Category Archives: japanese 日本食

Kindergarten bento – Flower field (3/Feb/17) 

06/02/2017

Menu: Sanshoku tricolour bento, Boiled cabbage & komatsuna, Cherry tomato, Cucumber sticks

Diced strawberries for dessert

In the old calendar (based on Chinese Year I believe), the 3rd of February is called “Setsubun,” which literal meaning is to divide seasons. It’s considerered to be the end of winter and the beginning of spring. 

The tricolour bento always gives me an impression of flower field. I used to love opening my mum’s tricolour bento with its cheerfulness. Hope my daughter had a similar, if not the same, feeling about her bento today.

Click here for the recipe of Sanshoku tricolour bento. 

Kindergarten bento – Burnt fish (6/Feb/17)

06/02/2017

Menu: Grilled Sawara (Spanish mackerel) in saikyo-miso, Tomato omelet, Steamed broccoli, Cucumber sticks, Wakame seaweed rice

Apple for dessert


While I was at the kitchen preparing her bento in a rush, my ever so grumpy daughter demanded that I come to her room to help her put on her school uniform. “Not Papa, Mama. I want Mama!”

I must admit that it’s a little flattering that someone so wants me, but in a busy morning it can also be quite annoying. The outcome of that this morning was a burnt Spanish mackerel.

Kindergarten bento- Oyakodon (28/Jan/17)

02/02/2017

Menu: Oyakodon (chicken & egg donburi), Steamed pumpkin, Boiled fava beans, Spinach goma-ae, Cherry tomato

Apple mousse & banana for dessert

Thinking about it, the name “oyakodon” is actually quite cruel. The name is made up with Oya = parent (chicken), Ko = child (egg), and Don = donburi (bowl). Oh dear we killed them both to come up with this dish! Let’s eat it with extra gratitude…

In case you want a recipe, click here.

Kindergarten bento – Chicken shio-koji (31/Jan/17)

31/01/2017

Menu: Stir-fried chicken thigh marinated in shio-koji, Boiled egg, Steamed broccoli, Cucumber sticks, Cherry tomato, Rice with goma-konbu 

Apple for dessert


In the busy morning, this clever shio-koji can help you save a significant amount of time. Just sprinkle a spoonful of shio-koji on the bite size chicken thigh, quickly toss everything and stir-fry them in a frying pan. No oil needed, as the fat of the chicken thigh gives enough grease, and once brown add tiny bit of water (a tea spoon) and cover the lid and steam-fry for a minute (this leaves the chicken nice and moist).  This whole process takes only 5 minutes.

Kindergarten bento – Chicken & asparagus salad (26/Jan/17)

27/01/2017

Menu: Chicken & asparagus salad, Corn omelet, Steamed pumpkin, Grilled salmon marinated in saikyo-miso, Rice

Strawberries & banana for dessert

Chicken & asparagus salad. 

I love this salad because not only it’s tasty but also it allows me to prepare one more dish always on the side. 

For the salad, I always use chicken filet without fat. Boil it for a while (5 minutes would do), and shred it by hand. Mix it with boiled asaparugus and sliced cucumber, add vinegrette (I usually make it with chopped onion, red wine vinegar and honey). 

The water used for boiling the chicken filet can be reused as chicken broth. This time, I put steamed pumpkin (peeled), mashed it in the broth, and added salt to taste. That’s it – it makes great pumpkin soup. Nothing else, but if you want an extra flavour, I recommend to add a dash of extra virgin olive oil.

Kindergarten bento – Fried aji (24/Jan/17)

26/01/2017

Menu: Fried aji (horse mackerel), Sliced veggie salad, Spinach omelet, Rice with furikake sprinkle

Apple mousse & banana for dessert

Fried aji (horse mackerel) is one of the very useful dishes for bento. Today I marinate the filets of aji with sake, soy sauce and mirin (1:2:2 proportion) with ground ginger, tossed the marinated filets into katakuriko (片栗粉, potato starch) and shallow fried it. You could also cook the filet like you make cutlet, and serve them with Wooster sause. 

It’s easy to make and tasty!

Kindergarten bento – Bunny apple (23/Jan/17)

24/01/2017

Menu: Kajiki nimono (simmered sword fish), Cucumber sticks, Sautéed spinach & bacon, Cherry tomato, Boiled egg

Bunny shaped apple for dessert 

After the bento today, my clever daughter asked me not to cut out the apple in bunny shape anymore, because the apple skin contains a lot of vitamin c and very healthy. 

Where did she get such information? It wasn’t from me and certainly not from my nutrition-oblivious husband. She is developing her own world view it seems!

Kindergarten bento – Diagonal attempt (20/Jan/17)

20/01/2017

Menu: Hamburger steak (with tofu inside the pâté), Tofu omelet, Steamed broccoli, Cucumber sticks, Cherry tomato, Rice with furikake sprinkle

Strawberries & banana for dessert

For a change, I packed my daughter’s bento with a diagonal division. I’ll even teach her the word “diagonal” later today as she must’ve noticed the difference when opening the cover at lunch time. This, we call “isseki nichou (一石二鳥),” killing two birds with one stone.