[Recipes] Quick Lunch Bentos For Kids

It's past mid-week and I am sure everyone is looking forward to weekend. In this post, I will be sharing 5 different quick lunch bento (with two recipes) ideas which you can prepare for your kids or yourself in a way too. I am always delighted to create my bento with "colourful" items which brighten my day or for the one who eats it. Although I might not be a skillful bento maker like some of those experts who makes really good character (charaben) bento (example, Samantha Lee) but in a way I am happy with what I can do for my boy.

And I am sure you can make simple bento too with a mixture of bread/rice, meat and some sides with fried stuffs, fresh fruits and vegetables I am sure you can create something interesting out from the box.

SANDWICH SUSHI ROLL

Sandwich sushi roll can be a quick breakfast or tea snacks which you can prepare for your kids at anytime of the day. To make it more nutritious, wholemeal or mutli-grain  bread can be use to replace normal white bread together with addition of some lettuce and cucumber in it. And also you can choose fillings like egg, tuna or chicken mayonnaise depending on their preference.

(Serve: 1   | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 Slice of Wholemeal Bread
• 1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
• 1 Hard-boiled Egg
• 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
• Cucumber and Salad Green
• Side Dishes For Bento

Bento Tools:

• Bento Box
• Side Dishes Food Casing
• Food Cutters For Decorations
• Cling Wrap
• Food Tweezer and Small Scissor
• Drinking Straw and Dried Spaghetti

Method:-
1. Place all side-dish in food casings and arrange them on one corner of the bento box.

2. Put bread on a sheet of cling wrap, using a rolling pin to flatten bread slightly then spread a tablespoon or more of egg mayonnaise on it leaving 2cm free along the other end of the edge.

3. Top with lettuce and cucumber strip then lift up the bread and place it on top of the "cheese stars" (cut out from sandwich cheese using heartshape food cutter).

4. Roll up to enclose filling then cut the sandwich into 4 rounds.

5. When done, arrange the rounds on the food case and you are ready to serve it with the sides.

PANDA ONIGIRI BENTO

Have you thought of making Onigiri (rice ball) using bread? With sandwich bread that can be easily get in all household, you can use it to  make cute animal onigiri like what shown above. Instead of Panda, you can shape and decorate it to look like dog, cat, pig and etc base on your creativity.

Below is a simple recipe and step-by-step photo guide on how to make the bread onigiri.

(Serve: 1   | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 Slice of White Bread
• 1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Tuna Mixture
• Seaweed Sheet
• 2 Raisin/Blueberry for Panda Ear
• Side Dishes For Bento

Bento Tools:

• Bento Box
• Side Dishes Food Casing
• Food Cutters For Decorations
• Cling Wrap
• Food Tweezer and Small Scissor
• Drinking Straw and Dried Spaghetti

Method:-
1. Place all side-dish in food casings and arrange them on one corner of the bento box.

2. Put bread on a sheet of cling wrap, using a rolling pin flatten the bread then cut a 2cm slit on each corner of the bread (refer to the step-by-step photo above).

3. Spoon 1 tablespoon of drained tuna and place it on the centre of the flatten bread (you can drizzle some mayonnaise on it).

4.Carefully hold the 4 corners of the bread together and with the help of the cling wrap, shape the bread into a panda face (oval).

5. When done, arrange the tuna bread on the food case and you can start to decorate the feature of the panda using cheese and seaweed sheet.

6. Lastly fix the panda ears using either raining or blueberry with the help of dried spaghetti stick.

ASSORTED DESIGNED RICE BENTO

[Rice Bento] Cute Tuna Mayo Onigir

[Rice Bento] Kani and Cucumber Roll

[Rice Bento] Cucumber Roll with Teriyaki Chicken

Making your own bento like the above is  actually not as difficult as you think of. You can be creative to incorporate different side dishes/fruits which you prefer. Pick a meat or veggies to go with your sushi roll and at the same time add on some simple decoration to make it look more presentation. I hope this post can give you some inspiration to make a simple bento for your kid(s) this weekend to encourage and rewards them for coming CA2 exam. Good luck and all the best for the kids who are taking the coming CA2 or PSLE Exam.

{Mobile Post} Salmon And Edamame Fried Rice

If you notice the title above, I have added a {Mobile Post} tag in front because from this February onwards I would be sharing meal ideas (recipes) with mobile phone photos straight from my kitchen to dinning table. I am sure this would be a great idea for those who wish to try the recipe(s) which I have uploaded the "food photos" on Cuisine Paradise Facebook page and yet without any recipe links.

SALMON AND EDAMAME FRIED RICE

So to start off, here is the first post on my Salmon And Edamame Fried Rice which I make used of the leftover salmon from our early Chinese New Year Dinner gathering (here) together with some diced Bak Kwa (BBQ pork) for new year atmosphere.

(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Cooked Cold Rice (preferably precooked and keep in the fridge)
• 1/2 Cup Salmon Cubes
• 1/4 Cup Diced Bak Kwa (肉干), optional
• 1/2 Cup Edamame (blanched and removed beans from pods)
• 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Stalks Spring Onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoon Cooking Oil
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced

Seasoning:
1 Teaspoon Of Light Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon of Fish Sauce, optional
1/4 Teaspoon Of Ground Pepper
Splash of Cooking Wine

Method:-
1. Heat up wok/frying pan on medium heat with cooking oil. Saute minced garlic till fragrance, add in diced bak kwa and continue to fry for another 10 seconds.

2. Add in cooked rice, pressing down using the back of the spatula to separate any clusters of rice. Give it a good toss and push the rice mixture to one side of the wok.

3. Using the other half of the wok, add in 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and cook the salmon cubes till half done. Mix in the rice and give it a good toss.

4. Next slowly swirl in the beaten egg, coat the rice evenly with the egg mixture and fried for another minute before adding in Edamame, spring onion and seasoning.

5. Mix well and it is ready to serve.

Cooking With Shiokoji

Not long ago, I come across a new seasoning from Japan known as Shiokoji (塩麹 - salted malt rice) which was given to me by another food blogger friend. For short, Shiokoji is a traditional condiment made from fermented malted rice, salt and water. And if you happen to find Shiokoji in Singapore or during your trip to Japan, do grab hold of some and you would be amazed on the dishes it could produce.

GRILL SALMON WITH SHIOKOJI

Although the above grilled salmon requires only Shiokoji as the main seasoning but the end product surprisingly brings out the flavour of the salmon with hint of fragrance and savory taste. This happens because Shio-koji imparts a rich savory flavor that makes any dish delicious and it acts as a great seasoning on fish or meat too.

(Serves: 1 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 6 - 8 minutes)

Ingredients:
150 - 180g of Salmon Fillet
2 Teaspoons of Shiokoji

Method:-
1. Marinate salmon fillet with Shiokoji for about 5 - 10 minutes.

2. Drizzle some olive oil on griddle pan, grill salmon fillet with skin side down for about 4 minutes (depending on the thickness) on each side over medium heat till slightly golden brown in colour.

Tip:
~ As Shiokoji tends to burn easily, remember to lower the heat during cooking to prevent it from getting burnt.

Sometime we love simple meal like the above and it would be great too if you just want to narrow down the menu to only Onigiri (rice ball) plus one main dish. But if you have time, you could always add on another simple side like hard-boiled egg or boiled Edamame.

STIR-FRY MACKEREL WITH SHIOKOJI AND FRENCH BEAN

Simple Stir-fry Mackerel with Shiokoji and French Bean

(Serves: 2   | Preparation: 10 minutes |  Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
200g of Mackerel Fillet, Sliced
3 Teaspoons Of Shiokoji
150g French Bean, trimmed
Some Carrot, Sliced

Method:-
1. Marinate mackerel with shiokoji for at least 5 minutes or not more than 30 minutes.

2. Preheat a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, pan-fry the marinated mackerel for 2 minutes on each side or till slightly golden brown in colour. Remove and set aside.

3. Next add in another teaspoon of oil, stir-fry the carrot and french bean till french bean change to darker green colour, toss in mackerel fillet and give it a quick stir till well-combined.

4. Remove on serving plate and serve with steamed white rice.

Other than the two fish dishes above, I also used Shiokoji to marinate chicken fillet which taste great as a simple dish on itself. And just for your information, the portion of Shiokoji to any meat ingredient weight is 1:10 which means for each 100g of meat, use 10g(1.5 teaspoons) of Shiokoji. But then it is still up to individual to adjust the amount of Shiokoji used according to their taste preference.

Chawanmushi is one of our favourite egg dish and nothing would go wrong when you follow Nami's (Just One Cook Book) quick and easy  Japanese recipes on her site. Here I followed one of her savory Chawanmushi recipe which includes step-by-step illustrations that helps to make this delicious Japanese Steamed Egg Custard. So do check up Nami's website for more recipe ideas too!