Teriyaki Cod Bento

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 too garish. Maybe it is because the food in this bento is already quite colourful...hmm... and I realised that the little fish food pick looks like the ghost of the cod fish shouting "Don't eat me!". It was not intentional, really...

Continue reading...

Rainbow Sweet n Spicy Peppers

Despite the name, this dish is not spicy. I used green Japanese shishito peppers, which are 3 inch long, sweet-hot peppers. They are only slightly hotter than sweet peppers (capsicum), and not as spicy as chilli peppers. 

1 small red onion
1 clove garlic
1 yellow sweet pepper (capsicum)
1 red sweet pepper (capsicum)
8 - 10 shishito peppers, deseeded
1 tsp light olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
sea salt

1. Slice up the onion, sweet peppers (capsicum) and shishito peppers.
   
2. Finely chop the garlic.
   
3. Add the oils in a pot, and fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes.
   
4. Add the rest of the peppers and fry until soft.
   
5. Sprinkle a little sea salt over the peppers for added flavour.
   

Tip: The colours in this dish look amazing right after they are just fried. However, after a day in the fridge, the colours fade (especially the green of the shishito peppers). For best colour effect, fry and pack directly in your bento.

Teriyaki Cod
Grilling or pan-frying fish is really very easy. The most important part is not to overcook the fish.

2 small cod fillets
teriyaki sauce (pre-bought, or make your own by mixing 2 Tbsp soya sauce, 1.5 Tbsp mirin, 1.5 Tbsp sake and 1 Tbsp sugar together)

1. Marinade the cod fillets in teriyaki sauce for 10 - 15 minutes.
   
2. Grill the cod for 1 - 2 minutes, or pan-fry the cod until just cooked. (The fish will continue to cook a little) 

Tips: Some ways to check if fish is cooked - press the fish down lightly (the flesh should feel firmer when cooked); insert a fork into the fish to see if the fish meat "flakes"; note the change of colour in the cross-section of the fish as you cook it. The colour of the fish will change from a translucent jelly colour to a matte colour (this method works well with salmon fillets). 

It is fine (and more tasty) to leave salmon fillets slightly raw in the middle, but please ensure your salmon is from a good quality source if you plan on doing this.

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