Today, Marc and Maki prepare bentos

with "abura-age," deep-fried tofu.

Marc fills these tofu pouches with a whole egg

while Maki fills hers with meat and colorful veggies.

Hello, I'm Cher.

Cher is a Filipino bento maker who lives in Papua New Guinea.

Her cute "kyaraben" looks just like her husband!

We love bento!

We love bento!

(The Global Lunchbox 7-5)

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.

There are a lot of wonderful ideas.

Yeah, it's inspiring, isn't it?

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

OK!

First, a bento from Papua New Guinea, an island nation in the South Pacific.

Hello, I'm Cher, your newbie wifey from Papua New Guinea.

Cher and her husband are Filipino

and moved to Papua New Guinea for work after getting married.

Since then, Cher's been making bento packed with dishes from her homeland

to support her husband.

Today, she's making the Filipino version of "menudo," a pork and tomato stew.

Unlike the Mexican version, liver plays a starring role in this dish.

This will give our menudo a deeper, rich flavor.

Cher browns the liver and removes them from the pot

before using the remaining oil to fry the garlic,

onions, and pork shoulder.

Then she adds water and ketchup, and brings the mixture to a boil.

The browned liver goes back into the pot

along with sausages and a medley of vegetables

and cooks them together to make a rich and flavorful stew that goes great with rice.

For her bento, Cher starts with a mound of rice

and uses her menudo to make a big mouth.

Then she uses parsley to make some ears, some mayo and chili for the eyes,

and sliced apples for the hands.

It's a light-hearted character bento to poke fun at her husband.

I call him a "menudo monster," because he eats a lot of this in one eating.

I see the resemblance.

But it's all in good fun!

We love bento!

Next, from Singapore, a bento packed with lotus roots and memories.

Hello, everyone, my name is Vonne and I'm from Singapore.

It's a dish that my mum made for me when I was young.

Vonne spent time in New Zealand two years ago, on working holiday

and her mom's recipe helped get her through her homesickness.

Lotus root is a popular ingredient in Asia with a fun shape and crispy texture

and she's using it both sliced and diced.

She mixes the diced lotus root

with ground chicken, carrots, and seasonings to make the filling.

Then she sandwiches the mixture between two slices of lotus root.

When you bite into this, you can actually feel its crunchiness.

Let's get it ready for steaming.

Lotus root is full of fiber and retains its crispness even after being steamed.

Vonne packs her bento with nutrient-rich red and brown rice,

and then she bastes the lotus root with its own juices.

I like this sauce because this comes out from the natural flavor of the minced meat.

She tops a stack of vegetables with a condiment made from dried scallops,

and her nutritious lotus root bento is done!

I love bento!

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

Today, Maki and I are going to be using

this sheet of soy protein to make our bentos.

It's called abura-age, or fried tofu.

The great thing about abura-age

is you cut them in half to make little pockets like this,

so you can stuff them with anything you like.

Like famous "inari-sushi," packing sushi rice in it.

Yeah! So how are you going to be using these pockets, Maki?

I am going to pack the pockets with a tasty meat filling

to make Pork Inari Bento!

That sounds delicious!

The word "inari" is often used

to describe abura-age cooked in a sweet and savory sauce.

Maki's pork inari packs a colorful meat filling inside,

so let's see how she makes it!

Maki cuts the sheets of abura-age in half to make pockets

and then she folds the rim over to keep them open.

Next, she moves on to the filling.

To the ground pork, add chopped onion,

mixed vegetables, salt and pepper, then mix well.

I love that this is made with familiar ingredients.

- Yes, frozen mixed veggies are so useful for bento.
- Yup!

Next, Maki divides the filling into six meatballs

and stuffs each one into an abura-age pocket.

To seal the pockets shut, she folds the flaps of tofu over the opening.

Then she sprinkles potato starch on the outside of the pouches and they're ready to cook.

Let's fry them.

Fry the seam side down.

Maki browns both sides of the pork inari.

Oh! Look at that, they look super-crispy.

Yes, I love the smell of abura-age!

Yeah, and abura-age is such a great source of protein,

that we use in everything from miso soup to simmered vegetables.

- And toppings for noodles.
- Yeah, that too!

Abura-age goes really well with sweet and savory tastes,

so Maki dilutes some 3S sauce,

and uses it to steam her inari for three minutes.

I'm starving, and that glaze looks beautiful.

Yeah! Coat the abura-age thoroughly with the sauce.

OK. My pork inari is done!

- So Marc, try my pork inari.
- I can't wait.

You've got a variety of textures in there,

from the mixed vegetables along with that tender, juicy ground meat,

and that's all surrounded by the meaty abura-age with that savory sweet sauce.

Pork and abura-age is a great match.

Yup, absolutely!

Maki packs her pork inari with fresh vegetables

for a splash of color and a balance of nutrients.

For kids, she uses cheese, boiled carrots, and nori to make a pair of pups.

It's such a colorful, protein-packed bento.

Marc, you're also using simple ingredients for your abura-age item.

Yup, but I think you're going to be surprised at how beautiful the end product turns out.

We're going to be using these pockets and stuffing them with egg to make Kinchaku Tamago Bento!

Oh, I think I like it!

"Kinchaku" means drawstring purse and it's also used to describe dishes

that are packed into abura-age and tied shut.

My kinchaku is going to be stuffed with a whole egg, or "tamago."

I start by rehydrating dried shiitake mushrooms the night before.

By the next morning, you'll have an umami-rich broth in addition to the mushrooms.

Now, let's fill our kinchaku!

So, stuffing these is super-easy.

I'm just going to grab one of the pockets and I'll use my finger to tease it open,

and I'm going to put it in a bowl just to stand it up.

And grab the egg, pour it in.

- The whole egg!
- Yeah, just like that.

And we're actually going to seal this shut.

We're going to sew it with a piece of spaghetti here, sort of thread it back and forth like this.

Now, "kinchaku" means drawstring purse in Japanese,

and when it's done, it should look just like that.

Yeah, cute!

Now, we're going to simmer the kinchaku tamago,

carrots, and shiitake in one pan.

I'm adding the shiitake broth,

3S sauce, and a bit of salt, and bringing this to a boil.

Then, I'm going to add all of the ingredients

and let them simmer for about ten minutes,

flip them over a few times to ensure they season evenly.

That smells so nice!

Yeah, the shiitake stock gives this a ton of umami and great flavor,

even though this is vegetarian.

You can see it's starting to soak up some of that stock,

and today we used carrots but you could use snap peas or potatoes.

I think there's a lot of options here.

- That's so convenient.
- Yup.

The abura-age soaks up the flavors of the broth like a sponge, and seasons the egg.

And when I press on it gently, it's nice and firm, so I know the egg is cooked through,

so my kinchaku tamago is done.

Yes!

So Maki, are you ready to try out my kinchaku tamago?

Looks delicious! "Itadakimasu."

The abura-age has soaked up the flavorful dashi.

The tamago is bursting with the flavor of the abura-age and dashi.

It tastes like meat!

Delicious!

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

To contrast the golden egg yolks,

I packed my bento with green shiso leaves and snap peas.

The meaty texture and taste of this kinchaku bento

is both flavorful and satisfying!

Today, both Maki and I made our bentos using abura-age made from tofu,

and it's a great way to boost the protein content of your bento,

so we hope you'll...

Give it a try!

Bento Topics.

Today, from the Indonesian island of Bali.

This is Jimbaran Bay, on the southern part of Bali.

This area still retains much of the traditional way of life.

It's bustling with activity early in the morning.

Today's catch includes a load of yellowfin tuna.

The fish go straight to the local market.

It's the largest fish market in Bali.

There's a huge variety of fresh seafood,

including colorful fish, crabs, and lobsters

from the Indian Ocean.

There are many seafood restaurants nearby.

Customers can bring seafood bought at the market

and have it grilled on the spot.

Grilling over charcoal is a time-honored tradition.

Charcoal makes the food taste better, because it's grilled evenly.

Both sides are browned, coated evenly with chili sauce,

and grilled until the surface is crisp.

This is a traditional seafood dish called "ikan bakar."

The fish skin is crisp and smoky,

while the inside is fluffy and moist.

So good!

Bento maker Rahma and her son Akhtar

are going to share how to make ikan bakar at home.

This is horse mackerel. My son loves it.

It's sweet and tender when grilled. Great for kids.

Today, Rahma is going to use four types of seafood.

But first, the all-important chili sauce.

She stir-fries chili peppers, tomatoes, shallots,

garlic, and onion until aromatic, then blends.

She then seasons the sauce with over ten ingredients,

including sweet Indonesian soy sauce and coconut sugar.

The result is a hot and sweet sauce

that enhances the umami flavor of seafood.

The sauce for the ikan bakar is done!

Next, an essential condiment for ikan bakar, "sambal matah."

The distinctive flavor comes from using fermented shrimp paste.

It's seared to intensify the aroma.

Because it's highly salty, it draws out the flavor of the fresh seafood.

Time to grill!

Rahma's husband, Rony, has set up the grill and seafood.

Rahma uses fragrant lemongrass to brush on the sauce.

Akhtar lends a hand.

Once everything is crisp and brown, the ikan bakar is done.

It looks delicious.

Great job, Akhtar!

Today, the family is going on a picnic,

so Rahma packs everything into a huge bento box.

Ikan bakar is typically served

with stir-fried Chinese water spinach and steamed potatoes.

A bento packed with local seafood.

The family heads out on a picnic to enjoy the bento they made together.

Enjoy!

Delicious!

It's so yummy!

We love bento!

I love learning about local ingredients and different techniques for preparation.

Yes, it's inspiring.

It is!

Speaking of inspiration, head over to BENTO EXPO's website

and send us a photo of your favorite bento to inspire other bento creators,

like with these beautiful flower-themed bentos!

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!