Today, a look at some of the bentos posted on our website

that received the most likes in the first half of this season.

- "Donguri"!
- Donguri!

Marc and Maki make autumn picnic bentos.

From Marc, acorn shaped "onigiri."

Maki tops sandwiches with cute acorn decorations.

We love bento!

(The Global Lunchbox 8-11)

Our first popular bento is this fun school-themed bento from Ketaki,

an Indian expat in Qatar.

Hey Ketaki, congratulations.

Congratulations!

Hi, Marc and Maki.

I'm so excited that my bento has been selected as the most liked bento.

Ketaki started making fun bentos for her daughter Keara when she started school.

This may look like a sandwich with chocolate peanut butter spread,

but Ketaki is not done yet.

She uses an edible marker to draw some lines and makes...

A notebook.

Great idea!

She also cuts out cucumbers and carrots to make a colorful alphabet.

It's a fun way to eat our vegetables.

It is!

Next, Ketaki combines green peas, flour, and chili powder

to make a protein-packed Indian fritter using a special pan.

Mmm, those look delicious!

Finally, she turns wafers into pencils,

and a wheel of cheese into a calculator.

And Ketaki's school-themed bento for Keara is done!

How is it, Keara?

Good taste, yummy!

Cute notebook, alphabet, and pencil!

I bet your daughter enjoyed your bento!

I wanted to make colorful and delicious bento for her whole lunch

so that she completes her meals with joy.

I love that pea fritter you made, it looks so delicious.

I try to pack some kind of Indian cuisine,

especially when we are living away from our home country.

Both kids and adults enjoy the savory flavor and taste.

Thank you so much, and we hope to see your other bentos on our website.

- Bye.
- Bye, Maki and Marc!

Our next popular bento is this colorful panda-themed one from Indonesia.

Let's talk to Made who created it.

- Congratulations, Made!
- Congratulations!

Thank you, thank you. Thank you very much.

Me and my daughter are so very happy to know that

my panda bento got lots of likes.

Because my daughter loves panda,

I try to make some panda-themed bentos.

Flip over.

Let's see how she makes it.

Made uses a mold to form a white bear,

and then she uses nori to make the black features that transforms it into...

Panda rice.

Great.

Next, she rolls a piece of sausage with rice and nori.

After slicing it into wheels,

she decorates the sausage to make panda emojis.

For the main dish, she uses tempeh,

a traditional Indonesian fermented soybean product

to make a sweet and savory tomato stew.

It's got a very nice taste and very high protein.

That's important.

Finally, she packs the tempeh and big panda, and there's one last detail.

She uses a cucumber stick to make the panda feel right at home.

As if like it's eating bamboo.

That's one happy panda.

And it's such a fun bento.

Wow, panda. My favorite!

So how is it, Raina?

Very good!

I love that panda roll. So cute!

Thank you, yes.

Well actually, panda has a round shape for the face,

so I thought of the sushi roll with a round shape.

Yeah, that's such a great idea.

And I love the tempeh side dish.

It is like a beef stew actually, but it is much healthier.

Yeah, we'll give it a try.

Thank you very much, Marc and Maki.

- See you, bye-bye.
- Thank you!

Be sure to share your bentos with us for a chance to be featured.

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

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

that are great for taking outdoors.

And we hope it gives you some inspiration for your own bento to submit through our website.

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

I'm going to be making an acorn onigiri bento

along with some glazed ham and sweet potatoes.

And it was inspired by a dish called "daigakuimo."

I love daigakuimo.

Daigakuimo is the traditional sweet potato snack

that's glazed in a candy coating with black sesame seeds.

It kind of reminds me of a honey glazed ham,

so I brought the two together to make a sweet and savory side dish for my acorn onigiri.

Let's make the onigiri.

I start by mixing umami-rich "katsuobushi" flakes

and a drizzle of soy sauce into a bowl of hot rice.

It smells so nice.

- It's like the smell of umami.
- Yeah.

Let's make a triangular onigiri,

and then I dip one side in toasted sesame seeds.

So it ends up like a donguri!

Donguri!

It's a fun shape but it's also delicious.

To prep our side dish,

I use an oblique cut to make even bite-sized pieces of sweet potato.

Yellow and purple, so vibrant.

Yeah. And the sweet potato skins have a ton of fiber and antioxidants,

so I like to leave the skins on.

Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl along with a drizzle of water,

cover these with plastic wrap,

and cook them in a microwave until they're almost cooked through.

For the ham or luncheon meat,

I'm aiming for pieces that are about the same size as the sweet potatoes.

Now, we're ready to fry these up!

Gently lower these sweet potatoes in here.

So we've already parcooked these sweet potatoes,

so we just need to brown and crisp the outside.

- It smells so nice.
- Yeah, it does, doesn't it?

And so beautiful.

Transfer the sweet potatoes to a bowl.

And then, crisp up the ham.

I love this idea of combining the ham and sweet potatoes.

Yeah, that savory-sweet combination is going to go great together

with that sweet glaze and those nutty sesame seeds.

Now, we just have to glaze these.

Add equal parts sugar, honey and water to a pan.

Cover it with a lid, and let this boil until the sugar dissolves.

Remove the lid!

- It smells like candy.
- Candy, exactly.

Once the mixture starts to caramelize...

Add in our ham and luncheon meat.

We need to get this glazed quickly, so the sugar doesn't burn,

and cover this with our sesame seeds.

All right, our glazed ham and sweet potatoes are done!

- So shiny!
- Yeah!

And listen to this.

So Maki, are you ready to try out my acorn onigiri,

and the glazed ham and sweet potato?

Yes.

I'll eat them together.

I love the crunchy candied coating!

The sweet potato and savory ham go so well together.

How about my acorn onigiri?

Nice crunch.

Katsuobushi and soy sauce are great together.

Perfect for picnics.

Yeah, it's so convenient isn't it?

Yes.

The combination of the sweet and savory elements with the crunchy and poppy textures

make my acorn onigiri bento as fun to eat as it is tasty.

Perfect for a picnic.

So Maki, what are you going to be making for your picnic bento?

I'm going to make two variations of

tasty Japanese-style baguette sandwiches.

That sounds great!

Sandwiches are a classic picnic item, and Japan has some unique ones.

Let's start with a look at how Maki makes an original sandwich using a pork filling.

Let's "shabushabu" the pork!

Sounds good!

Shabushabu.

Shabushabu is an onomatopoeia for the sound

that sliced meat makes as it's swished around in hot water.

Maki shabushabus her thinly sliced pork,

and transfers it to a paper towel-lined tray.

While it cools, she prepares a sesame sauce for it.

To the ground sesame seeds,

add sesame oil, vinegar, sugar,

salt and pepper, miso and mayo.

And mix it up!

That nutty sesame with that earthy miso.

Such a great combination.

Next, Maki adds her shabushabu pork and mixes it in.

- That's it?
- Yeah.

Super easy, right? The pork filling is done!

That looks so good. I could eat that as is.

But you have to wait for a minute!

Okay...

For her second filling, Maki makes Japanese-style scrambled eggs.

Soy sauce lends a Japanese taste. And it accents the sugar's flavor.

Then, she mixes in mayonnaise.

Oh, that's a great idea! It's like an egg salad sandwich,

but without the boiling, and peeling, and chopping of the eggs.

And, fluffy too!

Time to assemble the sandwiches!

Maki spreads mayo and mustard onto her lightly toasted baguette,

and adds her fillings, along with some lettuce.

Okay. My Japanese-style baguette sandwiches are done!

They look so good!

Time to try these out.

I think I'm going to go in for the pork one first.

You've got that nutty sesame, the earthy miso.

It's got so much flavor.

Let's try the egg sandwich.

And I can taste that soy sauce. It adds a nice touch of umami,

and it makes it taste sort of Japanese.

It's so good.

I'm glad to hear that.

Maki packs her sandwiches by alternating their orientation.

Then, she skewers cheese and half a boiled sausage

to make some cute donguri.

Maki's Japanese-style baguette sandwiches are delicious and portable,

so they're great for a picnic.

So Maki, both of our bentos had acorns in them today!

They're fun, aren't they?

Yeah.

Both Maki and I made bentos that are easy to take outdoors on a picnic.

So we hope you'll...

give them a try!

Bento Topics.

Today, from the ancient capital of Japan, Nara.

Yoshino in southern Nara is famous for cherry blossoms.

In spring, the mountains come alive with 30,000 trees in bloom.

In Autumn, fields are covered with the bright orange color of persimmons,

a specialty of Nara.

Both the fruit and the leaves are an integral part of local life.

Delicious!

This local dish features persimmons mixed with tofu and vegetables.

Sun-dried persimmons have long been a vital source of nutrition in winter.

They're also used to make these traditional rolled sweets that symbolize good luck.

Persimmon leaves have antibacterial properties.

That makes them an ideal choice for one local bento.

This is our "kakinohazushi."

Kakinohazushi consists of

sliced mackerel or salmon sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves.

Yoshino is far from the ocean,

but local people have long used persimmon leaves

to help preserve fish.

I'm proud to be carrying on the traditional flavors of Yoshino.

This bento shop began as a rice shop in Yoshino.

The rice is cooked in sweet vinegar and dashi.

Salt-pickled persimmon leaves

are used to wrap fish marinated in seasoned vinegar and sushi rice.

Each piece is carefully wrapped by hand.

After wrapping, a weight is placed on top

to press and ferment the sushi to boost the flavor and aroma.

The sushi is pressed and then set aside to rest.

This creates a synergy of flavors.

The sweet sushi rice, umami-rich fish and the aromatic persimmon leaf

create a delicious harmony of flavors.

This popular bento includes kakinohazushi

made with sea bream, horse mackerel, and shrimp,

in addition to the standard mackerel and salmon.

Itadakimasu!

It makes a great lunch for family gatherings.

Good?

Yum!

A local bento ideal for enjoying both cherry blossoms and autumn colors.

We love bento!

Kakinohazushi looked so delicious! And also, great for a picnic.

Yeah, and they looked easy to eat,

and I bet they've got tons of flavor from those leaves.

We're looking forward to seeing your picnic bentos,

so send in your photos to BENTO EXPO's website.

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!
- Bye.