Bento Box

Mmm... nutritious and healthy lunch box

Before I fly off for my short vacation tomorrow I want to share a simple bento box recipe with you so that you can try it over the weekend.

The bento box will consist of rice, chicken nanban, potato salad and cabbage and spinach salad.


Chicken Nanban:-
This Chicken Nanban recipe is an improvised version from the Chicken Nanban recipe by Just Bento. 

For the nanban sauce:
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

For the chicken:
boneless chicken thighs
corn starch
some salt

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and coat them evenly with corn starch. Sprinkle some salt and massage the chicken pieces. I used to put too much salt while seasoning but I've learned to add a little at a time because you can always add more later. If you add too much you cannot undo adding the salt. A sprinkle will be just nice for seasoning the chicken pieces in this recipe. Mum taught me to taste my finger to know whether there is enough salt when seasoning meat.
2. Deep fry the chicken pieces until they are golden brown. KC and I usually end up not cooking the chicken enough so we will cook them into the toaster oven later.
3. To prepare the sauce add all the ingredients for the sauce into a bowl and mix well.
4.  Dip each piece of chicken in the sauce thoroughly. 
5.  Finally garnish the chicken with some sesame seeds.

Potato Salad:-
3 medium potatoes
1/2 carrot peeled and sliced and cut in quarters
1/2 cucumber peeled and sliced and cut in quarters
some spring onions
salt for seasoning
Japanese Mayonaise
some vinegar

1.  Add some salt into a pot of water and boil the potatoes and carrots until they soften.
2.  When the potatoes and carrots are ready drain the water with a sieve and separate the potatoes and the carrots.
3.  Slightly mash the potatoes. Add in the carrots, cucumber and spring onion.
4.  Add in the mayonaise and vinegar to the potato salad.
(watch Cooking With Dog - Bento Box)

Cabbage and Spinach Salad:-
shredded carrots
shredded cabbage
spinach cut into 1.5 inch length
oriental sesame dressing

For this recipe we used the sesame dressing we bought from Shojikiya at their food fair in Tropicana City Mall last weekend. We also bought Japanese curry. Will try that in due course.

Bento box can easily fit into one's handbag. Just make sure that it is leak proof before putting anything liquid in there.

By the way, totally unrelated to Bento Box, Mum and I attended Cake Connection Free Demo Day last Saturday and we got to see how beautiful sugar wedding-themed cookies are made.

Bride and Bridgroom cookies. Cute? I think the person who first came up with this idea should have copyrighted the design coz it is such a brilliant idea and is being copied everywhere now.

Whimsical wedding cake cookie

So cute right...

Ideas for cookie decoration are endless

Cake Connection is located at Jaya One and the owner is a friendly and nice lady

* Cake Connection relocated to SS2