Kalua Pork and Cabbage Bento

Kalua Pork and Cabbage Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Kalua pork and cabbage makes up this bento. So glad I made this for the beginning of the week so that it takes care of a few meals during that slow Monday period. I also grabbed the trusty round bento to make sure everything looks good automatically. Besides the kalua pork and cabbage in one section, he gets steamed broccoli, peapods, and carrots, and an assortment of fruit (mini mandarin, giant strawberry and a few blackberries. I also added a sakura-shaped satsumaimo for the middle. That's it. You're interested in the kalua pork?

Here's how to make it: Get a piece of pork shoulder, around 3-4 pounds, poke it with the tip of a sharp knife all over, rub with 1 teaspoon of Hawaiian salt and 1.5 teaspoon of liquid smoke. Place in slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 16 hours. You might turn it at some point during cooking if you get a chance. Towards the end of cooking it'll be very tender and start to fall apart. And it'll smell realllly realllly good. Steam some cabbage and quick fry it up with some pork and drippings, and you have a delicious meal!

Slow-Cooked Pork Bento

Slow-Cooked Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento contains some sliced pork, cooked in the slow-cooker, Okinawan style. Slow-cooking meat is easy and effortless, and you always end up with tender, moist, delicious meat. This recipe is no exception. It's sweet and rich, and the sauce is delicious over rice and veggies. Perhaps you've noticed we like to use all kinds of meat sauces over our veggies. In our house, such a tasty sauce will magically make ANY veggie desirable. Guaranteed. You should really try it with your little ones. Broccoli, choy, cauliflower, even sweet potatoes get dipped in sauce. You might be surprised at what they'll agree to eat!

3-4 pounds pork butt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 inch ginger root, crushed
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup mirin
1/2 cup shoyu
1/2 cup miso

Combine all ingredients except the pork, mix well, put in slow cooker.
Place pork in slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-9 hours, until tender.
Turn over midway through cooking to brown the other side.
Cool, then slice. Enjoy!

The rest of the bento includes a mixed rice onigiri which is hidden beneath a flower made of sliced radish, purple potato and peapods, steamed broccoli, and a hard boiled egg shaped into a bear face. I know it looks really weird, but I put nori dots in the eye and nose indentations, and a nori strip in the mouth, because I thought you would be able to see it better. Um, I guess I have to change the settings on my camera since a few of the last photos have had a lot of glare and intense brightness. You can't even tell I shaped it; but believe me -- I did, and it came out perfect too, no cracks or anything! Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.

There's also a yellow carrot flower, white peach slices, a strawberry and some blackberries. All packed in my stainless steel Lunchbots box. This one has no dividers, but never mind; the silicone cups do well at separating the fruit from the rest of the meal. This nice compact box fits well in my boy's little insulated tote.

Oh, and I almost forgot: this one qualifies for Hapabento's BOMB contest for Flowery Bento, yay!
Happy bento!