Italian meets Japanese

Good morning all :)
Actually I'm still sleepy..
after we woke up this morning, hubby and i still enjoying the lazy time in bed. We were giggling and chuckling and joking that we won't wake up and still being lazy at home. 
but then when i looked at the time, i realized that we have to wake up now, or i won't be able preparing hubby's bento--and he won't be able to be at work on time. 
so then--finally we woke up! :D


while i was preparing the food, he was helping me with washing the dishes. sweet :)


--
anyway, i made these as his bento :

err..i'm a lil bit annoyed by the bunny. Cause two of them are in the 'mature' arrangement, while this one is a lil bit childish--so, actually, they're not in the match :D

well, I'm trying the new recipes here. after Googing and searching for the original recipes in the internet, i finally found the recipes that suits on us--by combining some existing recipes with my own taste.
and since friends from facebook asked for the recipes, so--here they are :

edamame risotto with grilled shrimp

i know, that i should use the arborio rice, or other medium or short grained rice. but since too hard to find the arborio, and it costs expensive here, so i'm using the ordinary daily rice. :) The original risotto usually using some dry white wine--but we're  prohibited to consume it, so i skip it.

so, here are the ingredients :

oil

red paprika powder

garlic powder

black pepper

these are the spices to marinate the shrimp. off course  you'll need shrimps that have been peeled.

onion, diced

clove of garlic, chopped

rice

chicken broth (if you are a vegen, besides using the vegetarian shrimp, you'll may change the broth to vegetable broth)

edamame (japanese green soy beans)

parmesan cheese, grated

butter

salt and pepper to taste

lemon juice

and mint, chopped (optional)

how to :

1. mix the marinade seasons  and marinate the shrimp for at least 15 minutes.
2. melt the butter in large sauce pan
3. add the onion and saute until tender
4. add the garlic, and saute until fragrant
5. add the rice and stir to coat with butter
6. add  half of the stock (broth) at time and stir while simmering until it's gone. continue until the rice is cooked al dente. since i'm using the ordinary daily rice that usually harder and thinner than the arborio, i give at about 4 cups of broth for 1 1/2 cups of rice. And I just stir it occasionally, preventing so the rice won't be too soft and be like porridge. 
7. mix in the beans , cheese and butter. stir until the butter and the cheese has melted.
8. remove from heat, and mix in the lemon and mint.
9. don't forget to grill the shrimp until cooked. serve it.

the second one is Okonomiyaki. like Wikipedia said, okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked".
so, i made the vegetarian one. i add vegetables ingredients in it. here is the recipe :

Japanese Okonomiyaki

whole wheat flour

water

egg

cabbage, shredded

sweet carrot,grated

zucchini, grated

green onion, chopped

sausages (if you are a vegetarian, use the vegetarian sausage)

how to:

1. mix the flour, water, egg, cabbage, carrot, zucchini, and green onion in large bowl. if you like, you may add some pepper and garlic powder to taste.
2. heat some oil pan.
3. pour the mixture and top it with sausages slices.
4. cook on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. (i use the small pancake pan, it will help to control the size of the okonomiyaki)
5. when you serve it, top it with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise. but since i can't find the instant one here, after reading few recipes and Wikipedia, i use the recommended sauce of Worcestershire sauce. it contains of malt vinegar (from barley), spirit vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies,  tamarind extract, onions, garlic, spice, and flavoring. The "spice, and flavoring" is believed to include cloves, soy sauce , lemons, pickles and peppers. 

easy huh? it's like making the omelet and definitely healthy. 
and with these fruits fiesta, 

hubby's bento were ready to take away :)

for hubby breakfast, i gave little portion of these menu.

my facebook friends asked me whether these too little for hubby's breakfast. Hubby asked me not to give him too much portion for his breakfast, cause he worried that he'll be sleepy after eating.  

that's all for today girls :)
love, kisses and hugs!

"thanks dear, for the yummiest breakfast--ever!"

...hubby said that this morning :) and makes me fly. Actually, I did not plan anything for the menu. I just wanted to wear the bamboo lunch box again. I'm curious, how to make it looks nice. 
And hubby's breakfast consists of a combination of his bento's menus:

 

Well, after searching in the fridge, i finally decided to make Mexican fajitas,  chicken salad in Indonesian nuts dressing, and cap-cai (Cap cai is the name of  a popular Chinese cuisine that unique because it has so many vegetables cooked as the ingredients). 

 

Do you see the red lily there? Two days ago, it blossomed! How excited i am..and i immediately took the picture.

it looks so lovely--and--so RED :D that's why i used this lily as the background for today's bento-picture.

Anyway, 

first, i made him Mexican fajitas.  Actually i found this from Kevin-closet cooking on his blog

. 

You may see the original recipe there. But since i didn't have any cilantro, so i didn't use it :)

then i also mixed him a chicken salad. The original recipe is from  Kevin's too. But since i didn't read the Thailand things so i made my own recipe and named it. Here it is : 

chicken salad in Indonesian nuts dressing

Ingredients:
1 batch Thai satay marinade--(i'm using the teriyaki marinade, actually you can make the thai satay marinade by your own self, but in case you don't have too much time for this, use the instant marinade of teriyaki would be fine)
1 pound chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
4 cups salad greens--(i don't have any, so i use purple cabbage, and edamame)
2 avocados (stoned, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)
1 small cucumber (sliced)
4 green onions (sliced)
1 handful cilantro (chopped)--(i didn't give it too..)
1/4 cup peanut sauce--(i'm using the ordinary pecel dressing of indonesian salad ^^v)
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk--(nope, didn't use this too)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 birds eye chilies (sliced)--(since the nuts dressing already hot, i didn't add any)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons peanuts (roasted and chopped)

Directions:

1. Marinate the chicken in the Thai satay marinade (or the teriyaki) in the fridge for 1 hour to overnight. 
2. Grill the chicken over med-high heat until cooked and slightly charred, about 3-5 minutes per side. 
3. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes and then slice it thinly. 
4. Mix the salad greens (or any veggies you have) , avocado, cucumber, green onion and cilantro in a large bowl. 
5. Mix the peanut sauce, coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, chili and sugar. 
6. Toss the salad and dressing. 
7. Divide the salad between four plates, top with the chicken and garnish with the chopped peanuts.

There you are. I bet if you make this with the original recipe, it would be more appetizing :) Add the cap-cai, some fruits of fresh oranges, pears, and dragon fruits--then hubby's bento is ready to take away! 

That's all girls. Visit the Ken's blog, will you? You'll find tremendous and yummiest recipes there! 

Love kisses and hugs :)

 

Romantic Tiers

Or should i say....wannabe :D Seems like i have to learn more to arrange the contents in these bamboo tiers.
Well, i have to say my deep sorrow and disappointment, because my friend's foodie-picture of one of her cook hijacked and used as a medium of promotion without any source of credit. What a shame of the person who use this picture without any permission. :(
I was a little angry because I am an art worker too. My husband's work colleagues' design are  even stolen by foreign architects as well as a means of promotion, without permission. And I know exactly how it feels to be treated like that, because my work had previously been treated in the same way too. I also sometimes had indeed been doing the same thing, but only to the common designs that are provided free of charge for use by the general public. Not the design that has been stamped by the owner as his work and exclusive. Cause really, those are mean! Please, stop the artwork piracy. 

Anyway, 
I was trying to make the bento seen as romantic as possible. I'm using the bamboo tiers and put the flowers patterned tissue papers as the base. But....

seems I'm not quite O.K with the angle of the picture. So the content of the food does not seem ..too visible.
Well, I took the close-up pictures then :

These are the sushi tier. I mix the rice with the rice peel oil. The texture becomes softer, fluffier and slippery. I use the pure oil, because in fact in Japan, this oil added with a mixture of sake (errr...like rice vinegar maybe). But since I do not really stand the taste, i use the pure one. It's been pretty ok! :D

These are the side dishes. I made chicken yakiniku here, and saute bean sprouts with tofu. I also made traditional pasta. It's spaghetti, but with no bolognise sauce. Instead of minced meat, i use sting ray meat. To reduces the fishy smell and taste, i use kencur (or cekur-malaysian  and pro hom--Thailand). I don't know exactly the english word for this, cause when i read the Wikipedia it says : "In the international literature (English) frequently occurs in chaos by calling kencur as lessergalangal (Alpinia officinarum) and zedoary, which is actually a different species and is not a substitute spices" :( Sorry girls, Anyone of you who know the name?

Well, i also made him a miso soup. I know that i have to use 'miso' so that it can be called as miso soup. But since i don't have any, I use the simpler recipe--can be seen from the clear broth. But trust me, it has the similar taste with the original miso soup.

12:11 PM
On facebook, my friend asked me to write down the miso recipe here. So then, i will.

you'll need :

Japanese tofu, small diced

vegetable oil to saute (i use the rice peel oil)

garlic, thinly sliced

pepper and salt to taste

chicken broth

fish sauce

scallions, thinly sliced

How to: 

1. saute garlic until fragrant and browned
2. add the broth, and cook until boiling
3. season with pepper, salt, and fish sauce. stir well
4. add the tofu and the scallions, simmer until cooked

that simple! :D  
*ps : anyway, I've wrote down this in Indonesian version too--and there were the step-by-step making pictures too as the guidance. click this link. :)

A fruit fiesta! Apples, fresh oranges, and sultanas. The small containers behind the fruit are for the sushi compliments of wasabi and soyu. 

Here they are if the lids are on. 

And  another portion for hubby's coworkers : 

hahaha, the picture even more clearly to show the contents here :D ..


Oh, whatever.. :D 
Hubby said, the tastes are adorable! :D So that's enough for me ^^ 

Couple♥

Good morning Friday!
I'm back!! I'm in a good mood today, since hubby has took me --to the place that i have been dreamed for months--last night. Yes, it called "DAISO", it's a store that sells any japanese stuffs, includes bento stuffs. And I'm so high for being there. I mean, who the hell is she who's not happy to see cute knick-knacks like these? I forgot to take the pictures of the stuffs that I've bought this morning, cause hubby took the camera for work. If not because  I was married and had to save the expenses, i would buy more than what i've bought last night. T_____T

Anyway, this is hubby's bento for today :

it's cute, isn't it? ♥♥
Oh, i love today's bento..soo much :D
I made saute zucchini with corn, sausage in chicken fillet, and meat roll. I put orange slices, apple (I actually carved the skin, but then again, i forgot to take the picture), and strawberries for the fruit fiesta. And fried the pempek. Pempek is traditional snacks from Palembang, South Sumatra--Indonesia. it's like fish meatball--but not always formed as 'ball'. in this bento, we call it as 'pempek kapal selam'--submarine pempek. I know, sounds funny huh :D but i guess the native gave that name because the shape, and and there is stuffing egg inside it. We usually eat pempek with 'cuka'--it's a special vinegar that made from sweet soya, dried shrimp, brown sugar, the vinegar itself (but i prefer to replace it with tamarind), and other spices. Other forms of pempek are many, like 'pempek lenjer', 'pempek adaan', 'pempek kulit', 'pempek keriting' and even some of them make it as the crackers, we call it with 'kemplang'.  

source

Trust me, it tastes delicious indeed. you should try it someday!

This is the close up shoot for the couple onigiris :

Last night, i've bought the ball rice mold. And, i thought, it will be cute if i make couple for the bento's theme. These cute little rice balls represent us--hubby and me. I used crab sheet as the veil of the girl (cause i'm wearing it right?), and shredded meat as hubby's hair. cut nori sheet as the face, and gave the cheek color from the crab sheet. And i love the smiles :) :)


So, that's all girls.
See you on Monday.
Kisses, Love and Hugs. ♥

Thursday in bad mood -__________-'

Yes, i tell you what, don't ever try to deal with bentoing stuffs, if you're not in a right mood. It does not affect the taste of food, yes, but really affect the quality of the art of arranging the contents. 


I don't know why, it's just that my feelings are not as good as usual.T___T
But I've tried my best.

Look at the background. You'll find a reddish brown-shawl. I made it by myself as a present for hubby on his master graduation day. Years ago, before we were married. I almost could not come that day. And I had not even finished the shawl yet. So, when hubby was attending the graduation ceremony, I continued to knit his shawl.  And finished, right after the ceremony ended. And for years too, this shawl--he always carried it everywhere. He said, when the scarf was worn, it was reminded him of me. ♥

Anyway,

as his side dishes, i made chicken katsu, bean sprouts in yellow spice, and quail egg satay. My friend on facebook asked me to write the recipes here. so then, i'll do it. :)

Chiken Katsu

English Recipe

You'll need :

chicken fillet

wheat flour

beaten egg

pepper, salt to taste

garlic powder

water

instant chicken broth powder

bread crumbs 

and oil to fry

How to :

1. Mix the flour, beaten egg, pepper and salt, garlic powder and broth powder with water--stir well.
2. Dip the chicken, one by one into the batter flour, then roll in the bread crumbs. Do the same with the rest.
3. Stored briefly in the fridge, for 20 minutes.
4. Fry with oil over medium heat until cooked. Remove and drain

Indonesian Recipe

You'll need :

dada ayam fillet

tepung terigu

telur kocok

lada halus, garam

bubuk bawang putih

air

kaldu bubuk

tepung roti

minyak untuk menggoreng

Cara memasak :

1. Campur tepung, telur, lada, garam, bubuk bawang putih, dan kaldu ayam bersama air. aduk rata, sampai adonan licin tidak berbutir.
2. Celupkan ayam, satu per satu, ke dalam adonan tepung lalu gulingkan di atas tepung roti. Lakukan sampai dada ayam fillet habis.
3. Simpan sebentar di dalam lemari pendingin, kira-kira 20 menit lamanya.
4. Goreng dalam minyak panas, dengan api sedang hingga matang. Angkat dan tiriskan. 

 For the vegetable dish :
 

Bean Sprouts in Yellow Spice

English Recipe

You'll need :

bean sprouts

garlic chives

bay leaves

galangal

sugar

chicken broth

coconut milk

Mash these :

pepper

hazelnuts

red-onions

garlic

turmeric

salt to taste

How to :

1. Saute until fragrant, the spices that have been mashed with bay leaves, and galangal.
2. Add the bean sprouts and chives, stir well.
3. Add sugar and the broth. 
4. Pour the coconut milk, and cook until the sauce thickens and the spice seeps.

Indonesian Recipe

bahan :

tauge

kucai

daun salam

lengkuas

gula

kaldu ayam

santan

haluskan :

merica

kemiri

bawang merah

bawang putih

kunyit

garam, secukupnya

Cara memasak :

1. Tumis hingga haru, bumbu-bumbu yang dihaluskan bersama daun salam dan lengkuas.
   
2. Masukkan tauge dan kucai, aduk.
   
3. Tambahkan gula dan kaldu bubuk.
4. Tuang santan, dan masak sampai kuah menyusut dan bumbu meresap.

Easy to make aren't they ? Try them at home, or as your bento's filling. Anyway, besides his fruit fiesta (apple, banana and strawberries), i also made him chocolate cupcakes

with strawberries garnish. My friends asked me for the recipe too. :D So, here it is : 

Chocolate Cupcakes

You'll need :

margarine

liquid milk

eggs

sugar

wheat flour

chocolate powder

baking soda

baking powder

and :

melted chocolate

strawberries

as the garnish

How to :

1. First, prepare the steamer for steaming. And cover the cupcakes pan with paper cup.
2. Melt the margarine with milk.
3. Beat eggs with sugar, add the flour, chocolate powder, baking soda and baking powder. Stir batter.
4. Pour the melted margarine (with milk), stir well.
5. Pour into the cupcakes pan and steam for 25 minutes. 
6. Decorative cake with melted chocolate and strawberries

That's all girls. Remember, cook when your heart is good :) 
Kisses, love and hugs !