tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87465506864532478312012-02-02T14:44:33.824+08:00Bentos & more!Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.comBlogger1601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-24610564542653215262009-12-16T19:40:00.003+08:002009-12-16T19:53:01.704+08:00

It's almost Christmas! Time has run away with me, again... Yes, it's been like forever since my last post, and a thousand apologies to everyone. I've been busy, lazy and well, expecting a new addition to the family, if that's any excuse! So future posts could be scarce in the coming months, too... Every year, I make some Christmas cookies for YH's colleagues. This year, despite everything, I

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-91202781270888987282009-08-26T19:46:00.006+08:002009-08-26T20:08:50.966+08:00

This dish is easy to make, and great as a bento filler. It's basically minced meat (beef or pork) scrambled together with eggs. My mum used to make this when I was young, and she would serve it with plain rice or rice porridge.Continue reading...Scrambled Eggs with Minced Meat3 eggs100 - 150g minced beef or porkhalf an onion, finely chopped (optional)1 Tbsp soya sauce1 tsp sesame oilsalt and

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-8968757330721650902009-08-21T19:36:00.006+08:002009-08-21T22:27:01.228+08:00

These gloppy-looking round things are supposed to be Swedish meatballs. They taste a whole lot better than they look in the photo, though! I've been wanting to eat Swedish meatballs for some time - I first ate them at Ikea (of all places) - and finally decided to make my own. The great thing about this recipe is that the meatballs are baked, not fried (that sounds like an ad), which means less

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-10378094895198061572009-08-15T00:01:00.003+08:002009-08-15T00:16:04.941+08:00

This "dish" is so simple that I wasn't going to post about it, but after a really lovely comment I received from someone who complimented me on my simple recipes, I have decided to! This is how I first started eating avocados when young...all you have to do is slice a ripe avocado in half, remove the seed, and squeeze some thousand island dressing in the centre (or on the side of your plate).

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-11469969475479072792009-07-20T20:00:00.000+08:002009-07-20T21:34:37.601+08:00

Whenever there is a pot luck gathering, I like to bring a pasta salad of some kind. It's easy to transport, easy to make in small or larger quantities, and can be prepared a day ahead of time. For the version I made for last weekend's gathering, I added tuna, bacon, and peppers (capsicum) together with spiral pasta in 2 colours. This pasta is great eaten cold - perfect for bento and picnics, but

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-89127681615440748092009-07-20T18:31:00.013+08:002009-07-20T21:31:50.076+08:00

For some reason, I don't cook fish very often. I think it is because I just have it in my head that fish is a bit fiddly to make. However an easy recipe and one of my favourite fish recipes is teriyaki cod fish. This dish is also perfect to put into your bento lunches. (To be honest, a good slice of cod fish is quite expensive here, so I don't make this that often.)This is a slight update on the

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-86221056823320456482009-07-20T18:30:00.002+08:002009-07-20T18:57:33.940+08:00

After a (long) break, I'm trying to get back to making bento - just a simple one, made with one of my favourite bento staples - Beef and Tofu meatballs (you can't taste the tofu at all, but adding tofu makes the meatballs juicy, even after it has been frozen and re-fried). Here, they have been glazed with homemade teriyaki sauce. The rest of the bento is just some edamame, a happy hard boiiled

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-35740731529212396942009-07-08T18:17:00.007+08:002009-07-08T18:57:09.842+08:00

Ever been asked in a survey what dish you would pick if you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life? Well, if I had to choose, it would be chicken salad. There's something about cold chicken and raw vegetables that just work so well together. With the summer heat truly upon us in Hong Kong right now, many a night I feel like something cool and refreshing. It may seem too light a meal,

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-18449396694159273872009-07-08T18:17:00.004+08:002009-07-08T18:37:11.262+08:00

This is not the most exciting of photos, or recipes, but it's been one of our favourite desserts lately - fruit salad. I suppose a fruit salad should have more than 2 types of fruits inside it, but that often doesn't bother me... It's a great way to get reluctant fruit eaters (such as myself) to enjoy fruit. Somehow, eating an apple or watermelon is a bit boring, but when you chop it up and mix

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-88437990423187943822009-06-21T22:16:00.002+08:002009-06-21T22:20:59.051+08:00

This dish (although it looks like a gluggy mess in the photo) is fast becoming a favourite with me because it is so easy to make. It is a little like chicken parmigiana, but unlike chicken parmigiana, which is first breaded, fried and then baked, this dish is just baked - which means you throw all the ingredients into an oven-safe dish, and plonk it into the oven. Done!Chicken breast works well

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-81093360490443151012009-06-21T19:17:00.007+08:002009-06-21T21:21:41.271+08:00

Sometimes I get so caught up making the same thing over and over again, there is nothing new to post. It's been a little like that lately, with poor YH constantly being served my regular favourite dishes (not that he ever complains). My obsession with pasta took on a life of its own last week, when we ate pasta 4 days out of 7! If you happen to get into a pasta rut like me, a nice way of making

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-51131687518275031132009-05-21T11:20:00.011+08:002009-05-21T17:18:28.452+08:00

Curry puffs are easily available in Malaysia and Singapore, but not so common in Australia when I was growing up, so we always looked forward to my mum's homemade version, which she would make using puff pastry (rather than the traditional flour pastry which is deep fried). My sister and I would help her measure and cut out the pieces of puff pastry, then fill it with a spicy mince beef and

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-17327176699041125192009-05-07T16:10:00.006+08:002009-05-07T16:41:58.484+08:00

This is one of my favourite sandwiches. It's great in a bento lunch, easy to make, and healthy, too. The chicken tenderloin is marinated with a little soya sauce and paprika, then grilled. I use my George Foreman grill for this, but you can also panfry it if you prefer. The meat is then shredded, and added to a multi grain nut bread, along with slices of avocado and tomato. I find the nuttiness

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-50147285766868869592009-05-04T12:43:00.004+08:002009-05-04T13:13:33.297+08:00

I find I'm always short on groceries (and time) Sunday night, so making bento for Monday usually involves rummaging around in the freezer. Today's lunch for YH is a simple combination of thin udon noodles mixed with sesame oil, soya sauce and oyster sauce, dumplings (from the freezer) and some baby spinach (wilted slightly with a little sesame oil and sesame seeds). A little red container of

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-55606993940469628152009-04-29T12:14:00.003+08:002009-04-29T12:29:54.512+08:00

Today's bento reminds me of breakfast sets often served in Japan - sausage, egg, salad and rice. I lightly panfried the onion flavoured sausages, and made a giant tamagoyaki layered with leftover beef soboro. Accompanying that was some butter lettuce and cherry tomatoes. I topped the salad with some leftover boiled prawns from last night's dinner (which didn't quite fit with the breakfast theme.)

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-2663758026234975002009-04-27T12:17:00.003+08:002009-04-27T13:17:17.259+08:00

After a short trip away, it's back to bento for me this week. I was preparing this late Sunday night so I kept things simple and made some beef and egg soboro. Together with some peas and rice, it was quick and easy to prepare. As I find the beef soboro is already quite salty, I did not season the egg, so it is actually just plain, finely scrambled egg. (Normally, you would usually season the egg

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-75085148090219836532009-04-27T12:14:00.003+08:002009-04-27T14:00:46.039+08:00

We just returned from a short trip to Osaka to catch the tail end of the sakura season. As expected, most of the flowers had already fallen there, so we headed out of the city to Yoshino, where over 10,000 sakura trees grow wild on the mountain. To my delight, there were still quite a few sakura blooming, especially in the higher regions of the mountain.On the train journey to Yoshino, we enjoyed

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-60145202831898137502009-04-14T15:38:00.005+08:002009-04-14T18:13:47.091+08:00

This recipe is great if you are looking to add some extra protein and tofu into your diet, and it is also perfect to pack in your bento lunches, as it tastes good cold. It is also a handy way to use up any leftover tofu you may have in the fridge. The tofu makes the egg omelette very soft and juicy, and you can't really taste the tofu at all (which means it is a sneaky way to get non-tofu loving

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-40960349733382252622009-04-12T17:35:00.008+08:002009-04-12T18:10:30.694+08:00

If you love soft, gooey, chocolate cookies (or are a Mrs Fields cookie fan), you'll love this recipe. Take them out when they are just cooked through (the bottom may still be a touch gooey) and they will remain soft even after they have cooled (which I find pretty amazing). The only downside is that the cookies, being a little cracked and brown, may not look overly attractive to some. The taste

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-2309252129066536022009-04-09T10:12:00.008+08:002009-04-09T11:10:11.467+08:00

This one pot, one dish meal was created out of a need to prepare something hot and satisfying with a minimal amount of preparation and cooking. All you need to do is cut and marinate the chicken and mushrooms, and dump them with the rice into a rice cooker. The rice cooker takes care of the cooking, leaving you free for other things. Simply serve it up when the rice is cooked, with a side of

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-16837998640408143572009-03-15T17:15:00.006+08:002009-03-15T18:32:04.364+08:00

I got this recipe from Nigella Lawson's book Feast, and wanted to share it here as I love the flavours in this dish, yet it is very simple to make. (by the way, I highly recommend many of the other recipes in that book, too...) The mustard, lemon, Worcestershire sauce, sage and onion marinade blend really well together and adds a little more zest and flavour to plain roast chicken.This dish is

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-74789790377773211982009-03-06T23:57:00.003+08:002009-03-07T00:08:05.934+08:00

I've taken a long break from making kyaraben (character) bento. I've just not been all that inspired, I suppose. It's been a blob of pasta, or leftovers with rice for poor YH for a few months! As my parents are visiting us right now, I thought I'd make the effort and make a special bento for them, especially since my mum has been hinting about how she'd love to eat one. My mother loves owls, so I

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-78618153993268692642009-02-26T22:50:00.008+08:002009-02-27T11:13:16.272+08:00

As the days go by, I've come to realise that Cloud9Food is all about comforting, home-style food that is not only tasty to eat, but is also heavenly for the chef ie. simple to prepare! Another favourite of mine which falls into this category is my One-Sauce Lasagna.I love lasagna, but the thought of preparing the bolognese meat sauce, bechamel sauce, layering everything and then baking it sends

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-49062507898512156522009-02-26T12:25:00.007+08:002009-02-26T13:06:16.014+08:00

Yes, yes, I know. Foie gras ("fat liver") is cruel to geese. But what can I say? It's only of my guilty eating pleasures. It was the day after Valentine's Day, and I was at the supermarket - to my surprise, I saw a packet of foie gras on sale - 2 decent sized pieces for HKD49.90 (USD6.40)!!! What an incredible bargain. Of course I could not resist and bought the last two packs. I pan fried them

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-3397587070354469082009-02-25T12:41:00.006+08:002009-02-25T15:25:39.792+08:00

Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, or what is now more commonly known as Pancake Day. As my parents are in town visiting, and both my dad and YH love pancakes, I thought it would be appropriate to make some pancakes to celebrate. Apparently, in the past, Catholics used to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, as it was the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of Lent). Pancakes were made to use up the

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-92219672096707683912009-01-29T22:16:00.006+08:002009-01-29T22:42:32.428+08:00

If you are searching for a quick, simple to prepare, yet satisfying dessert to serve up at your next casual dinner party, consider the chocolate fondue. It is easy to prepare (think - slicing fruits and putting them into bowls), most of it can be prepared ahead of time, and it still has that wow factor - who doesn't like the idea of dipping fruit into melted chocolate?If you have a chocolate

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-41602611973959830552009-01-28T17:27:00.002+08:002009-01-29T22:17:48.465+08:00

On the second day of the New Year, I was already running low on fresh meat in the fridge, so I turned to my stock of preserved meat, namely some cubed pancetta. I combined the pancetta with pumpkin and cherry tomatoes and roasted it all in the oven to make a simple pasta sauce. It's the same pasta recipe that I made last Halloween (Roasted Pumpkin & Pancetta Pasta), except that for Halloween, I

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-90973042392464125762009-01-27T22:57:00.004+08:002009-01-28T17:26:00.633+08:00

Apologies for not posting in a while, I've just finished up a project I was working on, and that took up most of my time for the past few weeks. Happy Chinese New Year for those celebrating! The first day of Chinese New Year was on 26th Jan, and we've been enjoying our 3-day holiday here in Hong Kong. Many small shops and restaurants close at this time of the year, so I tend to go on a grocery

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-36257057690620107732009-01-15T13:14:00.001+08:002009-01-15T13:15:52.885+08:00

Yesterday, I popped over to my friend's place and delivered a soba salad bento lunch. It was a last minute decision, so I didn't have much time to prepare, which meant I arrived at around 2pm - my trick is to make the person I'm feeding so hungry that whatever I dish out is tasty. HA. Soba noodle salads are quick to make and relatively healthy. I mixed the noodles with a little sesame oil and

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-76942431803333676512009-01-12T15:52:00.005+08:002009-01-12T16:22:46.089+08:00

I stopped making bento over the holiday period, and am slowly getting back to it. Today's bento lunch is a leftover from last night's dinner - Tuna Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. I made a slight variation to the recipe by adding a squirt of tomato paste to it (around 1 Tbsp) - when you mix it through, you can't really taste the tomato, you just get a bit of added flavour coating the spaghetti. I also

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-49915783478214395932009-01-11T18:25:00.010+08:002009-01-12T11:53:07.315+08:00

Rice congee, or rice porridge, is a very popular dish in Asia. It is often eaten for breakfast, supper, or as a substitute for rice, and there are many different styles - thick, thin, plain, or boiled with other ingredients. My favourite style is the traditional Cantonese style of congee, where the rice has been boiled a long time and has broken down into a very smooth, medium-thick liquid. 

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387716886092470757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-63902187246823668972009-01-08T12:45:00.005+08:002009-01-08T13:24:01.624+08:00

We are back from our short holiday and my post-holiday laziness has kicked in. I've not been very inspired in the kitchen, so last night YH bought a roast chicken home and I paired this with a favourite side dish that I've eaten and loved since childhood - tomato ketchup (or tomato sauce) spaghetti. My mother first ate this when she was young and studying in Ireland - her landlady used to serve

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-28439635573358384182009-01-01T18:25:00.018+08:002009-01-08T11:54:06.537+08:00

31 December, 2008, 4:00 PM – Along a narrow corridor on Deck 2 of Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship Legend of the Seas, 3 generations of my family were re-united to spend the last few hours of 2008 together.We’d traveled down from different parts of Asia for a 5-night cruise around Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to celebrate my dad’s 70th birthday, and of course, the new year. I’d not seen my

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-63680345442996945672008-12-30T22:00:00.004+08:002009-08-16T10:42:04.152+08:00

Tomorrow, New Years Eve, we are off on a short cruise with my parents and sister's family to celebrate my dad's birthday, and the New Year. (Look out for my next post from the cruise ship which will document our first meal on board!) I wanted to prepare a little something for my dad, so in the spirit of bento (as in packing food in a box) I decided to make a little birthday cupcake bento to bring

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-71197332612589976602008-12-27T21:06:00.007+08:002008-12-27T22:20:51.916+08:00

Christmas for me usually includes roasting a turkey, and it's around this time that I'm faced with a fridge full of leftover turkey meat. This is not a burden, mind you - I absolutely love having leftover turkey, and I suspect if a day comes when the turkey is completely eaten on Christmas itself, I would be very depressed. This year, I didn't roast a turkey, but went over to a friend's place for

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-47458938748881275512008-12-27T16:51:00.014+08:002008-12-27T19:19:56.289+08:00

I like to make this dish on special occasions such as Christmas or New Years Eve, although it would work well for any party, any time of the year. I was first introduced to caviar at a friend's party many years ago, and I've never looked back. The blobs of black may not seem particularly appealing, but if you enjoy eating fish roe in Japanese cuisine, such as tobiko (flying fish roe), ikura (

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-32001308477732490902008-12-25T18:24:00.010+08:002008-12-27T18:31:12.877+08:00

I'm back-dating this post and it's off-topic, but here's wishing everyone a Very Blessed Christmas! Happy Feasting!

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-52388857907821276732008-12-23T15:33:00.009+08:002008-12-23T17:36:10.887+08:00

The Christmas season crept up on me this year and took me completely by surprise. (Yes, decorations have been displayed everywhere for ages, but as they've been up since November, I really lost track.) It finally dawned upon me that if I didn't get my act together it would be next year... so I dug through my bento stash and leftover rice to make this simple Christmas-themed bento.It's Rudolph the

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-90768326030673313702008-12-19T15:00:00.003+08:002008-12-19T19:29:39.134+08:00

Today's bento contains my favourite Bacon & Asparagus Rolls, hard-boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, stir-fried mushrooms, rice and some pickled cabbage in the little heart container.

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-64304613456167637082008-12-19T14:54:00.010+08:002008-12-19T19:02:55.954+08:00

In addition to Ham n Egg Rolls, another roll that's easy to make and great as a bento filler is a Bacon & Asparagus Roll. You can adapt this dish and use the bacon to wrap many other things like vegetables, sausages, etc, but my favourite is asparagus. Continue reading...Bacon & Asparagus RollsAsparagus (you really need fresh asparagus here, not the canned variety)Streaky Bacon Rashers (streaky

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-51335910131640233792008-12-16T14:53:00.001+08:002008-12-16T22:49:09.875+08:00

Eggs are extremely versatile, and the same holds true for using eggs in bento. Along with the popular tamagoyaki, another great way of using egg is making a thin omelette (usuyaki tamago). These thin sheets of egg are great for cutting out into little shapes, rolling up, as a wrap or nori (seaweed) substitute, or shredded as a topping for noodles. Recently, I used these thin omelettes to make

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-50427432007551732962008-12-14T16:35:00.025+08:002008-12-16T17:25:13.564+08:00

I have taken a short break from kyaraben (character bento) recently as they do take some time to make, and I have not been feeling too inspired. However, when I read that the topic for this week's bento challenge over at the Live Journal Bento Challenge community was "twins", I suddenly wanted to make a Monokuro Boo Bento. I love these monochrome square-shaped pigs by San-X, and to fit the Bento

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-38147088696067238932008-12-12T10:50:00.004+08:002008-12-12T11:23:24.145+08:00

I've been lazy this week and took a short break from making bento (which meant sending YH off without lunch twice - luckily he had lunch appointments on the other days). I finally got my act together this morning, with yet another salted salmon bento. I've been buying a lot of fish lately, so the bento have also all been rather fishy. Today's bento contains pan-fried salted salmon, stir-fried

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-88636047003383744922008-12-05T18:47:00.004+08:002008-12-05T23:12:30.508+08:00

Today I visited a friend and made a bento for her. She's a fan of Precious Moments, so I got her a (very pink) Precious Moments bento box as a present. Instead of keeping the box though, she asked me to return with it another day, with another bento lunch! The bento contains asparagus wrapped with bacon, pan-fried yellowtail fish, cherry tomatoes, stir-fried beansprouts and mushrooms, and

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-53195423844691110432008-12-04T21:59:00.008+08:002008-12-05T23:41:37.774+08:00

Was in a rush today so I ended up making a simple lunch - tarako onigiri and an apple. It was back to the collapsible bento boxes, as well, as I was out all afternoon and didn't want to lug bulky bento boxes around with me. As my tarako (salted cod roe) had been sitting in the fridge for a while, I pan-fried it, cut it into chunks, and used it as an onigiri filling, along with a little kewpie

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-44661261229737544282008-12-03T23:00:00.001+08:002008-12-04T01:15:00.578+08:00

Today's bento was a little more Japanese - with pan-fried salted salmon, tamagoyaki, mushrooms, edamame and teriyaki chicken meatballs. I was happily packing the 1st tier, but when it came to the 2nd tier, after I'd shaped the rice into star shapes, I had nothing much else to place in it except some edamame! Hence the slightly odd star-shaped rice towers hovering on their own. This was just bad

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-73660546643692658902008-12-02T19:17:00.004+08:002008-12-02T19:59:25.203+08:00

I had leftover roast chicken and cabbage sitting in the fridge, so I decided to make a Vietnamese/Thai-style chicken and cabbage salad for today's bento. A good thing about salads like this is that it is relatively healthy, as it doesn't include fattening/creamy salad dressing. Yet another good point about this bento is that it can all be prepared the night before.Accompanying the bento are two

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-56370450020049282892008-12-01T16:08:00.002+08:002008-12-01T16:10:13.905+08:00

I don't know why but I have a thing for cute green frogs - but only cartoon ones, mind you. I don't like real frogs at all. So I was happy to use my smiling frog bento box today - one of my recent acquisitions from Hokkaido. The colours of the food sadly matched the rather pale green of the box, though! The first tier contains rice with furikake, and zucchini stir-fried with sesame oil and soya

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-80172778395938654162008-12-01T15:04:00.005+08:002008-12-01T15:34:15.916+08:00

I had a lot of soft flour tortillas as well lamb and grilled chicken leftover in the fridge, so I used them to make more wraps for an impromptu picnic on Sunday. Inside the wraps are lamb/chicken, with homemade spicy tomato sauce, roasted red and yellow peppers, tahini, and baby spinach leaves. I was in a hurry and using my rather large collapsible bento boxes from Muji, so I ended up sticking a

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-64624262497956396812008-12-01T13:55:00.004+08:002008-12-16T19:12:15.940+08:00

There's nothing like starting the weekend with a hot, savoury breakfast and coffee. On Saturday, for a slight variation, I added a slice of cheddar cheese to the egg as I rolled it up. Although the egg wasn't a true Japanese tamagoyaki, (as it was just beaten egg with a little salt), I cooked and rolled it up as I would a tamagoyaki. I served it on top of half a piece of toast (we had to share

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-14144733692033057842008-11-30T22:15:00.010+08:002008-11-30T23:07:33.923+08:00

A great way to enjoy sushi at home without all the fuss of rolling and slicing, is to make temaki sushi (handrolls). Temaki sushi is simply sushi rice with various toppings on a rectangular piece of nori seaweed, which is then rolled up into a cone-shape (imagine an ice-cream cone, where everything is inside the cone instead of on top, although I shudder a little at making that comparison). Your

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-39670391556750596872008-11-28T00:39:00.004+08:002008-11-28T01:06:55.773+08:00

Although bento is a great way of using up any leftover food you may have, sometimes I will purposely cook a little extra when preparing dinner and set it aside for lunch the next day. It saves time, and is energy efficient, too. Last night, I made grilled lamb with speedy roast potatoes and broccoli. I set aside some lamb, potato and broccoli, and made today's bento with it. If you have a

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-72452923169809779792008-11-25T18:03:00.004+08:002008-11-27T13:30:38.425+08:00

It's back to a simple bento today, with a ciabatta bread sandwich of turkey slices, avocado and cheese, with some carrot sticks and hummus (to eat with the carrots sticks), and some sliced kiwifruit.

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-85524951776408192222008-11-24T23:44:00.001+08:002008-11-25T09:47:30.914+08:00

It's my birthday today! and I spent the morning in the kitchen, making bento... not sure if this was my idea of an ideal birthday activity... but it was fun to eat the bento, outdoors, under the warm sun and cloudless bright blue sky. For some reason, the slightly cool weather disappeared for the day and it was very hot.I wanted this bento to be a little special, yet not too tedious to make. I

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-60434703516407643312008-11-20T23:07:00.005+08:002008-11-21T02:51:06.975+08:00

This is another of my favourite pastas. Usually I just make this pasta with sausage, but on special days I like to add some scallops to it. Continue reading for the recipe... Scallop & Sausage Aglio Olio Spaghetti(serves 2)250g spaghetti1 whole bulb garlic (or less if you are not a garlic fan)light olive oil2 polish sausages (use 3 -4 sausages if you making the sausage version without the

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-76710526943605970522008-11-19T16:12:00.013+08:002008-11-19T18:46:12.837+08:00

Today's my Chinese birthday! My mum always insists we eat some noodles on our birthday (esp the Chinese birthday, as noodles represent long life). I've been eating noodles constantly for the last few days, but I sort of felt obliged to eat more noodles...so, today's very yellow-green bento contains a soba salad which I call California Soba Salad because it has avocado, cucumber and crab sticks

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-13063968121500338492008-11-18T14:07:00.003+08:002008-11-18T16:07:36.484+08:00

My bento lunch for today was fried tung hoon (glass noodles), ie. leftovers from last night's dinner. It's packed in a microwavable container for re-heating. I squeezed some lime juice over the sambal belachan chilli and added some water over the noodles before microwaving the bento, so the noodles didn't dry out. Accompanying the noodles are some papaya cubes with a little lime juice.

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-40198481891923726642008-11-17T20:09:00.006+08:002008-11-18T18:32:48.561+08:00

I was at a loss as to what to cook for dinner tonight, especially when I took out the mushrooms I'd just purchased and found they had gone mouldy! However, I still ended up proceeding with my initial plan of frying some tung hoon (glass noodles) with the few ingredients I had lying around. It would have been better with a few more ingredients, for example, mushrooms or beansprouts, but it was

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-70378068812910361612008-11-16T22:43:00.016+08:002008-11-17T11:43:13.141+08:00

Today's bento is a Malaysian-style bento, containing Char Siew (Chinese barbecued pork) and Kon Loh Meen (soya sauce noodles), with haricot beans stir-fried in sambal belachan chilli. I've packed this bento in a microwavable container, as this dish tastes better warm.Kon Loh Meen (lit. dry, mixed noodles) is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. There are many variations,

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-1708176946044790462008-11-16T00:22:00.012+08:002008-11-17T21:25:40.279+08:00

Char Siew (lit. fork roast) or Chinese barbecued pork, is a popular method of cooking pork in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Traditionally, long strips of marinated boneless pork are skewered with long forks (hence the name) and cooked in an oven or over a fire. This recipe is my mum's homemade version, and is based on the dark char siew common in Malaysia (as opposed to the red char siew version)

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-45469208426175876362008-11-13T21:48:00.007+08:002008-11-14T00:21:05.088+08:00

I usually use fresh mentaiko when making mentaiko spaghetti, but on days I'm feeling extremely lazy, I do resort to using a packet of pre-made mentaiko sauce. At first I was a little suspicious of mentaiko from a packet, but it isn't too bad, and the MSG it contains naturally makes it taste better. I find adding some canned tuna also adds to the flavour.Continue reading...Lazy Tuna Mentaiko

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-14857859853807397002008-11-11T23:15:00.005+08:002008-11-11T23:34:40.818+08:00

On the weekend, I attempted something quite ambitious - making 7 bento for some friends at a small gathering. I had several things working against me - I was cooking in a strange kitchen (which I'm not used to), I was feeling under the weather (so I couldn't taste-test the food that well), I was cooking in much larger proportions than I'm used to (hence everything takes that much longer to

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-7166754373266304302008-11-11T12:25:00.018+08:002008-11-18T12:49:35.195+08:00

My godson J is currently into Batman, so when I went over to visit, I attempted to make a Batman Bento for him. Batman to me is rather dark and gloomy, but as J is only 4 years old, the bento is a light-hearted one, with little masked onigiri (rice balls), chicken teriyaki meatballs, and a batman emblem cut out of nori (seaweed) sitting on top of an oval tamagoyaki (fried egg omelette). Edamame,

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-33206231689362465272008-11-10T23:04:00.015+08:002009-07-20T18:57:14.212+08:00

Meatballs are a great bento staple. They freeze well, defrost quickly, can be combined with a variety of different sauces, and are tasty eaten at room temperature. I like combining tofu with beef, as it is slightly healthier and the tofu keeps the meatballs juicy, even after being defrosted and refried. And for those who don't quite like tofu, once it is mixed with the beef, you can't taste the

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-28669038801698989632008-10-31T16:12:00.006+08:002008-11-01T09:20:57.862+08:00

Happy Halloween to all those celebrating! Apologies for the short absence - I just got back from a lovely but short trip to Hokkaido, Japan! I went mad eating the delicious food there, and buying up as many bento-related accessories as I could find. I must have had too much fun, as I promptly fell ill upon my return... The apple in this photo was picked by hand at the Sobetsu Fruit Village in the

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-53407345703622189802008-10-20T09:58:00.017+08:002008-10-20T10:42:02.022+08:00

I made this Roasted Pumpkin and Pancetta Pasta for a Halloween themed dinner, but it is actually a fabulous pasta to make any time of the year. It does have an autumn feel to it though, with the use of pumpkin and its orange and red tones. Make it with normal spaghetti and without the decorations for a non-Halloween themed dinner. Continue reading for the Roasted Pumpkin & Pancetta Pasta recipe..

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-44085400071198684672008-10-19T23:12:00.007+08:002008-10-20T10:28:45.587+08:00

I don't usually make Halloween-themed food, but this year, since I've been bitten by the bento bug, it seemed like another great opportunity to design a bento. I suppose I got a little too excited, as it isn't even Halloween yet! But the stores and restaurants here are covered with Halloween-inspired decorations, so I'm not that early, either.The bento is my little Ode to Macbeth - "Double,

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-9656709112025166692008-10-19T22:51:00.008+08:002008-10-20T00:01:36.261+08:00

Another wrap bento... I wanted to use up the last of the tortillas, as well as the leftover avocado sitting in the fridge. These wraps are filled with turkey slices, cheese, avocado, home-made spicy tomato sauce and cucumber. I packed cherry tomatoes and some sliced plum pieces next to the wraps, 2 dried dates underneath the fruit container, and then a salad of rocket leaves and parmesan cheese

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-35366239115172768312008-10-17T17:07:00.010+08:002008-10-17T19:32:29.127+08:00

This week's theme at the BentoChallenge LiveJournal Community was "Vegetarian" as this month is Vegetarian Awareness Month (which I was not aware of)! I found this week's challenge to truly be a challenge, as I am a gleeful carnivore. (A funny quote I read once by someone I've forgotten goes, "I didn't get to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables".) Jokes aside, I do respect vegetarians and

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-43673292299285926252008-10-17T16:06:00.006+08:002008-10-17T19:46:13.360+08:00

This is a variation of my previous Fried Rice recipe. The method to frying the rice is the same, but the ingredients are listed especially for a vegetarian pineapple fried rice. Continue reading for the recipe...Vegetarian Pineapple Fried Rice(serves 1)1 cup cooked rice (cooled)1/4 small onion, chopped2 cloves garlic, chopped4-5 Chinese or Shitake mushrooms, chopped (if dried, soak mushrooms in

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-18831917444894604642008-10-15T17:41:00.006+08:002008-10-20T00:02:33.810+08:00

Just a simple bento lunch today. I decided to make some wraps - flour tortillas filled with chicken schnitzel, homemade spicy tomato sauce and avocado. Wraps are a little like western sushi rolls - you stick the filling inside, roll 'em up and slice. As the chicken had been sitting with the avocado and tomato, it was no longer crunchy, but it was still tasty. The avocado and spicy tomato were a

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-29934677053454545242008-10-14T14:14:00.003+08:002008-10-15T12:41:04.306+08:00

My previous charaben (kyaraben) designs have been a little serious and more for adults, so I thought I'd venture into Sanrio-land for today's bento. Of course, I had to start with Kero Kero Keroppi, my (not so secret) favourite... There's something about a cute green frog. I don't know why I like them so much, especially since a real life green frog does not inspire the same sort of feeling. 

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-33142788430262511822008-10-10T15:52:00.009+08:002008-10-15T12:41:21.867+08:00

This week's theme on Bento Challenge is "Flowers", so I decided to make a lotus flower (actually two) with Korean-style food. For me, design is one thing, but at the end of the day, how a bento tastes is most important. There's no point if the design is fantastic but you don't enjoy eating it...The petals of the white lotus flower are made out of tofu, with an egg centre. Not pictured is a

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-27136318702949773492008-10-09T20:05:00.003+08:002008-10-09T23:32:08.758+08:00

A little bento idea - prepare a snack bento to give to a loved one who is going away on a work trip, or for yourself when packing to go overseas! Sometimes there is nothing like having your own stash of healthy (or not so healthy) snacks whilst away in a hotel room with nothing but expensive mini-bar items available. The best part about packing snacks into a bento is that you restrict the amount

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-46173322033319546802008-10-09T13:35:00.002+08:002008-10-09T13:37:18.612+08:00

Another version of teriyaki chicken - this time, in a meatball. Meatballs are great bento fillers, and are very handy to have as part of your bento freezer stash. Make up a batch to freeze, so you'll always have a little something ready on days you need to make a bento in a hurry.Also in the bento: potato salad, rainbow sweet n spicy peppers, zucchini fritters, baby corn and cherry tomato

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-15829874875609288672008-10-08T20:38:00.011+08:002008-11-11T00:03:20.104+08:00

When I was young, my mother used to make a seafood pasta we called spaghetti marinara, but it was a garlic & butter-based seafood pasta. Therefore I grew up thinking marinara sauce contained seafood (with or without tomatoes). It was only later that I realised this is not quite accurate. The word "marinara" is from the Italian marinaro (sailor), therefore many people assume the sauce contains

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-6119536030343908302008-10-08T20:05:00.008+08:002008-10-09T01:39:41.569+08:00

This is a very easy dish to make, and a great way of combining western and Japanese food. Hot smoked salmon is mixed into cooked soba noodles that have been coated with sesame oil and tsuyu (soba dipping sauce). Also mixed in are some stir-fried snow peas and chinese mushrooms.Continue reading...Hot Smoked Salmon Soba Salad(serves 2)120g cha soba (soba flavoured with green tea) or normal soba60g

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-35666148265108954922008-10-07T15:02:00.009+08:002008-10-07T17:19:23.674+08:00

Sometimes there's nothing more comforting than good ol' meat n potatoes. Best of all, on days you want some comfort, you probably don't want to be stuck in the kitchen for too long. This meal is great because it can be prepared in 25 minutes.I grilled the lamb fillets using a George Foreman grill, which was recommended to me by a friend, and I absolutely love it. It's quick and easy to use, with

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-9386135604449613952008-10-06T17:44:00.007+08:002008-10-06T18:27:30.646+08:00

Here's an example of how you can use similar ingredients to create two different bento looks - the cute and the more serious...Firstly, the more serious-looking bento contains teriyaki chicken, zucchini fritters, along with a plain rice onigiri, blanched haricot beans, cherry tomatoes and baby corn. The little sauce container has some tomato sauce for dipping the zucchini fritters.Now, taking

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-87561003654825289582008-10-06T15:16:00.010+08:002008-10-06T17:43:42.474+08:00

Teriyaki is a Japanese method of cooking involving food broiled/grilled (yaki) in a sweet soya sauce (tare). In Japan, fish such as salmon, mackerel or cod are often cooked this way. Teriyaki chicken is a favourite bento food item. It's saltiness lends itself to being eaten with plain rice, and it tastes great cold, too. One problem I find with preparing food for bento in advance is the

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-23323362690664636142008-10-06T12:52:00.005+08:002008-10-06T15:02:21.842+08:00

This is a great recipe for a bento filler or even a light brunch. If you are using it in a bento, accompany it with more salty foods such as teriyaki chicken or other meats, as it has quite a delicate taste.Continue reading...Zucchini fritters(makes around 12 small fritters)1 large green zucchini, shredded (fills around 2 cups when shredded, before being squeezed)1 large egg1/2 - 2/3 cup

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-23416492896717688002008-10-06T12:09:00.004+08:002008-10-07T10:20:46.316+08:00

I had one of my Danish hotdog and remoulade cravings, so I made up a batch of remoulade late Friday night, and by Sunday morning is was ready to eat. It may sound mad to prepare a bento when you stay at home to eat it, but really, it isn't! Bentos are a great way of portion control and ensuring your meal is balanced. This is important for me, as I tend to get lazy and greedy when cooking. I'll

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-73259803096312263092008-10-06T10:17:00.008+08:002008-10-06T12:13:29.726+08:00

My mother used to constantly rave about the hotdogs in Denmark, so the first thing we did when we visited Copenhagen (after walking past the Little Mermaid, who was very little indeed) was to track down a hotdog street vendor and eat a Danish hotdog. They were every bit as good as my mother had promised. The hotdog sausage and bun were normal enough (although still delicious) but the crispy fried

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-32467775182804496302008-10-05T16:29:00.010+08:002008-10-06T10:54:18.290+08:00

On the weekend we headed out to eat a bento lunch in the park, and I got the chance to use my collapsible bento boxes from Muji, which I bought thinking they would be useful for hiking or travel. We've neither hiked nor travelled since their purchase, but they were equally useful for our impromptu picnic.Collapsible bentos are great because the boxes are (usually!) light and compact when folded,

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-10675685018645053832008-10-05T14:36:00.006+08:002008-10-05T16:19:22.259+08:00

The traditional method of scrambling eggs involves adding milk or cream to the eggs. However, my mother always used to make scrambled eggs without milk or cream. To me, it tastes better this way, and it is a lot more healthy than the cream version. Naturally, the freshness of the eggs you use is important here.Continue reading...(Light) Scrambled Eggs1 or more eggs (the freshest you can find.

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-59896023022166217922008-10-03T00:26:00.011+08:002008-10-06T17:44:12.347+08:00

I love grilled teriyaki cod (gindara) and will often order it in Japanese restaurants. So it was only a matter of time before it found its way into a bento...Bento contents: rice with furikake, tamagoyaki, rainbow sweet n spicy peppers, grilled teriyaki cod, and a kiwi fruit.After using my black bento box quite often, I found myself thinking this blue box (my old favourite) is now looking a bit

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-31024040029421834952008-10-02T13:19:00.006+08:002008-10-02T15:13:39.691+08:00

Traditional Bolognese sauce originated from Bologna, Italy, and is a thick meat based sauce/ragu with very little tomato in it. However the version I make is the non-traditional form that has become very popular outside of Italy.Spaghetti Bolognaise (or Spaghetti Bolognese) is one of my favourite comfort foods as it reminds me of my childhood. My mother used to make this dish with a lot of gravy

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-71889473734592678382008-10-01T15:51:00.014+08:002008-10-02T18:15:34.073+08:00

Today is 1st October, China's National Day. It is a public holiday here in Hong Kong, so I thought I would mark the day with a themed bento. After wild thoughts of re-creating the Great Wall out of cubes of egg, I settled for a more simple bamboo design.The "bamboo" is made out of cut pieces of blanched haricot beans, and snow peas cut in the shape of leaves. Instead of rice, I decided to give

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-7847537060666755762008-10-01T15:47:00.006+08:002008-10-01T20:21:25.538+08:00

Ever see the really expensive fruit from Japan that look so round and perfect, like they were cloned? Well, I am always eyeing them in amazement - both the fruit and the price tag! City Super supermarket recently featured Japanese pears, and I decided to buy some to try. Two Hosui pears set me back HKD44.00 (USD5.66). Hosui pears are a type of Japanese pear that are round, with a slightly rough

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-51943739772382845092008-10-01T10:15:00.006+08:002008-10-01T15:10:45.134+08:00

I've been wanting to cook mussels for some time, and I finally got around to it last night. City Super sometimes has 1kg packs of live Australian mussels which are pre-scrubbed (fabulous), so it was really very simple to make. I decided to make the classic French Moules Marinières. It turned out well - the mussels were juicy and very fresh. We soaked up the gravy (which was a tad salty, but still

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-6299327676908984692008-09-30T09:17:00.014+08:002008-10-19T13:50:44.305+08:00

Enoki, or golden needle mushrooms, wrapped up in thin slices of beef is one of my favourite dishes to order along with a bowl of mai sin (米线 rice noodles) in soup. The last time I tried to make the enoki beef rolls at home, I cooked the mushrooms and beef briefly before rolling them. Enoki mushrooms cook very quickly, so I ended up with limp mushrooms and hard to roll cooked beef. Needless to say

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-52001111593847125602008-09-29T19:43:00.006+08:002008-09-29T22:30:03.881+08:00

I love chicken nuggets. Can't help it - little morsels of fried battered chicken, dipped in sauce - who can resist? The one thing that often holds me back is the suspicion that the chicken in the nugget contains less chicken and more ...?...I've seen some organic frozen chicken nuggets in the supermarket, but they are very pricey. So, I decided to make some of my own - I don't know why I never

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-19387700185747398902008-09-29T17:37:00.013+08:002008-10-01T23:16:15.170+08:00

I love to roast a whole chicken in the oven, but we invariably stuff ourselves when I do... so sometimes I prefer to just roast a few chicken thighs and drumsticks instead. If you are pressed for time, as I was last night, slice up the potatoes (and microwave them) before roasting to speed up the cooking time. Actually, even for whole potatoes, I recommend microwaving them first before roasting

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-29669444432090378932008-09-28T11:26:00.009+08:002008-10-01T15:25:23.276+08:00

Yet another pasta. I was trying to use up leftover mentaiko pasta, so I just grilled some prawns and added them on top. I found these enormous tiger prawns from the supermarket (City Super). They were - huge! Compare the size with the other smaller prawns (and the "smaller" prawns are normal medium prawns, too, not shrimps!).This dish is probably not good to eat very often for those watching

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-65558116330499074082008-09-27T22:17:00.006+08:002008-09-28T00:09:37.805+08:00

My little kitten turned one year old today! To celebrate the day, he received a special birthday "cake" for his evening meal. I wanted to personally cook him a little something, but as he is quite fussy and not used to human food, I decided to be safe and made the "cake" out of his favourite cat food.Here's how I put it together. You can do the same with your cat's favourite food, and I imagine

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-90278264378134318992008-09-26T09:31:00.007+08:002008-10-02T09:07:12.942+08:00

This Japanese-style fusion pasta was created out of the desire to use up leftovers in the fridge. I wanted to use up leftover pesto spaghetti from the previous night's dinner, so I combined it with some beef soboro that I prepared earlier that week (as part of my bento stash). A little to my surprise, the combination worked together really well. The slight bitterness of the basil pesto and the

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-74735705027746980692008-09-24T18:50:00.004+08:002008-10-15T12:42:05.372+08:00

This week's Bento Challenge entry! The theme was "Under the Sea"... The sea turtle is in memory of the one we spotted when snorkeling in the Maldives.It's a bit hard to see the turtle, as he's camouflaged in all the seaweed, dried black fungus, mushrooms, dumpling and capsicum coral - quite realistic, I guess! The turtle is made out of shrimp and mushroom fried rice, with a spinach shell.The side

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-39979788909551816042008-09-22T15:04:00.004+08:002008-10-02T09:08:23.357+08:00

I don't often put spaghetti in a bento as the thought of cold spaghetti is not that appealing (unlike spiral pasta, which is fine cold as it is like a pasta salad) but today I made an exception... I had leftover mentaiko (cod roe) spaghetti from last night's dinner, and I couldn't let it go to waste.It wasn't too bad cold. There was enough oil coating the pasta to keep it from sticking together,

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-2241293726159893992008-09-22T12:51:00.010+08:002008-10-02T09:08:58.471+08:00

The Ode to Hokkaido Weekend concluded on Sunday night with my 2nd attempt at Mentaiko Spaghetti - a Japanese-style fusion pasta. (Ok, so this dish is not really Hokkaido-specific, but it still fits my Japanese food theme...)I actually measured out the ingredients this time, so I could write up a proper recipe. I'd written out rough instructions before, but I'm trying to be a little more exact, so

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746550686453247831.post-27011701740501128352008-09-22T12:19:00.008+08:002008-09-29T23:37:00.043+08:00

Every now and again, one of the supermarkets in Hong Kong called City Super, will promote a certain country/place, and will bring in extra goods from that place to sell. Often, there will also be stalls set up within the supermarket selling cooked food from the country being promoted. Last Friday, I went there and discovered they had started a Hokkaido Promotion! As Hokkaido is one of my

Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386314485947732394noreply@blogger.com0