❤ little japan mama ❤ For the past few weeks I've been showing you all these bento boxes and my favorite kitchen tools...but wait a sec, this blog is meant to be about cooking! And I haven't shown any actual bento lunches yet! Truth be told, I'm still working on my "bento-queen" side. My mother never made Japanese bento for me. (I'm serious, never. I think one reason she married an Australian was to escape bento-making!) So I always assumed that bento-making was a tedious waste of time, best to be avoided. And then I married a Japanese fella. To my surprise, there's nothing tedious about basic Japanese bento!
If using something (like karaage) from the freezer, just re-heat it thoroughly in the morning and pop it in the box. Japanese-style bento is roughly 1/2 to 3/5 rice, with the remaining portion okazu. I came up with a way to make a really easy bento for my husband every morning: Rice (usually with sesame seeds, nori or furikake) +Choose 1 of these:Okazu Mains:Karaage (marinated deep fried chicken pieces.
❤ little japan mama ❤ Karaage is Makoto's favorite bento "main", and probably the most popular style of fried chicken in Japan. The delicious karaage flavour is created by the marinade which includes garlic, ginger and soy sauce. I certainly don't feel like deep-frying chicken in the morning, so I make a large batch of karaage one evening, serve some of it for dinner with a big leafy salad, and freeze the rest in small bags.
Since we're mainly making this karaage for freezing and re-heating for super-fast bento, this is the recipe for soft karaage (not super crunchy) - I'll do that karaage in a later post. Karaage Marinade Ingredients: 1 Tbsp crushed garlic 1/2 Tbsp finely grated ginger 3 Tbsp sake 2 Tbsp shoyu 1 Tbsp sesame oil (or vegetable oil) 900g~1200g chicken thigh fillets, skin on (2~2.5 lb) (I used 1200g this time) 1 egg 1/4 cup cornflour 1/3 cup flour generous sprinkle of pepper and a little salt Oil for deep frying To Freeze: Separate into small freezer bags and lay out on a baking tray to freeze. 1. ❤ little japan mama ❤ ❤ little japan mama ❤: How to Make Soft Mini-Hamburg for Bento. Hambaagu (or "hamburg", as in "hamburger" without the "-er") is something I grew up with, and wondered why we didn't eat them inside a bread bun like other people. (...And why my mother called them "hambaagu", without the "-er" or "patty"!)
I've figured out the answer since then: Hambaagu is a Japanese thing. The special thing about these hamburg, is that they're still soft, even after they cool down - one of the requirements for delicious obento foods. The secret is: lots of panko breadcrumbs, and after cooking on both sides, add a little water to the frypan, put the lid on and steam them, similar to making Japanese-style pan-fried gyouza. The panko absorbs the water and holds the moisture in. I learnt how to make these watching a cooking show on Japanese TV, teaching mothers how to make obento for their kids when they start kindergarten. Mini-Hamburg and Chicken Karaage were named as the favorite bento "main" okazu for kids. Ingredients: 1 small onion, sliced very finely 1 egg 1 Tbsp milk. The Onigiri (Omusubi) FAQ. I have written quite exhaustively about onigiri, or rice balls, here on Just Bento as well as on Just Hungry.
Many people have asked similar questions about onigiri, which seem to just be gaining and gaining in popularity these days. So I’ve assembled a list of Onigiri FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). I’ll update this list when I see (or remember) other questions periodically. Basics and culture What is an onigiri? Nutrition How many calories are in an onigiri? How to make onigiri What’s the key to making good onigiri?
Does an onigiri have to have a filling? Onigiri safety and transport Can I freeze onigiri, and if so how? Other questions Can I use sweet fillings for onigiri? See Also.