New bento box!

I'm always on the lookout for a fun new lunch container.  I'm trying not to get any new bento boxes unless there's something different about it than I've already got, but it's true that I'm always on the lookout. Most of my "real" bento boxes are the cheap ones from Daiso; they're really cute but not something you want to be microwaving in due to plastic, potential BPAs, etc and death.  I've noticed that there's a trend in new hip lunchboxes to go back to older-style food containers.  Things like stainless steel boxes, tiffins, that is, metal lunchboxes such as are commonly used in other countries.  They're durable, food safe, and reheatable...in a toaster over.

Well, that is pretty good, aside from the fact that I don't have a toaster oven at work after the Crumb Fire of Negligence back in 2008 or so.  (Not my crumb fire, by the way.)  But, all the metal lunch boxes I found were SO EXPENSIVE! I was really considering paying $20 or more for a lunch box but I just couldn't pull the trigger.  Which turned out to be a really good thing, because while I was on vacation in New York, my friend introduced me to a wonderland called Pearl River Mart.  All my favorite Chinatown things at reasonable prices, and THEY HAVE A WEBSITE YOU CAN ORDER FROM.  Wow.  It's like my kryptonite!


While I was there I picked up this very old school "just like my parents used to have" lunchbox for $6!  They also have plenty of $20 lunchboxes that are fancier, and I'm eyeballing a stainless steel themal container....but anyhow.  I busted out this dual layer beauty to bring to work today.  For the top layer I made a breakfast bento with a nice jumbo poached egg and cake...and fruit!  Bottom layer I filled up with leftover salmon fried rice, veggies, and chicken.  I put the lunch layer into microwaveable silicone cups in case I wanted to heat anything up.  It holds a good amount of food, this was pretty good for me today but I will also mention I brought fruit and a breakfast smoothie  for snacks through the day.  If one was trying to watch portions, this could help keep track of how much you're eating. And since this is stainless steel I ought to be able to put it in the oven - can't wait to bake something in it to bring for lunch! :)

I am STILL on my Southeast Asian ish kick because when you buy those packs of herbs for pho or springrolls, you get so many!  I've sort of accepted that I'm going to use what I can and then the rest will go bad, but I'm attempting to make it through more of what I bought.  I'm down to the mint, and my pot of homegrown lettuce desperately needed a thinning, so a salad inspired bento it was.

1. Base of rice noodles.  I love rice noodles because they cook so fast!  Bring a pot of water to boil, add in your rice noodles (also called rice sticks.)  They only need a few minutes (4ish for these pho style ones), drain and rinse under cold water.

2. I've been using hot pot sliced pork for a quick and easy protein.   For this, I drizzled the slices with sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, and a tsp of sugar (raw cane, in this case) in a small bowl. Add enough liquid to partially cover the meat, let it marinate for a few minutes.  Cook it in a pan until the meat is done and has absorbed the cooking liquid.  Set aside to cool.

3.  Here I've used sliced lettuce mixed with mint, and slice radishes (also needed eating from the garden) in lieu of bean sprouts. 

4. If you would like a poached egg on top, bring a pot of water to a simmer.  Oil a silicon baking cup and crack an egg into it.  Gently drop it into the water (it will float) and simmer for 7 minutes.  Remove from water and let cool, then pop that egg out.

5. Garnish as you like.  Can't go wrong with lime!  I also had a light vinigrette, the original recipe was 1/2 fish sauce 1/2 cider vinegar, but I find the fishy taste too strong.  So it's probably more like 1/3 fish sauce, 2/3 vinegar. 

Light, fresh, and healthy!    This salad is a good one to bring to work because it's tasty cold. 

Bento: Sliders and oven baked fries

Nothing says cute like the itsy bitsy version of something.  My local Fresh and Easy had a sale on slider patties which don't turn out to be all that cheap when you think about how little meat you're actually getting.  But they're pre-shaped, and cute, and hey.  Why not try them?  (Perhaps I will make my own in the future.)
The first time I made this bento I used mini ciabatta  buns.  This time I cut rounds from a loaf of wheat bread I made earlier this week and am still working through.  I included the cute cheese cutouts just because it makes me happier to know my sliders have a heart of cuteness.  Leftover cheese was consumed at a separate meal, and I think I'll make a bread pudding with the crusts.

1. Pan cook slider patties on both sides until they're cooked through.  Set aside to cool.

2. Slice up a potato into fries, toss with salt, olive oil and pepper.  Pop into the toaster over for 20 minutes at 350 and check for doneness.  Add another 5 minutes if they're not cooked through.  I like soggy fries so it doesn't bother me that they're pretty soft. :)  You could bake them for longer to get them more golden, though.

3. Use your favorite cookie cutter to get a cute cheese shape. 

4. I used a cookie cutter to cut out rounds of bread the same size as the patties.

5. Wait for everything to cool before packing together.

6. Enjoy!

Bento: banh mi(ish) sandwich

Last Christmas my sister got me a bento cookbook written by a very popular blogger (writer of justbento.com and its companion blog justhungry.com).  We've been trading emails and ideas for bentos for awhile, although her oldest son is only just getting to be old enough to bring lunches to school and my sister is really busy as a professor so I don't know how much time she has to prepare cute lunches.  I started making some of these to fancy up the lunchtime because lately, I've been so busy at work I eat at my desk too often.  A cute or fancily-packed lunch makes me feel a bit better.

And then Wei-Ling said, "Why are you not blogging about your lunches?"

So here goes!  All recipes approximate and taken from other sources. 
Today is inspired by justbento's deconstructed banh mi:

Meat: pan fry a skinless, boneless chicken thigh until done.  set aside.  mix about 1/2 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy, 1 tablespoon mirin and pour into the still hot pan.  when it starts to bubble, swirl the chicken thigh in the sauce until it is nicely glazed.

pickles: shred (I used a mandolin grater, cutting to small pieces would work too but don't use a cheese grater, too small) carrots daikon, apple into a bowl.  sprinkle salt (1 tsp), sugar (1 tsp) and massage for 2-3 minutes until the veggies wilt and give up some water.  rinse thoroughly.  Put into a jar with brine (1 c warm water, 1/4 C sugar, 1 C vinegar, you can adjust sugar levels to taste) and let sit for at least an hour. 

bread: traditional banh mi are served on mini baguettes, but I just put it between two slices of wheat bread.  It kind of turned into a monster sandwich.  Yum!