Hello chumlings!
I have been off work with a super manky ear infection so today I decided to make Andy a bento box to take to work with him. Because I had allll the time in the world this morning I took step by step photos as well so now you guys can make a simple, vegan bento box too! ^_^ This one is SO easy to make- it won't take you more than 20 minutes to do, and it will make you the envy of all your friends (IF YOUR FRIENDS ARE COOL LIKE ME).
YOU WILL NEED:
sushi rice
straight to wok udon noodles
soy sauce
sesame oil
garlic
chilli flakes
rice wine vinegar
spring onion
bean sprouts
nori sheets
coconut milk
some fruit
a toothpick
some adorable helpers
SO first lets get our rice cookin'. Unless you are some sort of kitchen whizz I suggest you use a rice cooker to cook it, because sushi rice is well tricky. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT to wash your sushi rice in cold water before you cook it, otherwise its not going to come out right. After you've washed it, place it in the rice cooker with enough water to fully cover the rice.
While the rice is cooking we can prepare the udon. DON'T FORGET TO ALWAYS make too much because you get to eat any left overs while you're making the rest of your lunch. Put the udon into a pan with sesame oil, beansprouts and spring onion and let those bad boys cook.
Now we can make the udon sauce because we are all hyper awesome muti-taskers. Simply mix together sesame oil, soy sauce (ALWAYS use kikkoman soy- it totally makes a difference) garlic and chilli flakes. I never bother with exact measurements- just chuck in what looks right and give it a taste! It's more exciting that way!
Once your udon is ready pour it into the bowl and mix until its coated in your yummy sauce. THEN TASTE IT AGAIN. TASTE IT, I SAY!
OH LOOK OUR RICE IS DONE! WHAT PERECT TIMING!
Take your cooked rice off the warmer ASAP because our rice needs to be cool. You need to cool it for at least 10 minutes. I always give it a fan to speed the process along a bit.
After you've fanned for a few minutes get on and prepare the fruit for the sweet section of the bento. YES LET'S. Just take your chosen fruit and cut it into little shapes. Kawaii it up any way you want! I don't have any really weenie shape cutters (apart from a tree & an egg shape. WEIRD) but you can just get hold of some small cookie cutters from your local supermarket. You don't have to spend money on specialist ones.
NOW WE GET TO MAKE SOME CUTE RICE GUYS! YESSSSSSS!
Before you start to handle the rice you MUST MUST MUST give your hands a rub in the rice wine vinegar. This will stop the really sticky sushi rice from sticking to your hands while you're shaping it. I also give the inside of the rice moulds a rub over with my vinegary fingers to make sure the shape slips out easily. Then scoop out the rice from the cooker.
Make sure you pack as much rice in as possible. Give it a squish down with your fingers to make sure all the mould crevices are filled. Then pop the back on, slide the mould out of the handle and open it up to reveal your tiny rice guy!
Add a little face by punching the pattern out of a sheet of nori. Then use a toothpick (or a dotting tool in my case) to pick up the individual pieces and stick them on to your rice guy. OH EM GEE SO KAWAII.
Scoop the noodles into your bento, place your rice guy on top and fill a tiny bottle or tub with soy sauce (or fish sauce if you're not veggie) for additional flavouring. DON'T FORGET TO EAT ANY NOODLES THAT WON'T FIT IN. NOM. Place your bottle next to the rice guy on the noodle bed to keep him company and TA DA! Your savoury section is ready!
Now, lay a bed of your chosen fruit in the second bento compartment. Follow the same steps for moulding a second rice guy & place him lovingly on his fruity mattress. Open your coconut milk and skim all the super lush coconut cream off the top, then add it to your bento. Put any leftover cream in a tub in the fridge to use for your next bento.
I'M JUST KIDDING- EAT THAT SH*T! EAT IT RIGHT AWAY! YUM YUM YUM SOOOOO GOOD.!
Just an aside- it looks a lot better to put the cream at the very bottom and layer the fruit on top of it, but this makes it difficult to mix in with the rice. And you def want to mix the cream in with the rice because it tastes luuuuusssshhh. Now stack your bento up ready to pop into your bag.
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!
Your bento is good to go. Look forward to feasting upon your tiny kawaii food friends. Make sure you eat it somewhere where EVERYONE can see how cute your lunch is, though. Otherwise what's the point?
I hope you have fun crafting your own super kawaii bento meals! I'm going to go lie down and cradle my poorly ear & feel sorry for myself FOREVER now.
Supplies
I bought most of my bento supplies in Tokyo (CHECK ME OUT) but you can order everything you need to make a bento box from:
casabento.com/shop/en
or
www.amazon.co.uk
(just search bento box accessories)
There are also some really cute bento books full of good ideas. I recommend 'Yum Yum Bento Box' and 'Funky Lunch'. You can get both from Amazon.
Annabell xxx
amazing!
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