Bento Lunch Box 17 Oct 07

Chicken Teriyaki with xiaobaicai and Sweet Simmered Shiitake Mushrooms

After weeks of travelling on the job and falling sick after the trip, I am finally up and running again (Actually still have a slight flu and cough :p) My first "project" after many weeks of not cooking is to attempt to put together a japanese bento box based on a latest cook book I bought.

I have always been fascinated with how the japanese managed to pack such a comprehensive lunch box with a good mix of protein and carbo plus all the nice mix of colours in the lunch box. So when I heard about this cook book called Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go, I just could not resist not buying it. It was highly recommended by bento fans and being a bento die hard fan myself, it seems logical I should have a copy too. :)

This book really has a lot of traditional japanese recipes which is very suitable for packing into daily lunch box. I will definitely be trying the recipes in the book in the days to come. For now, enjoy this dish.

Ingredients

Chicken Teriyaki
1 piece of boneless chicken with skin on
1 tbsp each mirin and soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp cooking oil

Xiaobaicai or any other green leafy vegetable of your preference

Sweet Simmered Shiitake Mushrooms
4 -5 dried shiitake mushrooms (soak in cold water for 1 hour and stems removed)
1 and 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp each of mirin, sake, sugar

Method

1. Marinate chicken in mirin, soy sauce, sugar and oil for 30 minutes. Drain the marinade reserving it for later use.


2. Pan fry chicken on both sides till brown.


3. Add 3 tbsp of water to reserved marinade and pour over the chicken. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked.


4. Turn up fire and reduce the sauce to a glaze. Remove and slice chicken.


5. Blanch the xiao bai cai in salted water. Drain and remove. Layer the vegetable over white rice and top with sliced chicken teriyaki.


6. Put shiitake in a pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add all other ingredients.


7. Continue to simmer until liquid is almost completely absorbed. So for a start, you should not add too much water. Just enough to cover the shiitake.


8. Cut the shiitake to pieces/slices and pack them into the bento box.

This is how my completed bento box look like:

I used chicken breast without skin (less fatty) but for those who prefer more tender chicken, you can consider using chicken thigh with skin. As for the shiitake, remember not to add too much water as it will take a while to simmer to almost dry. For those who prefer sweeter taste, you can consider adding more sugar although I find the taste just alright with a slight sweet taste.