leggo my obento! the bento blog

top: rice with umeboshi furikake; bottom, from left: mixed vegetables, tonkatsu sauce, fish sticks; right: tres leches cake

if you don't have a fancy sauce container, you can put sauces in a plastic sandwich bag, twist it up and tuck it in the bento.

tres leches poke cake:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups water1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 container (12 oz) fluffy white frosting
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 13×9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray; lightly flour.
2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 33 to 38 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Poke top of hot cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking.
4. In large bowl, stir together sweetend condensed milk, whole milk and whipping cream. Carefully pour evenly over top of cake. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until mixture is absorbed into cake. Frost with frosting.

his bento

top: brussel sprouts, cheese tamagoyaki; bottom: marinated mahi mahi on rice

my bento

left, from top: tamagoyaki, asparagus with goddess dressing, chrerry tomatoes; right: marinated mahi mahi over rice

sorry it’s been so long since i’ve updated!  i’ve actually been packing bentos but haven’t bothered to take pictures :P  i’ll work on that this week, i think.. hehe..

japanese translation of title: buta-baraniku to daikon no nimono

i like packing bentos for saturdays, even tho neither of us has to leave the house because it means lunch is taken care of. generally we nibble on them throughout the day. whenever he gets hungry he can just open up his bento and eat something. same for me - lunch is made so i’m not tempted to eat something unhealthy. anyways maybe i’m just weird, but i like saturday bentos. also it’s a good use of leftovers from the week’s bentos…

his bento

back, from left: simmered pork with daikon, rice with nori flakes; front, from left: daikon carrot pickles, chikuwa fritters and calamari fritters, stir fried corn and green beans, kiwi slices
my bento

back: rice with nori flakes, simmered pork and daikon raddish (i don’t use seperators because i like how the juice gets into the rice); front, from left: meatball, stir fried corn and green beans, calamari and chikuwa fritters, daikon and carrot pickes; left: kiwi slices

note that i also got the bento boxes i had ordered from j-list.com!! they are even cuter than in the pictures!!

his bento

left: salted salmon and rice with nori flakes; right, from top: steamed broccoli and carrot, chrysanthemum turnip, tamagoyaki with wakame; upper left: apple slices

my bento

left: salted salmon and rice with nori flakes; right, from top: kiwi slices, tamagoyaki with sugar and soy sauce, steamed carrots and broccoli

i screwed up when i bought fish the other day.. the herring was right next to the mackerel and i grabbed it by mistake… argh! i don’t really like herring that much but i thought if i just coated it in miso it would make it a little better. it’s not bad but not great. i wish it was mackerel

his bento

left: stir fried turnip greens, rice with umeboshi; right, from top: chrysanthemum turnip, apple slices, stir fried corn and green beans, miso herring

my bento

back: stir fried turnip greens, rice with umeboshi; front, from left: miso herring, stir fried green beans and corn, apple slices, chrysanthemum turnip

his bento

from left: beef fried rice, steamed carrots and broccoli with mayo, chikuwa fritters, lotus root salad; not pictured: apple slices for dessert

my bento

right, from top: lotus root salad, steamed carrot and broccoli with mayo, chikuwa fritter, tamagoyaki, persimmon slices; left: steamed rice with furikake, salted salmon

bento, american style! hee hee

his bento

left container: apple slices; right container, from top: tuna fish sandwiches, daikon carrot salad

my bento

left: banana; right, from top: tuna fish sandwiches, daikon carrot salad

tuna fish sandwich with a japanese flavor:

1 can of tuna

japanese mayo

dash of mirin

dash of light soy sauce

shoku pan

mix together, don’t use too much mayo, just enough so it sticks. spread a thick layer on one slice of bread, squeeze more mayo on another slice. cut off the crusts and trim the sandwich so it fits into a container. for a more shallow container, you can cut the sandwich into thirds or even fourths.

i’m looking for more japanese style sandwich recipes, so if anyone knows any or knows any links to any, feel free to post below!!

his bento

right: mixed rice with kamaboko; left, from top: steamed carrot and broccoli with mayo, cuban style chicken wings, apple slices, chikuwa fritters, spinach wrapped in egg sheet; not pictured: honey cake for dessert
my bento

clockwise from left: steamed carrot, potato, and broccoli with mayo, chikuwa fritters, persimmon slices (so ripe they got a little moooshy), cuban style chicken wings, spinach wrapped in egg sheet; bottom: mixed rice with kamaboko

this is a pretty salty bento, so i thought i’d throw some mandarin orange slices in to break it up a little bit. the tamagoyaki was made with dashi broth and a little mirin, sake, and soy sauce. It’s not sweet at all, and compliments the saltier items well. also, mixed rice is a good way to add some variety and nutrition to a bento.

his bento

left: mixed rice with shirasu, nori, and sesame seeds; right, clockwise: steamed carrots, broccoli, and potato with mayo, tamagoyaki, salted cabbage, mandarin orange slices, salt broiled calamari; cream puff for dessert

my bento

front, clockwise: salt broiled calamari on salted cabbage, mandarin orange slices, lotus root kimpura, tamagoyaki; back: mixed rice with shirasu, nori, and sesame seeds; doriyaki for dessert

my bento looks bigger than his but he has a lot more food. mine is all spaced out and his is crammed in tight! hehe. today was the boy’s day off, so i didn’t make any bentos, hence the gap in posts. i can’t wait to get my new bento boxes, they sure will make presentation a lot more interesting..

his bento:

bento box counter clockwise from left: simmered tofu with simmered carrot flower, simmered shiitake, spinach ohitashi (i made wakame but it came out so slimy ugh.. i need to not oversoak it), simmered carrot flowers, seafood tamagoyaki, beef onigiri, shrimp; left: kiwi; top: blueberry filled cake

my bento:

clockwise from left: beef onigiri, kiwi slices, seafood tamagoyaki, spinach ohitashi, simmered shiitaki, simmered tofu, shrimp, simmered carrot flowers; left: japanese sponge cake

i’m up way too late tonight.. ugh -_-