Bento #1

[munkaya]

I made my first official bento boxes for our lunches today. A~ says he wants to enjoy my current obsession while he can. We are referring to this phase as "The Bento Days," mainly because we're assuming I can't keep this up for very long due to forces beyond my control (i.e., work). Anyway, here 'tis!

Comments

[stochasticgirl]

Yummmmm! What goes into the tonkatsu sauce?

[munkaya]

1 cup catsup
1/2 cup worchershire
1/2 cup sake
2 tablespoons ginger
2 tablespoons garlic
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup mirin

Put all above ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring occasionally.
Reduce to a simmer for 25-30 minutes skimming any foam that rises to the top. Will keep refrigerated for 4
weeks
Yield: 3 cups

It is pretty good! The chicken katsu was leftover from dinner last night. :P

[munkaya]

It was good! And it's super easy. Just add rice to a rice cooker, then some soy sauce, mirin, sake and salt to the cooking water, pile the mushrooms and tofu on top and hit cook. Once the rice is done, you fold the topping in and voila!

[munkaya]

No way. I may be obsessed with bento, but I am not obsessed enough to wake up early and fry rice. :) Snowpeas maybe. But not rice. If I remember the proportions right, you add 2 cups of rice (this is rice cups not normal 8 oz. cups), then 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. sake, 1 tbsp. mirin, and salt to taste. Then you add enough water to hit the water line for 2. Then pile on the mushrooms (I used a handful each of sliced shiitake, chopped enoki, and sliced cremini) and fried-tofu strips. Then hit the cook button. Try it!

[algorhythmic]

That looks amazing! I want some! I'm getting hungry for lunch now.

[munkaya]

Now that I've eaten it, I sort of want another. Definitely should have eaten breakfast.

[jfoufou]

You cook cute!

(Is that even grammatically correct? Heh.)

[munkaya]

Tee hee! I just had a conversation with my coworker, who was hypothesizing that one of the main reasons I like bento is because it is cute. :)

[munkaya]

I actually got a mini sausage cutter - supposedly it will turn an everyday cocktail wiener into a crab! We'll see though. I am hoping that there are mini sausages out there other than Vienna sausages. Aren't Vienna sausages the pale squishy ones? I don't think I like those.

[munkaya]

Is it good? If there was good Japanese takeout near me, I'd be so happy!