Hello everyone, I am MASA.
This time I'd like to share the recipe for a very delicious
Japanese bento.
Chicken Karaage Bento
Its [Japanese] name is "Karaage Bento".
which means "Japanese Fried Chicken Bento".
I have received lots of inquiries from the audience
about ideas for delicious bento/ meal prep.
In Japan, there's no dish that's specifically designed for bento.
Basically, you can put in any food that you usually eat at home in a bento.
However, you need to be aware of the change of food's condition after cooling down.
Because, in Japan, we usually have our bento in room-temperature.
Of course, some people might choose to reheat their bentos if they get a microwave in their office.
or some might use a lunch box with insulation feature,
but for most students, their bento is usually prepared in the morning and eaten directly during lunchtime.
So, this time, I choose few dishes that are perfect for the bento/meal prep.
[The food can be enjoyed in hot or room temperature.]
It is easy to make!
Let's get started!
Curry Potato Salad
Potato (cooked) - 1
[No need to make it too grainy. It tastes better with some texture.]
Curry powder - 1/2 small spoon
[With some curry powder, it gives you an extra flavor even after it is cooled down.]
Mayonaise - 2 large spoon
Salt & black pepper - suitable amount
Pea (boiled) - 3 pcs
Cut them into smaller pieces.
Curry Potato Salad
Can be kept for 3 days with refrigeration.
Vegetable Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelet)
Egg - 3
Dashi (Japanese broth) - 30cc
Salt - 1/4 small spoon
Broccoli (boiled) - 5 pieces. Carrot (cooked) - 10g
[Since the Egg Roll needs to have a soft texture, make sure the carrot slices are also cooked to soft]
[Feel free to use other kinds of vegetables!]
Add some oil to the pan.
Medium heat.
Use a small portion of egg mixture to test the pan temperature.
If the color changes immediately, the pan's temperature is ready.
Put in a serving spoon of egg mixture at a time.
A tamagoyaki gets its shape by having many thin layers of egg mixture rolled together.
This time I am using a round pan to make Tamagoyaki,
spread the egg mixture and make it into a rectangular shape.
Start rolling it from outside to inside.
Move the roll to the front edge of the pan.
brush a little oil on the pan.
Evenly distribute the veggies.
[Do not make it too dry. Start rolling it when the surface still has some liquid.]
Tilt the pan to panfry the side.
Make it stand after the shape is formed.
Panfry its top & bottom too.
[Since it is going to be put inside a bento box, make sure the egg roll is completely cooked!]
[You can also wrap it up by a paper towel or a cloth!]
Wait for the cool down.
[Japanese Fried Chicken/Karaage]
Chicken thigh - 1 piece
Cut it into a suitable size for eating.
garlic paste - 1/4 small spoon
ginger paste - 1/4 small spoon
Mirin - 1/2 small spoon
Soy sauce - 1 big spoon
Salt - a little
Add oil to the pan,
until the depth is around 1.5cm.
medium-low heat.
cover the chicken with tapioca starch or potato starch.
[Put some starch into the pan to test the temperature. If there are small bubbles coming out, the temperature is ready.]
Shake the chicken to remove the excessive starch.
Fry it until it has the light golden colour.
Flip the chicken.
Change to low heat and continue frying.
Heat until the chicken's colour darkens then flip again.
[Keeping some part of the chicken above the oil can better prevent the chicken from over-fried.]
[And there is no need to fry it two times.]
Take the chicken out when both sides are in the dark golden colour.
Drain excessive oil on a rack.
Now the food is ready to be put into the bento box.
Let me first introduce some different types of bento boxes.
In Japan, this kind of wooden bento box is pretty popular.
Some of them are in oval shape,
some are in round shape.
Although the box looks small from the outside, it's actually pretty deep and has a large volume.
Since this type of bento box is made in wood, I do not recommend putting it into a dishwasher.
It is important to let the box completely dry before storing. [in order to prevent the growth of mold.]
These plastic-made bento boxes are also nice,
they are easy to use, carry around, and durable.
If you want to buy these boxes, pick those that are heat-resistant (=microwavable),
because we might want to have our bento microwaved sometimes.
Also, you can also use this kind of steel bento box that you can often see in Taiwan.
They are strong and durable, too.
It's also totally fine if you want to use this kind of bento box.
When you are filing up the bento, avoid directly touching the food by hand to prevent food poisoning.
You can use chopsticks or kitchen clippers to put the food in.
An important point is that,
all food has to be completely cooled down before putting into the bento box.
Some people think that they can keep the food warm by putting hot food directly in and close the lid right away. However,
food kept at warm temperature (35oC) provides a favorable environment for germs to grow,
which can easily make the food spoiled and cause food poisoning.
All food must be cooled down before putting into the bento box.
[For the short notes of filling up a bento, please check the description box below.]
Let's start filling the bento now! :)
Make sure the food is cooled down.
Cherry tomatoes + decorations
Tamagoyaki
Cut it into a suitable size.
Rice (cooled down)
Lettuce (optional)
Tamagoyaki
Japanese fried chicken
baking paper
Now we have this very yummy
Karaage Bento. Finished!
The bento is ready! Happy:)
It's been a while since last time I had my meal in a bento box.
Let me taste the fried chicken first.
It has a beautiful color on the outside!
Itadakimasu! (start eating)
*so yummy*
The chicken is soft inside,
and gets all the flavor.
This time, I did not add eggs into the batter for the fried chicken.
The chicken was just marinated and covered with tapioca/potato starch before frying.
With this method,
even though the chicken was not served in hot,
it's still crunchy outside at room temperature.
The combination of soy sauce and mirin (the marination) gives food a good taste,
either served in hot or in room temperature.
Next, I am going to try
the Tamagoyaki.
*yummy face*
The tamagoyaki has a very good texture.
Because this time,
I put not only eggs, but also vegetables in the mixture.
So it gets a variety of textures.
Potato (the salad)
*yummy face*
The curry flavor goes so well with the potato.
Normally, there's only mayonnaise in potato salads.
But this potato salad, by adding the curry powder,
we add some spiciness into it.
and also make it a good combo with the rice.
My demonstration this time was not like the way I usually did -
I did not show all the steps in making this bento. For example, you don't see me preparing the vegetables.
Because I want to show you that you don't need to do all these steps in one go -
you don't have to prepare all the ingredients of the bento at once.
Doing so would be exhausting.
You can prepare some ingredients the night before.
For example, you can marinate the chicken and put it into the fridge, and fry/panfry it the next morning.
For the tamagoyaki,
it actually has to be cooled down to form its shape.
So, you can make it and put it into the fridge the night before.
On the next day, simply take it out from the fridge, slice it, and put into the bento.
It is the same for the potato salad. You can prepare it the night before.
[You can prepare more (it can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days). Also a good idea for breakfast.]
Therefore, when making a bento,
do not make it a tiring task for you. [The simpler the better!]
Plan ahead for what you want to include in your bento,
and what you can prepare in advance.
If you can, prepare the ingredients the day before.
Of course, you don't have to prepare exactly all the three dishes from scratch.
Leftovers from last night's dinner would totally work.
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Hope everyone enjoys a simple and lovely bento!
Thank you:)