Big Hero 6 Baymax Bento - Baymax Onigiri

We were treated to watch Big Hero 6 last November, the children like Baymax, which gave me an idea to make a simple bento dinner for them.

Making ongiri (rice balls) does not require special tool, you just need to place the rice in a piece of cling wrap to make the shape required. Take note that when you cook the rice, add slightly more water to make the rice sticky, so it can be made into rice ball easily.

For the body of Baymax, there are many ingredients that you can use as fillings, for example, minced pork / chicken, salmon, bonito flakes and egg.

Pardon the funny decorations on the right, I wanted to make the xiao bai cai umbrella, but Baymax that I made was too big to stand under it!

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Miffy and Easter Egg Bento

Another two weeks to Easter, so I prepared a simple bento - Miffy and Easter Egg Bento!

The ingredients are very easy to prepare - steamed carrot, steamed chicken fillet and hard boiled egg. Miffy's dress is cheese.

Pei Pei helped me in making the rice balls. She helped me to put some rice on to cling wrap, and helped to make the shapes. 

Just before they started to eat, Pei Pei asked, "How come the rabbit does not have hands?"

Uh oh...

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Minion Bento

Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-nana~

Ever since they watched Despicable Me 2, they have fallen in love with the Minions and they kept singing Banana song. 

They have been asking me to prepare Minion bento for them. I  dragged for a few months before I actually made Minion bento. I must say I salute myself for being able to drag so long despite their constant reminders nagging.

The Minions are made of egg. Some egg white is used to make the eyes and the remaining egg is used to make the body. Seaweed is used to make the pupil of the eyes, mouth and body.

Pei Pei and Hao Hao were happy to eat up the Minions!

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Useful Bento Tools

In attempt to make meal time more interesting for my children, I have been trying to make simple bento. It is also a tactic to make them eat food that they don't like!

From just two lunch boxes, my collection of bento tools has grown over two years!

Here are some tools which I find useful in bento-making:

Bento Boxes / Lunch Boxes
A must-have to bring the meal out of home.

Moulds / Cutters
Other than making cookies, these moulds can be used to cut the shape of bread, cheese, carrots, ham, egg sheet, etc, and to make rice balls.

Drinking straws can also be used as cutters to cut small circles.

Dividers
If there is no compartment in the lunch box, then the dividers can be used to separate the meat from the vegetables and fruits. These serve to decorate the bento too.

Containers
They function like the dividers to compartmentalise the food. They are especially useful to contain food with gravy.

Food Picks

Not just for decorative purpose, these food picks are also functional for children to pick up food, and to secure food like sandwich rolls.

Egg Moulds
These make the hard-boiled eggs look more appealing. Put the de-shelled hard-boiled egg into the mould, and place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. I bought these moulds from Daiso, the size is suitable for eggs that weigh about 60 grams each. Eggs that are smaller would not take on the shape nicely.

Nori (Seaweed) Punchers
Adding a smiley face on the food makes the children happy!

Oh, where did I buy these bento tools? Most of them are from Daiso! (No wonder I can shop at Daiso for more than an hour!)

What are the bento tools that you find useful?

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Train Bento with Love

Out of no reason, they would suddenly go on anti-carrot / anti-egg / anti-fish campaigns.

Perhaps, by making the food look more interesting, they would be enticed to finish up what they don't like, I thought.

And yes, it worked!

Last week, they requested a bento with trains, so I made Train Bento for them.

Trust me, it is not too time-consuming to make this, as the food that I am cooking is very simple. And the arrangement is also very easy, so that the food would not turn cold when it is served.


Ingredients (2 servings):

• Eggs x 2
• White snapper fish (or threadfin)  x 150 grams
• Fish balls x 3
• Carrot x 1
• Rice x 0.5 rice cooker cup
• Grapes 
• Japanese seaweed 

Instruction:

• Cook rice first since this takes the longest time. 
• Steam carrots for 15 minutes, and fish + fishballs for about 6 minutes.
• Make tamagoyaki (Japanese egg omelette). Beat the eggs. Using low fire, add a little oil, pour a thin layer of egg on to the pan, after the egg sets a little, roll it. 

• Push it to the opposite side, add a thin layer of egg on to the pan, and roll. Repeat the steps until all eggs are used.

• Put the rice in the bento box.
• Cut the tamagoyaki and put on top of rice to make the trains.
• Cut fishballs into quarters to make the wheels of the train.
• Cut the steamed fish, remaining fishballs, carrots (using vegetable cutters) and grapes, place them in the bento box, separate them using bento dividers (or use lettuce if you don't have bento dividers).
• Cut the Japanese seaweed into small rectangles, place on the tamagoyaki to make the windows of the train just before the bento is served.

To be honest, this was a negative demonstration of tamagoyaki! I still have not mastered the skill to roll it, especially the first layer! But don't worry, practice makes perfect!

Do not waste any food! After cutting the carrots using the vegetable cutter, do not discard the remaining! Cut them into small pieces, place them into the bento box first, then place the pretty carrot flowers on top.

Looking at how Pei Pei and Hao Hao enjoy the food, I think it really worth the effort to make bento for them!

This is my contribution to "What's Cooking" blog train series hosted by Beanie N Us.  Next in the blog train is Mrs Kam from The Kam Family, who is sharing her recipe of Japanese cheesecake!

Do check out other great recipes by other mummies by clicking the icon below!

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Quick-Fix Carrot and Sweet Corn Soup and Bento

Lesson learnt from last episode of preparing ABC soup - no tomato please! 

This time, we have sweet corn, which is rich in Vitamin B and C.

The preparation of this carrot and sweet corn soup is actually super easy. However, I could still make a mess as I chopped the sweet corns so hard that the kernels flew all over the place! (-.-")

Ingredients:

2 carrrots

2 sweet corns

1.5 litres of water

Instruction:

1. Boil water
2. Peel carrots, cut into chunks
3. Chop sweet corns into chunks
4. Put carrot and sweet corns into the boiling water, simmer over low fire for 30 minutes

Today's menu:
Carrot and sweet corn soup
Simple yet nutritious bento consisting of sweet corn, carrots, fish meat, fish ball, egg and rice

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Blossom Bento

Transforming steamed minced pork into flowers!

Mickey Mouse Bento

What's for dinner last night? 

Mickey Mouse Bento! The Mickey Mouse looks a bit funny though...

Panda Bento

Though we didn't visit the pandas Jia Jia and Kai Kai at the zoo yesterday (as we went there specially for the Rainforest Kidzworld), Pei Pei and Hao Hao still remembered the two pandas they had seen during the previous visit.

So they have Panda bento for lunch today!

Singing Bone Hello Kitty Bento

I am not a big fan of Hello Kitty (but am a big fan of her friend My Melody), but Pei Pei and Hao Hao like Hello Kitty. Yes, even Hao Hao likes her.

I didn't queue for hours to get the Singing Bone Hello Kitty.

Do you spot something missing?

I forgot about Hello Kitty's whiskers and the heart!

Both Pei Pei and Hao Hao "picked" Hello Kitty's bones first! And they finished up the meal very fast!

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Chicken or Egg First?

Is there chicken first or egg first? Pei Pei and Hao Hao have both at the same time! The chicken looks a bit funny though...

Mickey Mouse Bento

Today's Dinner Menu: 3 Mickey Mouse Bento!

Sleeping Bears Bento

Today's Lunch Menu: Sleeping bears bento!

Bento with Love

It has been quite boring to eat these all the while...

MaMi's new creations:

Meal time is more interesting!