Sushi and Chicken Ragout Rissoles

Last night we had sushi time where I and my boys were making sushi together. Basically I prepared some ingredients for the sushi fillings, and the boys may choose which ingredients will go in their sushi. 

The ingredients that I prepared were roast chicken, carrot, cucumber, smoked salmon, avocado, ham, soy sauce, Kewpie mayonese, and Japanese pickled ginger.

The boys were having so much fun creating their sushi. And after dinner, there were some leftover for their lunch box next day.

The first sushi fillings option was chicken roast, carrot, cucumber, soy sauce and pickled ginger. The second one was smoked salmon, cucumber, carrot, avocado, with soy sauce and pickled ginger. And last but not least was roast chicken, ham, avocado, Kewpie mayo, pickled ginger and cucumber.

For my younger son, I prepared :
1.Three types of sushi
2. Chicken ragout rissoles 
3. Corn on the cob
4. Fruit salad (pineapple, rockmelon, and grapes)

It is a similar lunch from his little brother. And the boys came back with empty lunch boxes. Mission accomplished!

Bento for Hubby

 

The boys are still in their school holiday, and I can't wait to start bentoing again. To get my mojo back, I prepared this lunch for my hubby at work today.

His lunch consists of :
1. White steamed rice with fried onion on top
2. Pork and tofu cooked in sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
3. Halves hard boiled egg
4. Chicken and vegetable curry with chili oil on top
5. Kiwi fruit 

This lunch was packed in Easy Lunchbox, you may find it here :

Round Up 2015

To round up year 2015, here I share 15 of my favourite creations. And if you want to read the post further, you may click the link on each title below.

I would like to thank you all for your supports and for being with me in my bento journey. Looking forward to sharing more creations and recipes in 2016! 


These are my 15 favourite creations in 2015 (in random order) :

1. Rice Balls Bento

This bento has a special place in my heart because my sons and I made it together as a team. It was part of our school holiday activities and we were really had a great time together. 

2. Moroccan Chicken and Vegetables Couscous Bento 

I love this couscous recipe so much because it bursts with colours and is so healthy. I made this bento for my husband, and I shared the recipe in the post. Yum!

3. First Day of School in 2015

During my bento making journey, I like to mark special events by creating special bento. For this post, I especially love the cheese sandwiches with the writing on them, the penguins, and datemaki  (sweet rolled omelette).

4. Phineas Croissants Bento

I really love how the eyes food picks work. It adds extra cuteness in no time. I also love the pizza flavoured Turtle Bun. You may find the recipe here.

5. Tempura Bento

This is the first time I made tempura batter from scratch and I absolutely enjoyed the results. They looked gorgeous in my new bento box. I shared the tempura batter recipe in this post.

6. Easter Bunny Rolls Bento

Look how cute those bunnies are! No doubt it is one of my favourite post this year. I shared the recipe of the bunny rolls in this post.

7. 2015 International Bento Contest

One of my highlight is to participate in the 2015 International Bento Contest by Bento & Co. Although I did not win this time, I really enjoyed every steps of making this creation.

8. Minecraft Birthday Cakes

One of my hobbies beside making bento is making birthday cakes, especially with fondant icing. This post is special for me because I made this cake for my son's birthday. It was a special request from him as you can guess, he is one of Minecraft game fans :)

9. Pretty Sushi Bento

My sons' love their sushi. I love this post because it looks so pretty and colourful. So appetising! To learn more about sushi, you may click this post.

10. Teddies are Back to School

I love my kids. Even though they are in pre-school no more, they are still willing to bring these kind of cute lunches to school. They do not feel embarrassed whatsoever. Thank you, my sweeties!

11. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

To celebrate the Roald Dahl day, I tried to create Mr. Willy Wonka from Roald Dahl's famous book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, and I was really pleased with how it turned out.

12. Baymax Onigiri Bento

It was one of my boys' favourite movie character, Baymax from Big Hero 6. The onigiri was pretty easy to make and the honey sesame chicken tasted divine. I shared the recipe in this post.

13. Cute Spiders Bento

 I remember I had so much fun making this bento for the Halloween-themed. The spiders are so cute and adorable. Love them!

14. Inside Out Birthday-themed

One of my memorable moment is making this Inside-Out birthday cake for my son. I tried to make the "Joy" figurine from scratch, and pretty happy with the result. To see his reaction is worth the effort. 

15. Rudolf Cheese Puffs

Last but not least is the Rudolf cheese puffs. I really love this recipe and to create Rudolf in the Christmas bento-themed is just so much fun!

"Happy New Year to you all..."

"Wishing you a prosperous new year and may all your dreams from the last year turn into achievements during 2016"

Pretty Sushi Bento

I haven't made sushi for my boys for quite some time even though these are one of their favourite foods. No wonder this morning they were full with excitement to find out that they were going to have sushi for their lunches.

I'm pretty sure they are going to bring empty lunch boxes home after school. It is worth the effort, I suppose!

If you want to know more about sushi and learn how to make sushi, you can learn from my favourite blogger : Nami (Just One Cookbook). 

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Sushi with carrot, cucumber, and crab fish fillings.
2. Corn on the cob
3. Broccoli and cheese
4. Tamagoyaki (rolled egg) with fish roe on top
5. Ham "flower"
6. Red seedless grapes for recess

My eldest son had similar lunch to his brother, but he had apple cuts for recess instead.

Leek and Bacon Quiche Bento

Our family loves quiche. It is very tasty and super easy to make. Here I share you the recipe :

Leek and Bacon Quiche 

Ingredients:

400 grams Sliced button mushrooms

1 small onion, diced

1 leek, sliced

2 rashers of bacon, diced

4-5 eggs

½ cup of milk

Salt & pepper to taste

3 sheets frozen puff pastry

½ cup grated tasty cheese

Method:

1. Thaw pastry and preheat oven to 210 degrees. 

2. Lightly grease with spray oil a 12 cup muffin tin (standard size). 

3. Use a jar or cutter to cut out 4 circles from each thawed pastry sheet, large enough to line muffin cups. 

4. Alternatively, just cut the pastry square into equal quarters which will give the quiches a more rustic appearance. 

5. Once all muffin cups are lined with pastry, make a small cross in the bottom of each pastry cup with a bread knife, for even cooking.

6. Fry bacon, onion, leek and mushrooms until just cooked. 

7. Evenly divide mixture between all 12 cups. 

8. Combine eggs, milk and salt and pepper in a jug and whisk together. 

9. Pour egg mixture evenly between all 12 cups and top with grated cheese.

10. Cook in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until pastry browned and cheese melted.

For my eldest son, I prepared :

1. Leek and bacon quiche

2. Corn on the cob

3. Hard boiled egg with star shaped carrot pattern (and salt & pepper)

4. Broccoli

5. "Checker & rabbit" apple cuts for recess

For my eldest son, I prepared :

1. Leek and bacon quiche

2. Corn on the cob

3. Hard boiled egg with heart shaped carrot pattern (and salt & pepper)

4. Banana for recess

2015 International Bento Contest

Once again Bento & Co held the 2015 International Bento Contest with the theme : Sandwich bento. The contest is already closed and the winners have been announced. Big congratulation to all the winners! 

Although I did not win, I'm very happy with my creation. So I would like to share it with you, details as below :

In order to highlight the theme, I presented the sandwiches in 3 ways :
1. Sausage sandwich rolls (flattened sandwich is rolled with tomato ketchup, cheese, and sausage filling, then deep fried).
2. Strawberry jam sandwich with cheese and carrot on top.
3. Chicken roll sandwich (flattened sandwich with marinated chicken minced filling, then deep fried and sliced).
The other components in the box :  fried pork wontons, halves hard boiled egg (with black sesame seeds), lettuce and carrot slices.

I'm looking forward to the 2016 bento contest and sharing the excitement of making bento with all fellow bento lovers.

Moroccan Chicken and Vegetables Couscous Bento

Couscous is a wheat product and is very popular in the Middle East. It can be used as a fluffy grain alternative to rice. Here I share a couscous recipe that is so scrumptious and very easy to make.


Moroccan Chicken and Vegetable Couscous

Ingredients
475 g chicken thigh fillets
Moroccan spice mix as needed
2 cups water/chicken stock
325 g Instant couscous, (uncooked)
2 Lebanese cucumber, diced
1 medium red tomato, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 handful sultanas
1/2 bunch parsley, minced

For dressing 
1 garlic, minced
1 lemon, medium (grate the rind and squeeze the lemon)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper as needed

Cooking method
1. Sprinkle the Moroccan spice mix over the chicken thigh fillets until well covered, then grill them until cooked.  
2. Prepare the dressing. Mix all the ingredients in a glass jar with the lid, and shake it vigorously until well mixed. 
3. Boil water/chicken stock and pour over the couscous in a mixing bowl. Stir for 30 seconds and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. With a fork, loosen the couscous to break up any large clumps. 
4. Pour the diced vegetables and the sultanas into a large mixing bowl, mix well.
5. Sprinkle the parsley and pour the dressing over the vegetables couscous and mix in well. 
6. Serve with grilled chicken on the side.

I prepared this bento for my husband's lunch. Inside the box :
1. Vegetables couscous
2. Grilled Moroccan chicken
3. Checker apple


You may find similar silicon cups here :

Favourite Creations in 2014

To round up year 2014, here I share my 14 favourite creations. And if you want to read the post further, you may click the link on each title.

My highlight in 2014 is being able to participate in Japanese TV station (NHK World) special program, " Bento- the Global Lunchbox Project" which received the 4th in NHK World's "VIEWERS' CHOICE AWARDS 2014" of "Food&pop culture" category. If you missed the show, you may watch it online in this link.

I would like to thank you all for your supports and for being with me in my bento journey. Looking forward to sharing more creations and recipes in 2015! 


These are my 14 favourite creations in 2014 (In random order) :

1. Back to School Bento 

This bento has a special place in my heart because the idea to make replica of me and himself in the lunchbox was given by my youngest son. He was just 5 years old at that time. I'm sure he can feel the love when he opened his lunch that day.

2. Delicious Sausage Rolls Bento

I got lots of feedback from busy moms that really want to make bento for their kids, but can not spend lots of time to prepare them. And since I have to make two bentos for my sons every school day in 2014, I have to be practical as well. This bento is suitable for busy moms/dads because the sausage rolls and the jellies can be made in advance. I shared the yummy recipe in this post.

3. Special Valentine's Day Bento

In some occasions, I love to create bento with more details for special people. I really love how the cheese patterns and carrots messages turned out. 

4. Duck Pancakes Bento

I tried to put variety in my creations. This time, the homemade duck pancakes look and taste so beautiful.I shared the recipe in this post. Yum!

5. Sunflowers Bento

I adored the color of the sunflowers in this lunches. They are so vibrant and simply gorgeous. And my son told me that he loved the carved banana too :)

6. Bento & co International Competition 2014

Even though I did not win this competition, but I was really happy with how it turned out. I spent quite some time to plan, make and photograph it. I love all the details and how colorful this bento was.  

7. Perfect Couple

I shared this bento at #Wonderlunchbox competition by Wonder White and won a $100 visa gift card. So grateful!

8. FIFA World Cup Bento

This bento is so special for both me and my eldest son. I still remember his reaction when he saw it. He is really into soccer this year, and this bento means so much to him.

9. Fish Drumsticks Bento

The combination of colours, fresh foods and vegetables looks so gorgeous in this bento. I love the unique fish drumsticks well. I shared the recipe in this post.

10. Adventure Time

It was when my eldest son turned 8 and I made an Adventure Time birthday themed cupcakes for his teacher and classmates. To go along with the theme, I also made this cute Finn and Jake bento. My son really had a great time on that day.

11. Casper and the Pumpkin Witch

One of my favourite halloween themed bento. I can't believe so many of you love Casper so much like me and my son do :)

12. Santa Suit Bento

I don't know why but for me, this Santa suit bento is kinda cute. I love all the details from the snowflakes, presents, and the idea of using a coke ring as Santa's belt is just brilliant!

13. Minions Birthday Cake

This post is not a bento post, but I really love this Minion birthday cake that I made for my youngest son. Each of the Minions has unique expression, and by getting used to do Bento, certainly helps me a lot in creating this birthday cake. 

14. Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

I feel that these bentos are really suitable for my sons. The boys really look alike (even though they have 2.5 year gap) just as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss.