes for a great bento, by the way), I decided to make more makizushi rolls for the kiddos. I've never put rice noodles in sushi before, but I guess it worked out all right!

I like how the black rice contrasts with the rice noodles (and the white pork). I included nuoc cham dipping sauce too, as well as pickled red onion and watermelon. The roll includes: black rice, romaine lettuce, pork chop slices, pickled carrots and daikon. Everything is packed in a stainless steel container with a leakproof clicktight lid, and an Eco Dipper container for the fruit. Perfect!

Pork Chop Strips Bento

For this simple lunch I made pan-fried Vietnamese style thin pork chops, which I sliced into strips for the kids' bento. I marinated the meat in a mixture of fish sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, shallots, and cracked black pepper before cooking them in a cast iron pan. Added the sliced peppers too, and reduced the sauce. You can serve them in a lettuce wrap with pickled veggies, or over shredded lettuce, or with baby sweet peppers like I did here. A half peach and some chopped Asian pear round out the bento for MisterMan. They both love this meat, and it's a great way to get them to eat lettuce too :)

Pork Chop and Shredded Veggies Bento

Today I made pan-fried Vietnamese style thin pork chops, which I choose because I can slice them into strips for the kiddos' bento. I lay them on a bed of shredded lettuce - I think it looks nice that way. If you like, you can drizzle some of the reduced sauce on top, but I omitted that. I also quick pickled some shredded carrots and daikon and added a couple sweet purple potato hearts. This fit nicely in the Zen box I got from Bento & Co.

In the side box: blood orange chunks, grape tomatoes, and a tiny cup of chocolate covered raisins. 

Happy Wednesday! This week is flying by!

Chimichurri Pork LunchBots Bento

Chimichurri Pork LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I packed TinySprite's bento with pan-fried peppery thin cut pork chops on shredded cabbage, topped with a chimichurri sauce (parsley, cilantro, shallot, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, pepper, sherry vinegar). This version is a bit on the spicy side, so there's just a very little bit for flavor. She also gets sesame-marinated mini bell peppers, pickled cucumbers, carrots and daikon. The last section of the very practical LunchBots Trio holds strawberry, a quartered donut peach, and cherries. And that's it for the week!