Yakitori Chicken Bento Lunch

Have been busy at work lately and with all the hectic travelling on the job, I did not have the time and energy to go groceries shopping and cooking. However, after having canteen food for the past few days, I am really really quite sick of it and was wondering if I could put together a simple lunch for tomorrow. A quick glance at what is in my fridge "uncovered" my "withering" broccoli and baby carrots which is growing "old".....thought I better "finished" them off rather than to see them ended up in my rubbish chute....:p

Just had a very nice yakitori chicken don yesterday at Sushi Teh and was wondering if I could put together the same item.....:) A quick stir-fry of the onion, chicken slices, a few tablespoons of yakitori sauce, soy sauce and black soy sauce and my yakitori chicken bento is completed!

Yakitori Chicken Bento
Ingredients
100g chicken, diced (my mother sliced the chicken instead!)
1/2 onion, sliced
3 tblsp yakitori sauce (available in Japanese section of any major supermkt)
1/2 tblsp soy sauce (to marinate the diced chicken at least 15 minutes before)
1/2 tblsp black soy sauce
1 tblsp water
1/2 tsp Cornflour (to be dissolved with some water to form a cornstarch solution)
Blanched broccoli and baby carrots

Method
1. Heat some oil in a pan and stir fry onions till its fragrant and soft.
2. Add the marinated chicken and quickly stir fry till its almost cooked.
3. Add all the sauces and water and continue to stir fry till chicken is cooked.
4. Stir in 1 tblsp of cornstarch solution to thicken the sauce.
5. Remove chicken from heat and top on white rice after it has cooled off.
6. Add blanched broccoli and baby carrots (or vegetables of your choice)by the side.

Teriyaki Meat Balls Bento

I am back into making and packing bento again! This is the two bento I brought to office today. This one is for me (I love the cutie bunny bento belt).....


And this is lunch box I prepared for my lunch kaki.



This is two of my new bento box from my bento collection. Over the past 1 and a half year, I have accumulated more bento boxes than I can imagine in the course of my travelling. Ever since I started bento-ing, I just couldn't resist buying new bento box each time I see one although I will usually use the regular 2 - 3 boxes. However, I have decided to put most if not all of the boxes to good use instead of allowing them to accumulate dust in my kitchen cabinet. So here they are.

The boxes are actually pretty small in size (only about 470ml each) so it's quite amazing I managed to "squeeze" everything into the tiny box! Sure can help to control my food intake if I consistently stick to using these bento boxes :) The contents of the 2 bento lunches are the same. Teriyaki meat balls and stir fried broccoli, carrot and bamboo shoots.


I shall have to chew slowly to make my lunch last longer given that the proportion is smaller than my usual lunch....hahaha......

High Protein Bento Lunch

My high protein low carbo lunch. :)

Consists of the following:
1. Teriyaki Chicken Wings
2. Blanched tofu, endamame and baby carrots
3. Bacon roll with enoki mushrooms

Quite easy to put the items together although the bacon roll will take slightly a bit more time. But then they are so yummy, it makes the time spent all worth it. :) So if you keen to try, here it is.

Bacon Roll with Enoki Mushroom
Ingredient
Streaky Bacon, 4 slices
Half a batch of enoki mushroom, stems/roots cut and washed thoroughly
Yakitori sauce (available in Japanese section of any supermarket)

Method
1. Place streaky bacon on chopping board or flat surface.
2. Place 10-15 strands of enoki mushroom on bacon.
3. Roll up till bacon is fully used up, pressing down on the ends.
4. Brush yakiniku sauce on both sides of the bacon roll.
5. Heat some oil in a non-stick pan and place bacon (ends down) on the pan.
6. Pan fry bacon roll till slightly crispy.
7. Remove from heat. Packed into bento box with teriyaki chicken wings, tofu and blanched vegetables of your choice.

Enjoy!

Soba with Oriental Mushrooms

Today's lunch recipe is courtesy of Jan 08 Shape magazine. I had always wonder what I can do with soba besides making it into cold noodles. They taste great but after a whole morning "soaking" in the cold dry air-con in office, I am not that keen to have cold noodles for lunch. So when I saw this recipe, I was very keen to give it a try. After all, the ingredients are pretty simple to buy and prepare and the cooking does not require lots of complicated steps. And so here it is!

Soba with oriental mushrooms (Serves 2)
Ingredients
70g soba
50g shimeji mushrooms
50g oyster mushrooms, sliced
4 big shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
100ml vegetable/chicken stock (I used chicken stock cubes and dissolve them in hot water instead)
1 tbsp sake
2 tbsp olive oil
Splash of soy sauce
Chilli powder

Garnishing
1 tomato, diced
Black sesame seeds
Parsley or chives, chopped

Method
1. Cook soba until al dente, then drain and set aside for use later.
2. Heat up olive oil in non-stick pan and saute the garlic and mushrooms.
3. When the mushrooms starts to wither, add sake, soy sauce and vegetable stock. Let the mushrooms continue to cook till it's fairly dry.
4. Add soba, chilli powder and toss together.
5. Top with chopped tomato, black sesame seed and parsley.

I really like this recipe. It is a very light dish with nice mushroom fragrance as you eat the soba. Great for those vegetarians as there is no meat in it. For those who is not a fan of mushrooms, this might not be the dish you want to cook though. I will definitely cook this again although I will reduce the cooking time for the soba. They were a bit too soft for my liking. And I will not toss all the garnishing into the soba the next round. Just sprinkle them on top and I am sure it will improve the visual effect of this dish. :)

Fried Rice Bento Lunch 080108

Fried rice paradise!! It's been a while since I cooked fried rice and it's such a easy lunch to prepare for the lazy me. Fried rice is such a versatile dish and you can add anything you want to leftover rice and voila! A new dish instantly. For this, I added imitation crabstick, luncheon meat, garden peas and eggs. I also added 2 teriyaki chicken wings to add some protein to the lunch. And isn't it luckily I had this ready today cos it was raining heavily at 12noon. I was really glad I don't have to brave the wind and rain and it make me appreciate the fried rice even more!!!*lol*

Tri-Colour Bento Lunch 03 Jan 08

A new year, a new beginning! I am back to packing my lunch to office and for a start, I make a very simple lunch for today - which I called it tri-colour cos it has 3 different ingredients piled on a bed of white rice. Added 2 chicken wings for extra oomph.....! Today's lunch is really very easy to prepare. So for those who thinks it looks interesting, do give it a try.

Green
Garden peas, blanched in salt water and drained. Set aside for use later.

Yellow
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp sugar
Salt
Add the ingredients to beaten egg. Heat oil in a pan over high fire.
Pour in egg mixture and stir it with 3-5 chopsticks till egg resembles pieces of bread crumbs.
Remove and set aside for use later.

Brown
50g minced pork (can be substituted for beef or chicken)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cooking sake
1 tsp mirin
3/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp water
Heat oil in a pan and stir fry pork till almost cooked.
Add the other remaining ingredients and continue to stir fry.
Turn down the heat and let it simmer till it is fairly dry.
Remove from pan and set aside for use later.

Glazed Chicken Wings
2 mid joint chicken wings
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cooking sake
1 tsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water
Place the chicken wing in a non-stick pan and cook till it's brown on both side.
Add water and cook for another 10 minutes.
Add other remaining ingredients and let it simmer till chicken wings are glazed.
Remove from pan.

Top the individual ingredients on the white rice. Pack chicken wings by the side. Enjoy!

Bento 23 November 07

My second bento for this month! Onigiris with furikake is the "main course" for this bento. Side dish includes blanched cauliflower, carrots, cherry tomatoes and the star of this bento - chicken egg roll!! Saw the recipe from a bento cook book I purchased some time ago and was keen to give it a try cos it looks fantastic inside any bento lunch box. :p

Ingredients are generally easy to prepare but the tricky part is the rolling of the minced chicken and scrambled eggs around the long beans and carrot sticks. I actually did not manage to do it on my first attempt and I have to do it again the second round before I was successful. Even then, I think it was not as well done and I would have to do a better job again the next round.

Chicken Egg rolls (makes 1 roll about 7 -8 pieces)
Ingredients
50g minced chicken
2 tblsp beaten egg
2 tblsp breadcrumbs
1/4 onion, diced finely
A pinch of salt

2 eggs, beaten
Long beans, cut into small long sections
Carrots, cut into sticks

Method
1. Mixed minced chicken, 2 tblsp egg, breadcrumbs, onions and salt together in a bowl. Set aside for use later.
2. Scramble the eggs in a pan till they are firm but not dry. Remove from heat.
3. Place a piece of aluminium foil over sushi mat. Oil it slightly.
4. Spread the minced chicken mixture over the aluminium foil followed by scrambled eggs.
5. Place the long beans and carrot sticks in the middle.
6. Roll the chicken egg roll the same way as sushi.
7. Steam the roll for about 7 -8 mins. Cut into 7 -8 pieces before packing into bento box.

Black Pepper Chicken Bento 161107

Hooray! Finally got down to cooking and packing my first bento after "hanging" up my pots and pans for weeks. Hahaha. Since I have not been cooking for ages, I thought I had better stick with a simple bento. Black pepper chicken stir fried with green pepper is a breeze to prepare with ready mix black pepper sauce. I am a big fan of those ready to use sauces as they are such a great help in coming out with nice and decent looking meals without having to spend too much time preparing the ingredients from scratch. However, I am always conscious not to use too much or too often because of the high salt content in most of these sauces. In any case, this is a good sauce and the green pepper really enhance the taste of the black pepper. I will definitely do more of this..........:)

Black Pepper Chicken Stir Fry with Green Pepper
Ingredients
1 pc chicken breast (you can use other chicken parts) cut into cubes
Half a green pepper cut into cubes
1 tblsp black pepper sauce (I use NTUC brand)
1 tblsp water
Cooking oil

Method
1. Heat oil in non-stick pan.
2. Stir fry green pepper and chicken until chicken is almost cooked.
3. Add black pepper sauce and water and continue to stir fry till sauce starts to boil.
4. Remove from heat and serve hot over a plate of white rice.

Ham Pasta Salad

I have not been cooking for the past few weeks. Finally decided to cook something simple for tomorrow so that I don't have to get out of office in the wet weather just to get lunch. It has been raining almost everyday and it can be quite a hassle to go out into the wet. As I don't have much ingredients at home, the simplest thing I can think of is to cook pasta. I have always been a fan of pasta salad and so here it is.

Ham Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta of your choice (I use spiral pasta)
Ham, cut into cubes (I use Gourmet brand Chix n Ham roll)
Green pepper, cut into cubes
Cherry or honey tomatoes
2 tblsp mayonnaise
1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tblsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp mustard

Method
1. Boil pasta till al dente.
2. Drain and run under tap water. Set aside for use later.
3. In a big bowl, mix mayo, olive oil, vinegar, mustard together.
4. Add ham, pepper and cherry/honey tomatoes to cooked pasta.
5. Toast them together with the sauce in step 3.
6. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving or eating.

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.

Homemade Meatballs with spaghetti in tomato sauce

I was supposed to make a posting into this blog much much earlier but it turns out that my first attempt to bake and record it for this blog ran into some problems. Was preparing the ingredients for Dark Chocolate and Orange Muffins (recipe courtesy of http://ilovemilkandcookies.blogspot.com/) when I accidentally shred off half a fingernail on the fourth finger of my left hand.....waah......the pain is extreme and blood that follows is horrifying....well I will spare you guys the gross details. To cut the story short, this accident kinda of waylay my plans to cook, bake and post. :(

However, luckily my fingernail grew back faster than I expected and now I am back to cooking and baking. Bravo! Needless to say, I am happy like a lark to be able to use my left hand again. It is only during the period when I lose my fingernail that I realize how important every part of our body is. Fingernail of a fourth finger on left hand might not sound like a big major body part but I realize how everything small and big works together to ensure the efficiency usage of our fingers......Isn't it amazing that God thought of everything when He is creating us?

In any case, I am really glad to start cooking. So I started thinking long and hard what I should post for my first food blog and after much "deliberation" (actually did not take that long to decide :p), I decided to share a simple recipe which my family and friends like pretty much - homemade meatballs with spaghetti in tomato sauce. For those who loves simple spaghetti without too many ingredients, I think the meatballs will go pretty well with the spaghetti. The meatballs can be prepared in advance and kept in the freezer and de-froze in advance prior to cooking the spaghetti. This will save a lot of cooking time cos only need to cook the spaghetti and toss it into tomato sauce. I added blanched broccoli and carrots and it makes a very filling and fulfilling meal. The meatballs can also be simmered in teriyaki sauce and served over hot rice if spaghetti is not your cup of tea (more like plate of pasta!). For now, here is the recipe.

Homemade Meatballs with Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce
makes about 10 - 12 meatballs

400g minced meat (pork, chicken or beef) - I used pork
Half an egg, beaten
Half an onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon of tomato sauce (ketchup)
Breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for pan frying meatballs
Pasta of your choice - I had spaghetti
Tomato-based Pasta sauce
Extra virgin olive oil for pasta

Mix the minced meat, egg, onions, ketchup, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper together in a big mixing bowl.
Take a tablespoon of the mixture and using your hands, mould it into a small round ball. Repeat the step till all the minced meat is used up.
Heat up some oil in a pan and place the meatballs on the pan.
Pan fried till it is brown on both sides, remove from pan. (Pan fry over medium fire to avoid burning the meatballs)
Boil water in a big pot and add the pasta when water boils. Add a pinch of salt into the boiling water.
Cook the pasta till "al dente" and wash it under running water. Drain and add extra virgin olive oil. Stir through to ensure the pasta is well coated with the olive oil. Set aside for use later.
In a pot, heat up the pasta sauce. When it boils add the meatballs. Serve hot over a plate of pasta with blanched broccoli, carrot and cherry tomatoes.