Shoyu Vinegar Chicken LunchBot Trio Bento

Shoyu Vinegar Chicken LunchBot Trio Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The shoyu chicken I grew up with includes just shoyu, sugar, ginger, and garlic. I recently added a new twist to the sauce when I found a recipe that used honey instead of sugar. That turned out to be a big hit. This time I decided to try the version I saw on David Lebovitz' site, which uses vinegar and shoyu together. Hmm. The caramelized shallots are supposed to add some sweetness to the mix. I thought it was nice, but I think the flavor is probably not as appealing to kids. Mine seemed to like it enough, but I think they prefer the other versions. Along with some chicken pieces in this LunchBot Trio: steamed Okinawan sweet potato flower shapes, red rice with furikake, carrots and pickles, melons and cara cara orange chunks.
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Roast Chicken with Caramelized Shallots (from David Lebovitz)

Adapted from French Farmhouse Cookbook (Workman) by Susan Herrmann Loomis

I use a whole chicken cut into eight pieces; two legs, two thighs, and I cut each breast piece in half, crosswise, keeping the wings attached. You could also just use eight of your favorite chicken pieces.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 large shallots, peeled and minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
One whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
one generous handful of coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).

2. In a large baking dish, one which will hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer, mix the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, shallots, and some salt and pepper.

3. Toss the chicken in the mixture, so they’re completely coated with the shallots. Turn the chicken pieces so they are all skin side up.

4. Roast the chicken for about twenty minutes, until it starts to brown on top. Turn the pieces of chicken over. Scrape any juices and shallots over the chicken that may be clinging to the pan, and bake for another twenty minutes, or until the pieces of chicken are cooked through and the shallots are well-caramelized.

5. Remove from oven and toss in the chopped parsley, then serve.

Added to What's For Lunch.

Shiso Honey Pork Bento

Shiso Honey Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

In MisterMan's bento: Shiso-honey pork with broccoli, sauteed green beans and little "cupcake" onigiri with furikake and tiny cherry tomato. Satsuma mandarin, grapes, kiwi and strawberry for dessert.So happy with the satsumas these days!

For this recipe you can use pork chops, but I used thin pork slices since it's easier for kids to eat this way. For 1 pound of meat, make the following sauce and marinate the meat 4 hours or overnight. Reserve 1/4 cup for basting.

1 cup honey

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup finely julienned shiso leaves (recipe calls to marinate in it, but I opted to add mine later)

1t. kosher salt

1t. fresh ground black pepper

Brown the meat on the grill or pan, then add reserved sauce. I added shiso at the end, cut into little pieces with kitchen shears. It has a nice sweet taste with sharp contrast of shiso. I forgot to take pictures, but you can see my boy's bento here. I forgot to add the shiso to his portion, oops :)