Today, Marc and Maki focus on mayonnaise.

Maki sautes Spanish mackerel with miso-mayonnaise,

while Marc mixes chili and mayonnaise to make spicy mayo rolls.

And from the island nation of Mauritius, a cute animal onigiri bento.

Yummy!

We love bento!

(The Global Lunchbox 7-3)

Welcome to BENTO EXPO,

your guide to the wonderful, delicious world of bento.

Thank you for joining us.

We love seeing the delicious-looking bentos from around the world

submitted through BENTO EXPO's website.

They are so inspiring, too!

They are, aren't they?!

So let's take a look at how a few of them were made!

OK!

First, a bento packed with the tastes of Puerto Rico.

Today, I will be teaching you how to make this traditional soup

from Puerto Rico called "asopao."

On the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, "culantro," or saw-toothed coriander,

is a popular herb that's used to season many dishes.

It's a key component of "sofrito,"

which is a flavoring base used in many Puerto Rican dishes, including this soup.

Milady fries the sofrito together with ham and veggies to bring out their flavors.

Then, she adds water and rice and brings the soup to a simmer.

The rice adds body to the soup and thickens it.

It smells fantastic!

For the side, Milady uses plantains, a starchy banana that's like a potato.

After frying them once,

she flattens them before frying them again to get them nice and crisp.

You want to hear the crispiness.

The combination of this soup and fried plantains

is one of her family's favorite meals

and when packed with some fruits and veggies,

it makes for a delicious Puerto Rican bento.

What a fun bento box!

- Yummy.
- This is delicious!

We love bento!

Next, we have a bento from the small island nation of Mauritius.

Hi, I am Audrey from Mauritius.

We are going to prepare a bento lunch.

Audrey makes food colorful for her two young daughters

to make mealtime fun.

Today, she's making character onigiri with three colors of rice.

First, she mixes scrambled eggs with rice to make a speckled yellow base.

Then, she uses natural red and green colors for a little more variety.

Now, it's time to shape her onigiri using a mold.

The rice will be animal shape.

And here is our little rice ball!

The shapes may be the same,

but by using different colors and faces made from nori and cheese,

one turns into a bear and the other into a frog!

And the pink one?

Big, big nose.

A pig!

With apples and cucumbers cut into fun shapes,

the trio of onigiri look ready for a picnic.

Yummy!

We love bento!

- It's time to get started on our bentos!
- OK!

Today, both Maki and I are going to be using a basic pantry staple

to season our bentos.

It's mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise is just an emulsion of eggs, oil, vinegar, and salt

and it's a versatile ingredient to season sauces for your bento.

So, Maki, how are you going to be using mayonnaise today?

I'm combining mayonnaise and miso to make

Miso-mayo Sawara Bento!

That's a great combo!

Sawara or Spanish mackerel is a relatively lean fish

and it has a mild flavor, so it goes great with rich ingredients like mayonnaise.

To prepare her sawara, Maki starts by sprinkling both sides with salt.

Then, she wipes off the water they release before dusting them with flour.

Next, she moves on to the sauce.

- Let's make miso-mayo sauce to season the fish.
- OK!

To miso, add sugar, sake,

ground sesame seeds, and mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise and miso go very well together.

I love the combination of miso with nutty sesame seeds

and that addition of the sugar and sake balance its savory taste.

And the mayonnaise combines all the flavors in one.

Now, it's time to cook her sawara!

- Let's brown both sides of the fish first.
- OK!

Maki pan-fries them over medium heat, so they cook through evenly.

Wow, it's formed a beautiful brown crust that's going to look great in your bento.

Absolutely!

These are looking perfect!

OK, it's time to add my miso-mayo sauce.

Coat thoroughly with sauce.

Maki lowers the heat so the sauce doesn't burn.

It's making me hungry already.

You can see the egg in that mayonnaise

helping the sauce cling to the outside of the fish.

OK, my miso-mayo sawara is done.

It smells amazing!

Marc, try my miso-mayo sawara.

"Itadakimasu."

Get a little bit of extra sauce on there.

That's so good.

The sawara is so tender and moist,

and that nutty miso with the earthy sesame seeds makes a great combination,

and the egg in the mayonnaise also adds a little bit of richness.

Glad you like it.

Packed with "tamagoyaki" and veggies,

Maki adds some extra miso-mayo on her sawara for a little extra flavor.

For kids, she makes a fish using cherry tomato with nori and cheese.

Maki's miso-mayo sauce is a versatile condiment

that would go great with almost any protein.

Marc, you have a lot of colorful ingredients here.

What are you going to use mayonnaise for?

I'm making a beef and rice roll that looks like sushi,

and I'm going to be seasoning it with "chili-mayo."

- Mayonnaise and chili?!
- Yep!

I call this my Beef & Spicy Mayo Roll.

The chili-mayo sauce helps brings all the flavors together,

and I use a trick that simplifies the preparation of the rice.

Quick-pickled red cabbage provides the balance of tangy and sweet tastes

of sushi rice.

These ones are going into our rolls as shortcuts,

so we don't need to season our rice with sushi vinegar.

For a little extra color,

I'm adding "takuan," or pickled daikon radish and boiled spinach.

To cook the beef, I add it to a cold frying pan,

along with some 3S sauce, and bring the mixture to a boil.

Now the idea of this is that you want to be able to separate the slices of meat

so they don't clump up.

I love the combination of beef and 3S sauce.

Me, too, and today, we're going to take this to the next level with chili-mayo.

Wow, I can't wait.

Once the beef is cooked through and there's no liquid remaining,

add some sesame seeds for texture and flavor.

Then, let's let this cool while we prepare our chili-mayo.

It's super-easy.

So I'm just going to combine some mayonnaise and some sriracha.

Just two ingredients?

Well, yes and no.

Sriracha is a mixture of chili peppers, vinegar, salt, and sugar,

and mayonnaise is an emulsion of eggs, oil, and vinegar.

So it's technically two ingredients,

but it's an easy way to make a much more complex sauce.

Now that all our components are ready, let's roll them up!

I'm using a sushi mat or a "makisu" today,

and it's wrapped in plastic wrap, to keep things from sticking.

And I'm going to go ahead and put a sheet of nori on.

Now, nori is going to have a shiny side and a matte surface.

Put the shiny side down so it's on the outside of the roll.

Place the layer of rice on the nori,

line up the beef, and top it with some chili-mayo.

- I love spicy food.
- Great!

Now you can place a strip of takuan with the boiled spinach,

along with a strip of the quick-pickled red cabbage seasoned with sushi vinegar.

And now it's time to

"maki-maki"!

Flip the edge, up and over the fillings,

bring it to the other side, and give it a light squeeze,

and then we're going to use the mat to finish rolling the roll the rest of the way.

And my beef and spicy mayo roll is done!

Yay!

- So go ahead!
- Thank you!

(This food was prepared in a separate, hygienically controlled environment.)

Amazing!

The sauce goes well with all the ingredients.

The 3S sauce and mayo work like magic.

I'm glad you liked it.

I packed my rolls with "kinpira" burdock, and veggies for even more color.

But the rolls aren't just about the color.

They also have a rainbow of textures and tastes

and you can adjust the spiciness of the sauce to give it just the right kick.

Today, both Maki and I used mayonnaise to level up our bentos,

so we hope you'll...

Give them a try!

Bento Topics.

Today, from Malabon in The Philippines.

Roadside eateries called "carinderias"

are an important part of the local food culture.

Carinderias serve a wide spread of traditional dishes

that customers can choose from.

This store's traditional flavors have made it popular with locals.

My customers span multiple generations.

I've been in business for 55 years.

The favorite is squid stuffed with pork.

A fragrant mixture of pork fried with onions and red bell peppers

is stuffed inside squid tubes, which are then simmered.

The combination of pork and squid makes for a satisfying dish

that's packed with rich umami flavor.

Delicious!

- Hi!
- Hello!

Meet bento maker Regine.

Today, she and her husband Tom are going to make another traditional pork dish.

We will be using a pork belly for our dish today.

The fat of the pork belly will give our dish a wonderful flavor.

I hope our children will love the bento we make.

Regine and Tom have three daughters, who will be helping out today.

So Sam, Audrey, Anri, let's do it! OK?

Yay!

For the main item, Tom prepares his specialty pork dish, "sisig."

He starts off by frying the boiled pork belly.

This makes it perfectly crispy on the outside, yet juicy on the inside.

Do you hear that?

It's going to give our sisig a very, very nice texture.

The secret to this flavorful dish is "calamansi,"

a tropical fruit also known as Philippine lime or lemon.

The juice provides a refreshing zest that pairs well

with the umami flavor of pork.

The pork belly is going to absorb all the calamansi

and it's going to give our dish a very nice sour flavor.

Tom mixes in a dollop of creamy mayonnaise and some chili peppers.

And his sisig is done.

Enjoy.

Yummy?

Yes!

Regine is making "kyaraben," with animal characters

representing her three daughters.

She uses natural colorings to make pink and gray onigiri

and uses nori to decorate.

- Good job!
- Eyes.

A kitty cat.

A zebra.

And a raccoon.

So cute!

To this, she adds Tom's sisig, as well as "atchara,"

pickles made with green papaya, red onions, and more.

Bento is done!

These bentos are bursting with Filipino flavors!

Time for a picnic!

Is it cute?

Wow!

How is it?

Yummy!

Wow, that's great.

Well done, everyone!

We love bento!

I love seeing kids eating bento with a big smile!

Yeah, me too!

So head over to BENTO EXPO's website

and send us a photo of your favorite bento

and share it with other bento makers from around the world.

Here's just a few of the beautiful flower bentos we've seen.

Well, that's all the time we have for today,

but we hope you'll join us again here soon on BENTO EXPO.

See you soon!

- Bye!
- Bye!