Season 8-1 Chirashi-zushi Peacock Bento & Glass Noodle Lion Bento

Today: animal-themed bentos. From Maki, glass noodles form the mane of an adorable lion. From Marc, an elegant peacock bento with lots of veggies. From Singapore, a bento featuring Indian paratha.

Transcript

00:01

Send us photos of your adorable animal bentos.

00:05

Here's some inspiration.

00:08

Maki uses glass noodles to help her create a cute lion bento.

00:15

Marc makes a peacock bento with mixed sushi rice and vegetables.

00:21

Hi.

00:22

And a panda-loving bento maker in the Philippines

00:26

shares her latest creation.

00:30

So good!

00:31

We love bento!

00:37

(The Global Lunchbox 8-1)

00:41

Welcome to BENTO EXPO where we share bentos from Japan

00:45

and around the world.

00:47

Thank you for joining us.

00:48

We love seeing bentos you submit through BENTO EXPO's website.

00:52

They are packed with wonderful ideas.

00:55

So let's start by checking a few of them out.

00:57

OK!

00:59

First, a western-style mixed sushi or "chirashizushi."

01:05

My name is Michèle.

01:07

I'm from Switzerland.

01:09

Michèle started making bentos six years ago

01:12

after falling in love with Japanese culture.

01:16

She adds seasoned rice vinegar to hot rice to make sushi rice

01:20

and moves on to prepare the other ingredients.

01:24

She uses mushroom in place of shiitake, a classic ingredient for chirashizushi,

01:29

and cooks them with her homemade chicken broth.

01:33

This gives the mushroom loads of umami.

01:39

She adds the mushrooms to her sushi rice

01:41

along with cooked carrots, edamame and lotus root

01:44

to make a chirashizushi that's brimming with colors and textures.

01:50

For the topping, she boils plump blue shrimp farmed in Switzerland

01:54

and seasons them with soy sauce

01:56

before adding a bed of shredded omelet for her shrimp to rest on.

02:00

Finally, a scattering of extra vegetables and mushrooms

02:03

creates a pop of color for her bento.

02:06

This is good.

02:08

As a side dish, she adds a variety of Swiss cheeses

02:11

and together with some homemade dried apples,

02:13

her bento reflects a little of both worlds.

02:17

Michèle's husband and her cat Yonkyo join in to enjoy her bento!

02:23

We love bento!

02:28

Next, we have a cute panda bento from the Philippines.

02:34

Hi, my name is Jhilet.

02:36

This is my nine-year-old daughter, Jhianna.

02:39

Hi.

02:41

Jhianna loves pandas

02:43

so Jhilet has made a wide variety of panda bentos for her.

02:47

Today, she's trying something new,

02:49

but first, let's see what she's cooking up for her main dish.

02:53

It's a meaty Filipino comfort food called menudo.

02:56

Jhilet cooks pork with tomato sauce and bay leaves

02:59

and then simmers them together with liver, sausages, and vegetables.

03:03

The secret ingredient is calamansi,

03:05

a tangy citrus that adds a refreshing tartness to the hearty stew.

03:10

Looking good!

03:13

Now, it's time to make the panda.

03:15

Jhilet uses a pattern to cut out the parts from a sheet of nori.

03:19

Wow, it's so detailed!

03:22

Then, she places her outline over a bed of rice

03:25

along with the eyes and nose to finish it off.

03:28

Nori is perfect for making characters because it can be cut like paper.

03:33

For her menudo, Jhilet decorates it with vegetables carved like flowers,

03:37

and along with some fruit, her cute yet satisfying bento is ready to eat.

03:43

Our family loves the home-cooked Filipino menudo.

03:48

So how is it ?

03:49

So good.

03:51

We love bento!

03:55

It's time to get started on our bentos.

03:57

OK!

03:58

Today, both Maki and I are going to make flavorful bento items

04:01

and then we're going to turn them into fun original animal character bentos.

04:05

I'm going to stir-fry glass noodles

04:08

with a lot of veggies and make a lion bento.

04:11

That sounds exciting.

04:14

Glass noodles are a transparent noodle made from mung bean or potato starch.

04:19

And although they originated in China,

04:22

they're widely used across Asia.

04:25

Today, Maki's going to use these to make her lion's mane.

04:31

She starts by slicing up some colorful veggies into thin strips

04:34

so they blend well with the glass noodles.

04:37

Then, she stir-fries them.

04:39

Wow, Maki, that's a lot of veggies.

04:41

Yeah, they go well with glass noodles

04:44

and they add great texture.

04:46

And they're also a great combination of colors, too.

04:48

Yes, right.

04:50

Then, Maki transfers the veggies to a tray

04:53

and stir-fries the minced garlic and ginger along with "doubanjiang."

04:58

Wow, Maki, it's so fragrant.

05:01

- You like it?
- Yeah!

05:03

Doubanjiang is a chili bean paste

05:05

that adds a spicy kick and loads of umami.

05:09

Once it gets fragrant, add ground pork.

05:13

Oh, I see you've got some coarse ground pork there.

05:15

Yeah.

05:16

It has a meaty texture and is easy to integrate with the noodles.

05:22

Once the pork is cooked, Maki adds sugar, sake, chicken bouillon

05:27

soy sauce, oyster sauce and water to create a broth.

05:31

And then...

05:32

Add glass noodles to the soup.

05:35

So you don't need to rehydrate the noodles first?

05:37

That makes it easy.

05:39

The noodles will cook through in the soup.

05:43

And after two minutes...

05:45

They're becoming transparent already.

05:48

That's why they call them "glass noodles."

05:50

Really?

05:52

Finally, Maki returns the stir-fried veggies to the pan

05:55

and tosses everything together.

05:57

See? Hardly any soup left.

06:00

Yeah, the soup has all been absorbed or evaporated.

06:02

OK, my stir-fried glass noodles are done.

06:07

It smells amazing.

06:11

So, Marc, try my stir-fried glass noodles.

06:14

Wow, look at this. They are so transparent.

06:17

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

06:20

The noodles have a firm al dente texture.

06:22

And there's just so much umami because it has soaked up all that soup.

06:26

And, I am going to use this to make a lion bento.

06:30

I can't wait to see it.

06:33

Maki uses a bowl to shape the rice,

06:36

and then she uses chopsticks and a spoon to create the mane.

06:40

Twirl the noodles on a spoon to make the lion's mane.

06:45

That's such a cool idea.

06:47

It's also easy to eat.

06:49

- So it doesn't get all tangled up.
- Exactly.

06:52

Then, she adds some more veggies

06:53

and makes the face for her lion with carrots and nori.

06:57

My lion bento is done.

07:00

That's such a cool-looking bento, Maki.

07:02

It makes you happy.

07:04

It sure does!

07:06

And it has such a great balance of textures, tastes, and colors.

07:12

Marc, what are you going to make for your bento today?

07:15

Well, I am going to be making a flavorful mixed rice,

07:18

and then topping it with these colorful ingredients to make

07:21

a chirashizushi peacock bento.

07:24

A peacock?

07:26

"Chirashizushi" means "scattered sushi."

07:28

And it usually involves sushi rice mixed with other ingredients

07:31

and covered with toppings.

07:33

For my chirashizushi, I'm going to arrange the toppings to make a peacock.

07:38

Let's start by preparing the ingredients for the mixed sushi rice.

07:42

So I'm not going to be using any meat in my bento today,

07:44

but I've chosen ingredients that are packed with umami and protein.

07:49

Great.

07:50

I've gone ahead and rehydrated some shiitake mushrooms here.

07:53

And we're going to be using the stock.

07:55

It's super flavorful. So we're going to save that for later.

07:58

I dice up the shiitake mushrooms as well as the fried tofu.

08:02

It's a great source of protein that absorbs flavors like a sponge.

08:06

Then, I'm going to chop up some bamboo.

08:08

I love the crunchiness of bamboo shoots.

08:11

Yeah, it's going to add a really nice texture to our chirashizushi rice. All right.

08:16

Then, I'm going to simmer these ingredients with shiitake broth

08:19

along with sugar and salt until there's no liquid left.

08:25

Let this cool to room temperature.

08:27

And then, I'm going to fold these into some seasoned sushi rice.

08:32

The finely diced ingredients mix easily with the rice.

08:36

That's the idea. You want to get a little of everything in each bite.

08:40

Now that our mixed sushi rice is done,

08:42

let's prepare our toppings.

08:44

I'm going to start by cutting our boiled purple carrot out

08:47

using a pair of scissors.

08:50

Oh, I can see it!

08:51

It looks like a peacock doesn't it?

08:53

All right, let's go ahead and put together our peacock.

08:56

So, I'm going to start with the feathers.

08:58

And I'm going to be using snow peas today.

09:00

You want to go ahead and fan them out.

09:02

Put this right in the center of our feathers to make the body of our peacock.

09:07

Cute!

09:09

Then, I'm going to use slices of baby corn with burdock pickles

09:12

to make spots that we can add to our peacock feathers.

09:17

Finally, I'm going to use a sesame seed to make the eye

09:20

and a tuft of chervil for the crest.

09:23

It came to life!

09:25

Yeah, it just came alive, right?

09:27

To finish this off, I'm going to use some "benishoga" or red pickled ginger

09:30

to create a burst of color and flavor in the background.

09:34

Beautiful!

09:36

So, Maki, you want to try it out?

09:38

Thank you.

09:40

Itadakimasu.

09:42

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

09:46

Marc, this is so good.

09:49

The rice is full of different flavors.

09:52

The toppings go so well with sushi rice.

09:58

I'll try this at home.

09:59

Please, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

10:02

It may not have any meat

10:04

but this chirashizushi is flavorful and satisfying.

10:09

Today, both Maki and I made simple bento items

10:12

but by arranging them into cute animal shapes,

10:15

we were able to make it into something special.

10:18

So we hope you'll... give them a try!

10:23

Bento Topics.

10:25

Today, from the diverse nation of Singapore.

10:29

Here, Indians make up the third largest ethnic group.

10:34

Many live in Little India, north of the city center.

10:38

One of its landmarks is this century-old Hindu temple.

10:44

Embellished with beautiful carvings,

10:46

it offers peace to the community.

10:52

The Tekka Centre is a colorful food market

10:54

indispensable to everyday life.

10:58

In addition to selling a wide range of spices,

11:02

it also has many hawkers serving Indian dishes.

11:08

One of the most popular is paratha, a flat bread.

11:15

Eggs and onions, or other vegetables are laid over a thin dough,

11:19

which is folded over and pan-fried.

11:23

It has a crisp and flaky crust

11:25

but is soft and fluffy inside.

11:30

Served with a spicy curry sauce,

11:32

it's mouth-wateringly good.

11:36

Indian people like this.

11:47

Nice market.

11:49

Anuradha, a bento maker from India shops here regularly.

11:53

What's she buying today?

11:56

So these are the fresh, fresh "methi" leaves.

11:59

Methi is a leafy vegetable used in traditional Indian medicine.

12:04

Anuradha is going to use this nutrient-rich methi to make paratha.

12:10

Are you excited to eat methi paratha today?

12:12

Yeah!

12:13

Give me high five. Let's go.

12:17

Anuradha moved to Singapore in 2014 for her husband's work.

12:24

To remind her son of his heritage,

12:26

she began making healthy Indian bentos and shared them on social media.

12:32

Her simple and healthy recipes have attracted over 60,000 followers.

12:38

I felt my page is helping a lot of mommies out there.

12:42

I'm really happy that I'm getting the kind of response from the social media.

12:49

Her methi paratha has received a lot of likes

12:52

and is one of Aarav's favorites.

12:56

They mix the methi leaves into the flour.

13:01

This is really nice.

13:03

She adds spices that enhance the bitterness of methi.

13:07

Then mixes everything with ghee, a clarified butter.

13:12

It makes our paratha very soft.

13:16

Aarav helps make paratha in the shape of a flower.

13:23

After cooking both sides to a golden brown, they're done.

13:28

I learned from my mother, my mother learned from her mother...

13:31

This is the recipe that has been passed on through the generations.

13:35

India's traditional food culture, passed on through bentos.

13:41

Now for a healthy snack of dried fox nuts

13:45

caramelized with unrefined cane sugar.

13:51

It looks just like caramel popcorn!

13:59

Aarav loves to eat paratha with ketchup.

14:04

A nutritious bento of methi paratha

14:07

and caramelized fox nuts.

14:11

Time to eat.

14:14

He couldn't wait to dig in.

14:18

How is it?

14:23

We love bento!

14:29

Methi paratha! So curious.

14:32

Yeah, and it's a great bento item that you can eat with your hands.

14:36

We're looking forward to seeing your animal character bentos on our website.

14:41

Just remember, they need to be your own original characters.

14:48

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

14:50

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

14:54

- See you soon.
- Bye!