Today, appetite-boosting curry bentos.

Marc whips up a fragrant curry sauce for his "katsu" curry bento.

Maki stir-fries sausages with ketchup and curry powder

to make a Japanese-style "currywurst" bento.

And from Taiwan,

a bento depicting "koinobori" carp streamers.

We love bento!

We love bento!

(The Global Lunchbox 8-6)

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

you submit through the BENTO EXPO website.

They are packed with wonderful ideas.

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

OK!

First from the Philippines,

a bento that's brimming with fun ideas.

I started making bento in 2019

because my second child is a picky eater.

Since then, Ivy has been making fun bentos

for all four of her sons.

Today, her theme is the ocean.

She starts by stir-frying ginger, onion and mussels

to make a flavorful soup.

Then, she finishes it with chayote and moringa

for a burst of vitamins and minerals.

Dishes made with such ingredients were staple for our home

when I was growing up.

Looks good.

Next, Ivy colors the rice using butterfly pea flowers and beets.

Then, she makes purple "onigiri"

and places them on the blue rice.

And look!

It's an octopus in the ocean.

Then, she shapes some cucumber skin with a crinkle cutter to make...

some wavy seaweed.

Fish made from carrots brings the scene to life,

and some fried squid rounds out Ivy's ocean-themed bento.

Time to eat, guys.

- This is for you.
- Thank you.

So good.

This tastes so good.

Yummy.

Delicious.

We love bento!

Next from Taiwan, a koinobori, or carp streamer bento.

Today, I am making a celebrating bento for my niece.

In Japan, koinobori are traditionally flown in spring

to celebrate the growth of children.

Kiki is using milkfish to make her carp today.

First, she seasons the fish with sake and other ingredients,

and then she steams it with ginger.

Fifteen minutes later, it's nice and fluffy.

Smells great!

Kiki cuts the milkfish into rectangles.

Then, Sophie makes a bed of scrambled eggs over rice

and places the milkfish pieces on top.

Vegetables add a pop of color.

Using cheese and nori, they create the features of the koinobori,

and it looks like they're flying in the wind.

They even make the pole using a pick and some decorations.

It's done.

It's done!

Kiki's koinobori bento is packed

with wishes for Sophie's growth and happiness.

So, how is it?

Yummy.

We love bento!

It's time to get started on our bentos.

OK!

Today, both Maki and I are going to be making bentos

that will charge you up on a hot summer day...

using the spicy aroma of curry!

Smells great.

So, Marc, what is your curry bento going to be?

Well, I'm going to be making a satisfying katsu curry bento,

with an easy curry sauce that can be put together

in just a few minutes.

I love katsu curry.

"Katsu curry" means "cutlet and curry."

And the combination of "tonkatsu" with Japanese curry

is a match made in heaven.

Since curry doesn't travel well over rice,

I'm making a curry dipping sauce that can be packed separately.

So, let's start by making the broth.

So, I've got a bowl here.

And I'm going to go ahead and add the dry ingredients.

We've got some potato starch, and some cocoa powder.

Add some honey to this.

Some soy sauce. And finally, some chicken stock.

Now we just want to whisk this together.

Marc, what's the cocoa for?

So, the cocoa powder is "kakushiaji" which means "hidden taste."

This is going to add a nutty flavor and a ton of umami.

And it makes it taste like it's been simmering for hours.

It's a great tip.

The soy sauce and honey add the trademark umami and sweetness to the curry.

Then, I grate the garlic, ginger and onion.

These aromatics form the base for our curry sauce.

And by grating them, we're able to get the most flavor

in the least amount of time.

So, we're going to start by adding the grated aromatics to a frying pan here.

You want to boil off the liquid over medium high heat

before adding the oil.

The key to great Japanese-style curry is caramelizing the aromatics.

And this will only take a couple of hours,

but because we've grated this, we'll be able to caramelize this in a few minutes.

It shrank quite a bit.

Yeah, this is all that flavor getting concentrated.

It's going to give our curry tons of flavor.

Once the aromatics are caramelized, add the curry powder

and quickly mix it in before adding the broth.

Then, you just need to bring this mixture to a boil.

It thickens right away.

So that's actually the vegetables thickening this curry,

and we've also got a little bit of potato starch which is going to help it along.

Alright, and once it's thickened up like this,

our curry sauce is done.

So quick!

To make the other half of the katsu curry,

I season the pork with salt and pepper

and bread it with flour, egg and panko.

Then, we deep fry the cutlets until they're golden brown on both sides.

Katsu curry is one of those dishes that I crave when I need a burst of energy.

True.

It's great for when you're really hungry.

- It's perfect, isn't it?
- Yup!

So Maki, are you ready to try out my katsu curry?

Yes! Itadakimasu!

It's a quick and easy dish,

but it has such a depth of flavor.

A perfect balance of sweet and spicy

that boosts your appetite for katsu.

I'm glad you like it.

I packed the bento box with rice,

tonkatsu, and some veggies I flash-fried after the katsu.

The curry sauce goes in a separate sealable container

and you can pour it over everything,

or dip the katsu and veggies individually when you eat it.

So Maki, how are you going to be incorporating curry into your bento today?

I am going to use sausages to make a super simple

currywurst bento with a Japanese twist.

I like the sound of that!

Currywurst is a German street food

made with sausages and ketchup sprinkled with curry powder.

Let's see how Maki makes her version with a Japanese twist.

Let's make the trademark sauce.

OK!

To the ketchup, add curry powder and sake.

Then, mix well.

I love that you added sake to your sauce for a Japanese twist.

Sake adds a sweet mildness to the sauce

and goes well with rice.

The sauce is ready in a matter of seconds.

Then, Maki cuts the sausages into bite-sized pieces.

She cuts some of them at an angle

so she can use them to decorate her bento later.

OK, let' s pan-fry the sausages.

Alright.

Sausages taste best when browned.

And browning them takes them to the next level.

OK, the sausages are nicely browned.

And add the sauce.

It smells so good already. I'm starving.

- Marc, you know what?
- What?

My currywurst is done!

- Already?
- Yeah.

That looks delicious!

For her side dish, Maki strains some boiled potatoes

and shakes them to crumble the corners.

Then, she pan-fries them with a little oil.

It's starting to get a little bit brown on the edges.

I can see the pieces of crumbled potatoes have created a kind of coating

that's going to get nice and crispy.

They go well with both currywurst and rice.

For her final Japanese twist,

Maki sprinkles her bento items with "shichimi togarashi."

Marc, try my currywurst with shichimi togarashi.

Alright, let's go for a piece of the currywurst here.

Oh, that's so good.

It's fragrant and spicy.

You've got the sweetness of that ketchup

that kind of mellows out the spiciness.

And I love the shichimi on here.

It's a nice Japanese twist on this German classic.

Enjoy.

Maki places heart-shaped pieces of cheese upside down

and uses nori to make faces.

I'm going to use spaghetti to secure the sausages I set aside.

Add some ears and they turn into cute puppies

that are made from the sausages in her main dish.

Maki's currywurst bento is such an easy way

to enjoy the spicy aroma of curry in a bento.

Today, both Maki and I made curry-flavored bentos

that will peak your appetite even on a hot summer day.

So we hope you'll...

give them a try!

Bento Topics.

Today from Yui, a picturesque town on Suruga Bay.

The bay is fed by groundwater from Mt. Fuji.

Spring and autumn are the fishing seasons

for a local delicacy, "sakura ebi."

The pale-pink shrimp are named after cherry blossoms.

Good size!

The small, glimmering shrimp are nicknamed

the "Jewels of Suruga Bay."

Sweet and full of umami,

they can be enjoyed as sashimi, fritters, and more.

I hope people will enjoy the flavor of spring from Suruga Bay.

Sakura ebi were first landed in Yui about 130 years ago.

Suruga Bay is the deepest bay in all of Japan,

providing an ideal habitat for this rare deep-sea shrimp.

Silhouetted by Mt. Fuji,

the shrimp are spread out to dry under the sun.

It creates a picturesque view.

The sea breeze helps to concentrate the umami flavor.

The shrimp form a red carpet

with Mt. Fuji in the background.

It's a picturesque sight that you can only see here.

Yui is home to several sakura ebi specialty bentos.

This restaurant is run by the Yui Fishery Association.

Here you go. One fresh shrimp bowl and one fritter bowl.

The fresh shrimp bowl features rice topped with nori

and a huge serving of sakura ebi.

The shop's popular fritter bowl is made with fried sakura ebi,

coated simply with flour and water.

Flip over when crisp.

Two of these crispy fritters are dipped in a sweet and savory sauce

and placed over rice.

It makes for a hearty bento.

The fritters are nearly 100% shrimp,

so they're very fragrant.

This is something you can only enjoy here.

Nearly everyone orders a bowl of sakura ebi miso soup.

The shrimp are sweet and make a great dashi.

Customers come from far and wide,

lining up to order.

These men are members of an automobile fan club.

They've driven from far away to enjoy the local fare,

and they want to try it all.

Wow!

How's the "kakiage"?

It was worth the trip.

My son and his wife.

This man waited in line for over three hours

to make sure his mother and aunt were served

before the restaurant ran out of shrimp.

My nephew waited in line for hours for us.

And it's delicious!

It was worth getting up early in the morning.

This girl ordered the kakiage.

So crispy and yummy!

Bentos that make people smile.

We love bento!

The sakura ebi are so beautiful and fresh.

Yeah, they looked amazing, didn't they?

I want to try both of those bentos.

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

but just remember, they need to be your own original characters.

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!