Inari Sushi Bento ~Year of Monkey~

Almost new year already.....
Happy year of Monkey!

I cut inari sushi pouch and stuff rice inside.
Here is my bento page on Japan Up! magazine Feb issue;)
Please pick it up at your local restaurants or Japanese grocery stores!! (in LA and OC )

Tofu Dumplings Panda Bento

I made this bento for Japan Up! magazine Jan issue!
This month's theme is tofu, so I made healthy tofu shumai, (kinda dumplings)
Instead of wrapping fillings with wan ton square wraps, I cut them and coat the fillings with them,
Please see below for more details.

Tofu Dumplings

200g Tofu

100g Ground Chicken

1/4  Onion, minced

2tbs Soy Sauce

1tbs Sugar

1/2tbs Sesame Oil

2tbs Potato Starch

1/4tsp  Ginger, grated

20 Won Ton Square Wraps

1. Drain tofu well. (see my blog post "how to press and drain tofu) Mix all the ingredients besides wraps.

2. Cut square wraps into short strips as shown.

3. Shape the tofu mixture into desired size and place on the strips. Coat the tofu balls with the strips. Press firmly to secure strips stick to tofu balls.

4. Steam for about 15 mins.

Panda

   

1. Cut a couple strips of spaghetti into 1-2 inch segments and pan-fry. 

2. Put a black bean on top of the pasta. Repeat 8 times. Carefully insert the pasta into the tofu dumpling where you want to add ears and eyes.

3. Poke a slice of cheese with a boba straw to create nose outlines for panda. Or carve with a toothpick.

4. Carefully move the nose to the face.

5. Cut a piece of nori seaweed to create noses and place on the cheese.

Animal Rice Balls Bento Box

I made 5 cute bento boxes for JapanUp! magazine May issue.  Each character showcased different Japanese products. (See all five here) I used Yamamotoyama's Soy Wrappers for this animal rice balls!!

Looks like this bento is the most popular of five bento I made.
Therefore, I'm posting the instruction for this animal friends bento:)

Easter Bunny BentoBox

Made a light lunch bento for my husband and me.
It was really nice out today, so decided to eat at the park next to our apartment.

I just carved a slice of cheese into a bunny shape and placed between rice and seaweed.
Very easy one!

I finally started Instagram. Please follow me if you feel like it...:)
https://instagram.com/funbentobox/

Sesame Mayonnaise Chicken Rice Balls

1 Small chicken breast  , steamed or however you'd like to cook
1/2 tbs Mayonnaise (more or less to your taste)
Dash of soy sauce
Dash of honey
1/2tsp Sesame oil
Pinch of Salt and pepper


Shred chicken by hands and mix all the ingredients.
Use as filling for your rice balls.

Picnic Sliders

Happy 4th of July!
There is a concert at a park near our place tonight!!!
Made this slider bears to eat while watching the show:)
This would be great for parties!

I recommend avoiding beef patties for picnic.( if you can't heat them up before you eat)
Beef fat is hard to be melt in our mouth and not that tasty when you eat them cold.
I made tofu chicken patties this time. It was really good even when it's cold! :)


I made 2 big patties and a couple of small ones.
I used the big ones for this sliders and froze the small ones for bento!
*Wait for patties to cool before freeze:)

Bear
Eyes and Nose : Sliced cheese, Nori seaweed

Tofu Chciken Hamburger 

250g Ground chiken
250g Silken Tofu
125g Onion
1 Egg
40g Panko bread crumbs
1/2tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
*2tbs Soy sauce
*2tbs Sake
*1tbs Sugar
*1/2tbs Vinegar

1. Mince onion and saute until transparent.
2. Mix the onion, tofu, egg, panko, salt and pepper in a bowl by hands.
3. Divide into 6-8 egg shapes.
4. Heat oil in a pan and cook the patties for 1~2 minutes over medium heat. (with a lid on)
5. Turn down to low heat and cook for 3~4 minutes.
6. Flip the patties and cook for another 3 minutes. ( no lid)
7. Mix * ingredients and pour over the patties.