A Very Chinese Bento

And it's for me, yay!

I had to attend a Parent Volunteers committee meeting and had already cooked dinner for my brood, so I decided to pack some of it along.

Menu:

Sesame oil chicken soup (麻油鸡汤)

Pork chop (in strips for easy eating)

Stir fried pea sprouts

Steamed rice

So gooooood.......

Bento... Yummy Bento

Can't think of any name for it. As long as it's yummy right?

Four Colour Bento

Ahh... just looking at this picture makes me smile. Such vibrant colours to cheer up a day which might turn out rather gloomy (cos RM is getting his exam results today...).

A simple and, most of all, quick, bento assembled in under 15 minutes. And healthy too.

It's not very obvious but I filled the box pretty much to the brim so that the toppings wouldn't run around. Else all RM will see when he opens the box is a mashup of colours *grimace*

Exams are over! Hurray!

Omelette Sandwich

Yawn... I woke up early to make this fresh for Roast Meat. 

Making the omelette was pretty quick - just chop onion, beat eggs, add peas, salt, fry. I took a nap on the sofa for... 15 minutes? while the omelette cooled. Then just assemble the sandwich, slice, take photo and Bob's your uncle.

Onigirazu - Omelette and Cuke

Simple and quick to make, today's onigirazu is made of Japonica rice, cucumber slices and a quick onion omelette made in my tamagoyaki pan.

LTNS Chicken Teriyaki Bento

I finally got round to cooking Tori Teriyaki for our meal after quite a long hiatus. Couldn't resist a craving for the real thing, because the so-called "Teriyaki Chicken" sold by the cheap stalls outside really make me cringe. Just because it's chicken (read - deep fried chicken) and smothered in teriyaki sauce doesn't automatically make it "Teriyaki Chicken", ok?

The kids couldn't wait for me to finish cooking lunch yesterday because of all the wonderful smells that were permeating the house (and drifting out the front door when they came back from school). Tori Teriyaki Banzai!

This is how I cook my Chicken Teriyaki. And that's blanched and seasoned spinach in the silicone cup.

Omelette and Mash Bento

I am pleased to say that part of today's bento was made by Takoyaki. She wanted to fry the omelette herself (mainly because she doesn't like my omelette haha), and since she was at it, she also agreed to fry one for RM.

So I just packed the mash (dinner leftover) and the salad and that was it. Sweeeet... 

Fusili Aglio Olio with Scallion Omelette Bento

Sightly eclectic, but still yummy.

What Shall I Call This Same Old Same Old Sandwich Bento

Ham-cheese-cucumber. Braindead.

My Japanese Jiajiangmyun (Beef Soboro Udon) Bento

This was really easy, because I used up some beef soboro (Jap-style seasoned and fried ground beef) from a previous day's lunch which I'd store hygienically (but of course). So I just boiled the udon and tossed it with the soboro, then added the veggies on top.

RM had this for lunch because I had an appointment and after that, some errands to run, so couldn't be back in time to get him lunch.

I think it was a little greasy though (my fault when cooking the soboro). And customer feedback was not very positive although he could not exactly pinpoint the reason. I suspect it was because he ate it at room temp (about 2 hours after it was made) so the fat had kind of congealed.

Note to self: Serve this hot or at least warm.

Mee Sua Tng (Rice Vermicelli Soup)

Takoyaki is super thrilled to bring this today, cos this is absolutely one of her favourite foods of all time. Especially topped with crispy, crunchy, slightly sweet anchovies contributed by her Ah Ma... summer weather or rainy weather, she will always accept this. I bet she'd even eat this in the desert.

A traditional dish my family loves, method courtesy of my mum, who is a Teochew. The mee sua tng that my Hokkien MIL makes is very different, and involves frying lots of ginger in lots of sesame oil. We like that too, but I don't know how to cook it. This method is healthier but no less yummy.

Nabe (Japanese Hotpot) On The Go

This was packed right before everybody was seated for dinner last night. It was really nice to get the bentoing settled early.

What's in it:

Chuka kurage (jellyfish)

Shabu-shabu pork slices

Enoki mushrooms

Choy sum (菜心) vegetables

Rice

What's not shown:

A steaming hot jar of the soup, packed this morning.

Meow... Cat Onigiri Bento

I have a new toy!!

This is the cat version of the panda onigiri maker that was all the rage sometime back. A close friend went to Japan recently (hanami!) and got this for me, as well as some picks, which I have also used in today's bento. Thank you XH, you are so sweeet! *muaks*

It's surprisingly easy to use, as long as your nori is crisp. I thought I wouldn't kyaraben again untill Mouse hit school but I really couldn't resist this d:)

Roast Meat's cat bento

Takoyaki's cat bento

In the words of Takoyaki, "that's a face palm", or to put it more aptly, a paw-palm.

Sourdough Focaccia Picnic Bento

I've been experimenting with sourdough in recent months, in the sense that many instant yeast bread recipes that are in my repertoire are being converted to sourdough recipes, using my almost-a-year-old sourdough starter as the leavening agent. I think I've found a pretty efficacious formula and it works with most yeast recipes.

Menu:

Sourdough focaccia

Roast chicken drumstick

Veggies

Onigirazu - Ham and Corn

With Japanese cucumber and the best grapes I have ever eaten, courtesy of a friend.