Season 7-14 Tofu Kara-age Bento & Pork Belly Kara-age Bento

Marc prepares kara-age with a twist.

Instead of chicken, it's made with tofu!

And for her take on kara-age,

Maki rolls up thinly sliced pork into chunks.

Hi!

A bento maker from Myanmar living in Japan makes a bento for his son.

It's packed with chicken stew and mixed rice.

It's delicious!

We love bento!

We love bento!

(The Global Lunchbox 7-14)

Welcome to "BENTO EXPO,"

your guide to the wonderful, delicious world of bento!

Thank you for joining us.

Maki and I love seeing the mouthwatering bentos

you submit through BENTO EXPO's website.

They are so inspiring too!

So, lets start be checking a few of them out.

Okay!

First, a bento packed with a Myanmar-style chicken stew on rice.

Hi! I am Myat Thu from Myanmar living in Japan.

Sometimes I make bento for my son.

These are ingredients for a mixed rice dish called "danpauk."

Raisins, cashew nuts, cinnamon and butter

are added to the rice along with some turmeric.

Turmeric is necessary for Myanmar foods.

I bet it's fragrant, and the sweet raisins

are going to go great with the savory chicken.

Myat Thu is going to serve this with a Myanmar-style chicken stew.

Chili powder.

The key is to season the chicken with lots of spicy chili powder,

as well as sweet caramelized onions.

Then he mixes them together with some other seasonings to marinate some chicken legs.

The chicken gets stewed until tender.

Yummy!

When my son was young,

grandmother cooked danpauk for him.

He loved it very much,

so today I prepare danpauk for his memories.

Packed with some colorful veggies,

Myat Thu's bento is a taste of his homeland to share with his son.

So, how is it?

It's delicious!

We love bento!

Next, from the US, a bento packed with the flavors of Japan.

- Hi, I am Shannon.
- And I am Gavin.

- And I'm Viet.
- I started making bentos when Gavin started school,

and his love of bentos inspires me

to be more creative with my cooking.

Today, Shannon is going to pack a bento with the flavors of autumn,

which she learned from her Japanese mother.

First she's grilling mackerel with salt.

It's a fish that tastes best in autumn.

It looks so juicy and tender.

It smells delicious.

Matsutake mushrooms are another hallmark of fall in Japan.

Shannon simply steams them to bring out their flavor.

They have a wonderful aroma that's very woodsy and spicy.

It smells so good.

For dessert, she glazes fried sweet potatoes with caramelized sugar.

To round out her bento, Shannon makes a cute squirrel

that's holding on to an acorn.

It's such a beautiful bento that's packed with the flavors of autumn in Japan.

- This is good!
- Yeah, very good.

We love bento!

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

Today, both Maki and I are going to be making unique variations

on kara-age for our bentos.

Like chicken kara-age, one of the most popular items in bento.

Yup. But kara-age can be made with any protein

coated in a crispy layer of potato starch or flour.

So, Maki, what are you going to be making for us today?

I'm going to make a super easy pork belly kara-age bento

using "maki-maki" techniques!

I'm intrigued.

As you may already know, "maki-maki" means "rolled" in Japanese,

so I'm guessing Maki is planning on rolling something up.

Let's see what she has planned.

She starts by seasoning the thinly sliced pork belly.

Season the pork belly with sake, soy sauce, grated ginger,

garlic and sesame oil, and mix well.

And leave it for 5 minutes.

And that garlic and ginger with the toasted sesame oil smell incredible.

Yeah. So now, I'm going to turn this long slice into chunks.

- Chunks?
- Yes. Just maki-maki like this.

See? It looks like a piece of chicken.

It does! And because you've sliced it and marinated it,

it's going to be seasoned to the core.

Yeah, exactly.

Maki coats the rolled pork with potato starch.

Dust, then form into chunks like this.

Looking good!

Okay, let's fry them!

Okay!

Drop them in the oil with the seam-side down.

The thin slices will cook through in just 3 minutes.

The potato starch forms a crispy crust around the juicy, flavorful pork.

Wow, that looks so good! I can't wait to try this.

So, my pork belly kara-age is done!

Let's see how it looks on the inside.

So, Marc, try my pork belly kara-age.

Itadakimasu!

It's super moist and tender,

and it's nice and crispy on the outside.

And because you used thinly sliced pork, it's seasoned to the core. It's so good.

I hope you try maki-maki, too!

Maki arranged her bento like a flower garden

with baby corn and a colorful medley of veggies.

For kids, she made a cute bunny using potato.

And you can't forget a rabbit's favorite food!

Maki's pork belly kara-age is a quick and easy way to make a flavorful bento.

So, Marc, what are you using for your kara-age?

I'm going be using tofu to make a plant-based kara-age

that's just as good as one made with chicken.

- That sounds like a perfect item.
- Yeah!

By using a few simple tricks,

we can turn boring white tofu into these golden meaty nuggets

that are bursting with flavor.

They even look like chicken kara-age, don't you think?

Tofu is made from soybeans, and it's a great source of protein.

But it's full of water, so we need to drain it first.

Go ahead and set this on a wire rack to catch those drippings.

And I'm going to set a flat surface on top of here,

and then we're going to add some weight.

Now we just need to let this sit for about an hour to let it drain.

You can also do this the night before and let it drain in the fridge.

Okay, let's make the marinade for my tofu kara-age.

- Okay.
- I got a bowl here,

and I'm going to add the soy sauce, sake,

some grated ginger, grated garlic.

So far, the same ingredients that I used for my kara-age marinade.

Yeah! These are the basic ingredients for kara-age seasoning,

but today since we're doing a meatless version,

I'm also going to be adding some "kobucha" granules.

I like it!

This is an instant kelp tea that's going to add a ton of meaty umami to our tofu.

All right, so I'm going to go ahead and add these in and mix this up.

And if you can't find kobucha,

you can use vegetable bouillon or mushroom bouillon as well.

And once the granules are dissolved, our marinade is ready to go.

Let's check on the tofu.

It's released a ton of water, and it's nice and firm.

So to marinate our tofu,

we're going to go ahead and tear this up by hand into little chunks.

The trick here is you don't want there to be any corners,

and then you just want to tear it into sort of random size,

shapes and pieces like this.

- Looks like chicken.
- Yeah.

So, you can see how rough the surface is.

This gives it more surface area

so it's going to absorb the flavors of our marinade like a sponge.

Gently coat the tofu with the marinade, and after about 5 minutes,

it should end up looking like this.

Then you want to coat each piece with a thick layer of potato starch,

and they're ready to fry.

And we're actually going to double fry these to get them nice and crisp.

So the first fry is at a medium to low temperature

because it's going to brown in the next step.

Once crisp, remove them from the pan.

Now we're going to turn up the heat of the oil

to 180 degrees Celsius for a second fry,

which is going to keep our tofu crisp for an extra-long time.

- That looks like chicken.
- Yeah.

And once your kara-age is golden brown like this, it's done!

It smells so nice.

- So Maki, try out my kara-age.
- Itadakimasu!

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

Yum! The texture is like meat because it's been drained well.

The kobucha has helped boost the flavor.

I could eat a lot without feeling guilty.

- Go ahead!
- Okay!

I packed my tofu kara-age with peppers and quick-pickled purple cauliflower.

Using a marinade of soy sauce, sake, grated ginger and garlic,

you can make kara-age from almost any protein.

Today, both Maki and I made variations on kara-age bento

using different proteins and seasonings, so we hope you'll...

Give them a try!

Bento Topics.

Today, from the port of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Everywhere you look, there are fish-themed decorations.

These fish are "fugu," or pufferfish.

They're known for puffing up when threatened.

They're considered a delicacy in Japan.

Shimonoseki has the only market in Japan that specializes in fugu.

1,500 tons of fugu are sold here each year.

Fugu can only be prepared by licensed professionals.

That's because they're poisonous.

Most of the organs contain poison, so it has to be processed properly.

After all the poisonous parts are removed,

the fugu is matured for two nights until it turns pure white.

It's often eaten as sashimi.

This lovely arrangement is made to look like a chrysanthemum.

The fugu is sliced as thinly as possible to emphasize the chewy texture.

The slices are wrapped around scallions and eaten with "ponzu" soy sauce.

Another classic fugu dish is "nabe" hotpot.

The broth is infused with the rich umami of fugu.

Fugu and vegetables cooked in this broth taste exquisite.

This market is frequented by locals.

There's the ubiquitous fugu.

Along with fugu meat, even shredded skin and fins are sold here.

The fins are grilled and steeped in hot sake to draw out the umami flavor.

Bottoms up!

Every part of the fugu is edible and delicious!

This long-established "ryokan" sells a bento

that showcases the best of fugu.

And here it is.

The grilled fugu catches the eye first,

but that's not all.

Fugu is used all throughout this bento.

This specialty rice is cooked with mushrooms and root vegetables

simmered in sauce, as well as fugu bones.

And there's more.

This is the skin.

It's rich in collagen.

The skin adds a chewy accent,

while the bones lend a delicious umami flavor.

Fugu is also part of this bento staple,

"tamagoyaki."

The rolled omelet is filled with minced fugu

seasoned with soy sauce and green onions.

Here's another bento favorite,

kara-age, also made with fugu.

Fugu is very light.

It's not oily like meat.

And finally, a favorite with fishers,

fugu that's been dried overnight and grilled.

Drying removes excess moisture and concentrates umami.

What do these customers think?

The umami-rich flavor of fugu dashi bursts in your mouth. Delicious.

Fugu can be cooked in so many ways. It's amazing.

We love bento!

I'm so surprised that blow fish can make great bento items.

Yeah, and they looked so delicious, didn't they?

Maki and I love seeing the bentos you share with us through BENTO EXPO website,

and we're looking forward to your holiday-themed submissions!

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!