Bento Boxes

[PrincessFiona60]

My dumplings box lunch.

1. osuimono soup, with tofu, wakame and funn
2. rice with grain mix and dollop of katsuo/umeboshi
3. potsticker gyoza and traditional spinach ohitashi
4. tangerines and chili bits arare

Osuimono, likely on a restaurant menu, is a clear dashi soup, with just a splash of light soy sauce and mirin, maybe a tiny curl of lemon peel. Ohitashi, also on the menu as a salad, is a simple tsukemono of steamed spinach rolled into a log and squeezed of liquid. I cut into servings and freeze. Sprinkle with katsuo dried bonito flakes and soy sauce. Dipping sauce for the gyoza is in a little disposable squeeze bottle, made for bento lunch boxes.

That looks fantastic!

Would I use umeboshi paste the same way as a plum? The store that carried the plums changed to paste.

 

[Saphellae]

Spork - I love your itty bitty soy sauce bottle.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Spork - I love your itty bitty soy sauce bottle.

They come in bags of 12, I think they are expected to be disposable, but they are easy to clean. I love the little pigs.

 

[spork]

Yup, the bottle is shaped like a pig. I magic-marked their caps with two snorting nostrils. And yes, I too reuse them, washing them by sucking and squirting soapy water several times. Another common shape is a fish.

My umeboshi paste, same as something in a tube, is just a plum with its seed removed. I chop it up together with a handful of katsuo flakes to a paste consistency. It's the most common, and my favorite, onigiri rice ball filling.

 

[Damien]

Spork, that last bento looks great and reminded me I have many gyoza still in my freezer.. Sounds like lunch, baby! Also, I think PF has a new nickname.. Speaking of which, feeling any better, fifi-chan?

 

[Damien]

No kidding! I bought some to work with, opened it and was quite struck by the powerful smell. By 4 in the morning , the smell was so overpowering it woke me up, I went out in the kitchen and put it outside the back door. I threw away the whole bottle. The flavor was really good, but I could not handle that smell.

What brand did you have, fifichan? The fish sauce I have doesn't hardly smell and I've got both a sensitive nose and my girlfriend who has a sensitive taste.. Neither of us have found the sauce I use offensive.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Yup, the bottle is shaped like a pig. I magic-marked their caps with two snorting nostrils. And yes, I too reuse them, washing them by sucking and squirting soapy water several times. Another common shape is a fish.

My umeboshi paste, same as something in a tube, is just a plum with its seed removed. I chop it up together with a handful of katsuo flakes to a paste consistency. It's the most common, and my favorite, onigiri rice ball filling.

Thanks, Spork...then I will get it! I just wasn't sure, had decided to buy the plums and then they switched on me.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Spork, that last bento looks great and reminded me I have many gyoza still in my freezer.. Sounds like lunch, baby! Also, I think PF has a new nickname.. Speaking of which, feeling any better, fifi-chan?

What brand did you have, fifichan? The fish sauce I have doesn't hardly smell and I've got both a sensitive nose and my girlfriend who has a sensitive taste.. Neither of us have found the sauce I use offensive.

I'm feeling much better, after a switch in blood pressure medications, thank you for asking.

It was a brand from Asia, I can't remember which. I'm just glad it was inexpensive. I could handle the flavor, but not the smell. What brand do you buy?

 

[Damien]

Phu Quoc Flying lion brand fish sauce. It's a vietnamese sauce.

Here is a link to a picture of it.
"Flying Lion" Vietnamese-Style Fish Sauce: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

-Damien

 

[spork]

Compared to most normal people, I'm fishy.
That is, I've yet to meet a fish I didn't like to catch or eat.

Though I like fish sauce, even I won't put up with it in my kitchen. My last 3oz bottle was a Japanese brand. About six drops(!) of the liquid in a wok stunk the house for two days despite opening all the windows. I had to toss it, too, like a cheap spray of Au de Phu Quoc.

I will look for Flying Lion on the next visit to one of my local Asian markets, and give it another chance, but I'm skeptical...

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I'm thinking maybe an Americanized version of the fish sauce? If a smell is waking me up...

I bought some gyoza (yes cheating) and am getting ready to make my Bento for tomorrow. Hoisin with a little wasabi, sliced black plums, rice noodles, sauce and sauteed bok choy and a clementine for color.

 

[Damien]

Be warned though, I've never used it when cooking over heat. Mainly Thai beef salad is where it finds it's way into.. Here's the recipe..

Thai beef salad, Yum Nuea / ImportFood.com recipe

Only difference to the recipe being that I throw this together with a spring mix salad and instead of all the chiles, I just mix in some sriracha to taste.

-Damien

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Be warned though, I've never used it when cooking over heat. Mainly Thai beef salad is where it finds it's way into.. Here's the recipe..

Thai beef salad, Yum Nuea / ImportFood.com recipe

Only difference to the recipe being that I throw this together with a spring mix salad and instead of all the chiles, I just mix in some sriracha to taste.

-Damien

That sounds really good...I tend to use spinach as salad greens.

 

[Damien]

Spinach would work well..

-Damien

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I shredded baby bok choy, julienned carrots and sliced green onions, steamed and stirred in some oyster sauce. This is really good. I got enough for two bentos and I put my gyozas on a bed of baby spinach and a couple of pickled radish roses. Then I used an onigiri box for my dessert with sliced strawberries, honey and basil.

 

[Damien]

That sounds great, Fifi.. I'm doing a homemade french onion soup.

-Damien

 

[spork]

Yum!

When humans first discovered fire, they made french onion soup the next day.

Fifi, great ideas. I snack on raw radishes all the time, so I will start carving them into jack-o-lanterns for my lunch boxes. Nevermind your store bought dumplings, it's all good. The other day, I was pleasantly surprised to see gyoza dumplings sold as bento box lunches at my local supermarket's sushi station. I have no doubt that they did not make, or cook for that matter, from scratch. I will get around to jotting down and posting my usual filling recipes, and ask Damien for his, but it really is all up to one's imagination.

 

[Damien]

My Gyoza filling is usually just an amalgamation of what I have handy...Usually a 50/50 of hot italian pork sausage and shredded cabbage with some soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, green onions, a little sriracha, sugar and some mirin.

Busy day today.. ran to my butcher to pick up a 3 lb pork butt and off to wal-mart for some seasonings, sauce, buns, catering tins and gallon size plastic bags. Spring is here in New Mexico and I just bought a smoker. Dragging it with me to work to feed the crew pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow. Threw my own mix of stuff together for the rub and I'm excited to see how the bark turns out. After I got the meat squared away, I started the 4 hour process of making the soup. Soup finished just after 6, right on time with the GF getting home. What a great day!

-Damien

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I managed to set myself on fire. The heat of Wasabi is nothing compared to the heat of sriracha sauce. I got maybe a whole micron of it in my mouth and thought I was dying. Finally able to get a sip of half and half and put the fire out. I won't make the mistake of mixing up Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and Sriracha again! My ears are still ringing.

Other than that, my lunch was fantastic!

I do want to make my own dumplings, thanks for the recipe idea, Damien. And make some Bao.

 

[Damien]

Nice! Oddly, I can handle more sriracha than wasabi at a time.. I need to reattempt bao again.. Maybe this weekend..

-Damien