How to make an Animal Rice ball (Pig ver.)

I made animal rice balls after a long time. Today's animal is Pig!!

Today, Lino's sister has a fever and I stayed home from work to take care my daughter. Lino didn't want to go to school because he wanted to be with me. However, he changed his mind easily when he saw today's Baon!! Power of Awesome lunchbox is so great♪ 

Today's Baon
・Pig rice balls
・Sauteed slab of bacon
・Kinpira* of Carrot (*sauteed carrot with soy sauce, honey, and black sesame)
・Boiled broccoli
・Rolled egg
・Tomato

≪How to make an Animal Rice ball (Pig ver.)≫

 Mix a cup of rice and 1 tea spoon of ketchup. Roll it to make small balls.
Cut a sliced ham for salad as shown in the figure above to make the parts of ears.
Cut a  sliced ham for salad by shaped cutter (check the previous article about shaped cutter : Guess! What's this?) . You can use straw as a shaped cutter.
Cut a seaweeds to make the parts of eyes and nose holes.

Let's try!!

Guess! What's this?

Probably, I think that we can buy this item in Japan only. 

Do you think what's this?

The answer is  cutter that one of the tool for preparation of lunch box. For example, we make a part of eye by using this cutter to cut a sliced cheese. We can use this cutter for vegetables, ham, etc. We can obtain perfect circle part easily.

A lot of Japanese Mom have tools like this cutter. It is only Japan selling such a tool in the wide world. Maybe, you could understand the passion of Japanese for lunch box！

Today's Baon

•Fried rice omelet (tomato, onion, dried basil leaves, ketchup flavor)

•Boiled cauliflower, broccoli, and carrot.

•Fried chicken (the recipe of salted chicken  is from here→  

Versatile foodstuff, 『Salted chicken breast』)

•Tomato

I used "Cutter" for making hole of egg sheet.

After making holes, put the egg sheet on a cling wrap and put the fried rice on the egg sheet. Roll it into a ball.

White Tiger

Today's Baon

•Rice ball, mixed with boiled Whitebait 

•Sautéed bacon, cauliflower, red-pepper, and asparagus.

• Rolled egg

•Okra

I tried to make "white tiger" for today's Baon. 

 

This is a flavored dried laver seaweed that I bought at Japan store.

Recently, I use this for decoration of the rice ball. 

This dried laver seaweed is packed in small quantity. So it is easier to use and keep that dried laver seaweed for Sushi that is packed in large size and quantity. This package includes 40 small packs that include 3 sheets of dried laver seaweeds. The price of this dried laver seaweed is Php88. It is the affordable price!!

Car

The internet was not working last night, so I couldn't publish the new blog yesterday. I will publish yesterday's blog.

Today's Baon

• Fried rice with ketchup

• Hotdog

• Asazuke (Cucumber, Carrot, and Radish)

• Scrambled egg

• Boiled Cauliflower and Broccoli

This morning, when Lino saw his Baon, his face become so delight! And he said, "Yehey!  I love it!! Thank you Mama!".

I was so happy to be able to see his delight face and hear about such words!

However, can you understand what did I make? This is a car... 

The window and number plate are fried egg white. The lights are fried yolk and boiled Carrot. His name and frame of window are seaweed.

What the theme of Baon will Lino request for me next week? I will try to make the Baon for Lino's smile next week too.

Sleeping Cat Zzzz....

Today's Baon

• Cat rice ball (The gray part : the rice mixed with ground black sesame.)

• Lunpiang shanghigh 

• Crisp salad of potato and carrot

• Rolled egg

• Boiled okra

This time, the request of Lino was a cat. I really enjoyed and concentrated to make "Cat" while thinking Lino's smile this morning, so I forgot to prepare the Baon for husband!!!! Sorry papa. Hehehe.

In Japan, the bento like this is called "Chara-ben". Chara-ben is a shortened form of character bento, or boxed lunch. Elaborately arranged lunch that features food decorated to look like famous characters from movies and such.

My friend asked me that will you make chara-Ben until what age of your children?

In Japan, the majority of elementary and junior high school provide a school lunch. So, I think that maybe Japanese mums make Chara-ben for the children age of around 6 to 7.

My mother often made for me an interesting lunch when I was kindergarten student, and even if I became a high school student, she made it some times. I remember that it was so fun and delicious!! This memory is a source of passion for making the Chara-Ben for my son. As long as the children request, I want to continue to make the Chara-Ben!!

I will introduce the recipe of "Crisp salad of potato and carrot".

[Ingredients]

• Potato, 1pc

• Carrot, 1/2 pc

• Garlic, 1 clove

• Rosemary. a little

• Salt and Pepper. a little

• Olive oil, 1 tbsp

[Procedure]

1. Cut the potato and carrot into thin strips.

2. Boil it 1min. (Check the color of potato! The potato is white at first and it becomes transparent. When the potato becomes transparent, it is a sign of  being boiled. If you boil more than 2 minutes, the crisp of potato is disappeared.) After boil, wash with running water immediately.

3. Sauté garlic with Olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Mix it with potato and carrot. It is good taste also to use bacon or anchovy. 

Theme of Baon is Dog

Theme of today's Baon that Lino asked me to make last night was "Dog". So I made a plan on how to make the "Dog" for his Baon before I slept. It was so fun for me to think about the ingredients, cooking procedure, and my son's smile!!

Today's Baon

• Dog! (Rice ball & meat patty (ground pork, onion, onion leaks, ginger, and garlic))

• Rolled egg

• Sautéed vegetables

• Boiled okra

[Procedure of making dog]

Make a part of ear to shape the meat patty. Sauté the meat patty.

Make the rice ball using cling wrap.

Cut the dried laver seaweed into the part of eyes and nose, then decorate them.

Trying to live longer! (Benefit of chewing well, Part 3)

5. Health of teeth

There are two major disease of tooth, these are cavity and gum disease. We can prevent these disease by chewing well.

The fiber of vegetables, meats, and fishes remove plaque by chewing well. 

The saliva is secreted by chewing well. The saliva include some enzymes that helps to maintain clean condition of oral by  preventing increase of bacteria. 

The saliva can maintain neutrality condition.

The ion such as Ca and F In the saliva repair the tooth which were dissolved by acid.

As you know, cavity and gum disease relate with other whole body disease such as heart attack. 

Of course, brushing the tooth after every meal is most important to prevent the cavity and gum disease. 

The combination of tooth brush and chewing well is perfect!!

6. Prevent cancer

Currently, it is said that one of two people become Cancer. The some of cancers are known that relate to food deeply. There are many factors related to cancer, some factors are lost by the saliva.

For example, immerse some carcinogens in the saliva 30 seconds then the carcinogenesis action become less than 1/10 to 1/20!!

It is difficult to avoid all carcinogen included in food perfectly. So, please eat  with chewing well!!

Today's Baon

• Bullet train Rice ball

• Rolled egg with chopped carrot

• Sautéed  breast chicken and vegetables

• Boiled Okra

- Recipe of Hot Salad-

✳︎Ingredients✳︎

• Cabbage 1 pc (small) 

• Cauliflower 1 pc

• White mushroom 6 pcs

Sauce

• Oil 2 tbsp

• Salt 1/2 tsp

• Honey 1 tbsp

• Vinegar 2 tbsp

• Garlic 3 to 5 cloves

• Onion 1/2

• Onion leaks 1 pc

• Sesame 1 tsp

✳︎Procedure✳︎

1. Cut the vegetable and boil it 1 to 2 minutes. 

2. Chop the vegetables for sauce.

3. Put the oil in heated frying pan and sauté  chopped vegetables 3 minutes. Put all ingredients of sauce in the frying pan and heat it 30 seconds.

4. Mix boiled vegetables and sauce.

Lunch of demon?! My cousin's Baon

I would like introduce this cute Baon made by my cousin. She made this Baon for her 4 years old son to response for son's request.

Her son's request is a demon. This demon is Japanese traditional style. 

Face: Rice mixed salmon flakes

Eyes and fang : Kamaboko* and dried laver seaweed

Hair : Scrambled egg 

*Kamaboko: Boiled fish past

My cousin makes lunch box once a week and she usually responses to her son's request. (He requested "Dog" for his Baon last week.)

I will introduce Japanese style lunch box made by my relatives and friends also!!

 

In Japan, we have an event on February 3 called "Setsubun". Setsubun means " division of seasons". However, "setsubun" has now come to mean the day before the first day of spring only. We throw roasted beans while saying "Oni wa soto. Fuku wa uchi". Oni means Demon in Japanese. On this day, someone play a role of demon wearing the demon mask, we throw roasted beans to hit against the demon. After throwing the beans, people customarily eat one roasted soy bean, for each year of their age, and pray for happiness throughout the year. 

Filipino food (Lino's Baon version)

I tried to cook Lino's Baon version "Tortang Dulong ( Filipino food )" this morning. The Tortang Dulong is like omelette which includes whitebait. Lino's Baon version added chopped vegetables (Carrot and green leaks) and cheese. The cheese become crispy and it's so delicious!! Let's try to cook Lino's Baon version Tortang Dulong♪

Philippines is an island nation and blessed with an abundance of seafood. The whitebait is one of seafood and it has great nutrition for children's growing. As you may know, the main nutrition of whitebait is Calcium. 

Do you know that the organic acids such as malic acid and citric acid contained in vinegar or citrus, helps to carry and absorb the calcium into the our body very well by being bound to the calcium? 

Water + whitebait 13% absolute

Vinegar + Whitebait 78% absolute

Citrus + Whiyebait 89% absolute!!

So it's good to eat the Tortang Dulong with vinegar or calamansi!! 

（Reference: Calcium absorption from a new calcium delivery system.

Smith KT, et al. Calcif Tissue Int. 1987）

Today's Baon

• Decorated rice ball (hotdog and carrot)

• Toryang Dulong (Lino's Baon version)

• Boild Okra mixed with katsuobushi and soy sauce

• Boiled bean sprout, sweet potato leaves, and carrot mixed with sesame oil and salt

• Grapes

☆ Procedure of decorated rice ball ☆

1. Boil thinly sliced hotdog and carrot. After boiling, cut the hotdog into half and make small circle of carrot using straw.

2. Roll the rice into a small ball using cling wrap.

3. Decorate the hotdog and carrot on the rice ball.

4. Fix the decoration by holding.

It's so cute isn't it?!

The basketball rice ball

I was able to make a cute lunch box today, so the first is introduction of Today's Baon.

Today's Baon

• Basketball rice balls

• Karaage (Japanese bone less fried chicken)

• Boiled broccoli 

• Orange and tomato

The ingredients of basketballs are  ketchup and dried laver seaweed. The hot rice is mixed with ketchup and roll it into a ball. When you roll it into a ball, it is easier to use cling wrap. Cut a dried laver seaweed into thin strips and decorate it on the rice ball like basketball.

It's good for boy's lunch box! Try it!

Next up is how to store the green leaf lettuce.

The green-leaf lettuce is used for decoration of food also other than salad. The food becomes look more delicious by decoration of lettuce. The lettuce is ingredient essential for the Japanese style lunch box.

The lettuce is delicate and it often becomes stale when I buy it at supermarket. 

However, you can restore the lettuce's crispness and maintain freshness by proper treatment.

1. A wet paper towel put in the large size plastic container.

2. Wash the lettuce carefully and separate the lettuce.

3. Put the lettuce on the wet paper towel in the plastic container.

4. Cover with a wet paper towel and put plastic cover. Keep it in refrigerator.

After one to two hours, it is just right to delicious salad. For salad, it is also effective to keep the lettuce in cold water with ice after washing. 

You can keep freshness about a week in the refrigerator. You can use fresh lettuce anytime!