Experimental Bento: SUCCESS! (So far so good)

The kids are at school, DH went to work and they were all very happy to have a bento to take with them.  This one is mine...  DH and the kids have a little bit more chicken, there was just enough for everyone, if one person is a light eater.

On Today's Menu:

Mochiko chicken

3 small rice shapes or 2 Nori wrapped Rice balls (DH had ume inside his)

bean sprouts

broccoli

grapes

soybeans

decorated with some carrot flowers

DH also had kim chee as requested

The chicken and rice took up about 1/2 the bento, the rest of the space was filled with the veggies/fruits.  But OMG!  The chicken was delicious!  The soy beans were yummy, the rice balls were cute and the meal was balanced.  Everything looks fresh and tasty, you'd never know the beansprouts and broccoli were made 2 days ago. 

I woke up 30 minutes early to make the lunches.  It took about 25minutes to cook the chicken, but I'm sure if I had an appropriate sized pan and enough oil to fill it, it would've been cut down to 15.  Unfortunately, I have one that's perfect for one egg, and another that's perfect for a huge, daddy-size, filled with goodies omelet.  I need something in between. While the chicken cooked, I put together the rice balls,  and filled the bento.  Not so bad...

So here's a bento, wrapped in a napkin, packed and ready to go:

Some notes for next time:

• If I want to make those cute little faces, cut the nori the night before. 
• Make sure there's enough rice for me
• Buy a bigger Fry pan. 
• Cut grapes to serving size and store in a bag too. 

So what's on the menu for next time?  (someday soon, I still have beansprouts and other fruit/veggie fillers)
SPAM Musubi
Tamago (Egg)
And veggie/fruit fillers 

If all works out, I'll have to buy REAL Bento boxes and some of those neat little chopstick cases for us so they don't poke through my napkins... :D

Experimental Bento: Mochiko Chicken

This morning, I've prepared a large batch of mochiko chicken.  There's 6 pounds of chicken thighs, and I've split it into 5 sandwich sized bags.  2 are in the refrigerator, and 3 in the freezer.  Bento usually don't have too many pieces of this stuff, maybe 4 bite size pieces and lots of other goodies. 
My DH said his friend married a Japanese lady and she makes him bento everyday to take to work.  He's lost a lot of weight.  Hmmmm....  I hope it'll help...
This recipe is not yet tested, and I modified a small one to make a large batch, so take your chances.  I'll check back and repost with pictures after I've had a chance to cook it.   


Large Batch Mochiko Chicken:

6 lb. bag of boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup mochiko
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cornstarch
8 eggs
3/4 c. shoyu
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Soak chicken at least overnight.  Prepare by deep frying, or if you're like me, use about 1/2" of oil in the pan, and fry.  Drain on paper towel.  Everyone loves mochiko chicken... how can you not?  It's fried...  :D

It's looks like I'll need to make myself bento.  All these recipes are making me want one too....
It's a lot of work on the weekend, but hopefully, we can all enjoy nice lunches during the coming week.  The kids are really tired of school lunches, and the price just keeps rising.  Dad keeps going out for hamburgers and fries, not a healthy habit.  And if lunches are this good, I might not forget to stop and eat when I'm busy sewing....