Beef Teriyaki Spinach With Bonito And Street Corn Bento Box Recipes

SEARED TUNA, SOBA NOODLE AND CUCUMBER SALAD BENTO BOX

Steps:

• For the marinade and sauce: Combine the garlic, ginger and scallion whites in a medium bowl along with the soy sauce, vinegar and chile-garlic sauce. Mix well to combine. Pour half the sauce into a shallow dish with the tuna steaks and let marinate for approximately 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Reserve the remaining marinade separately to use as a sauce for the noodles.
• For the noodles: Fill a large pasta pot with a perforated insert with heavily salted water and bring to a boil. (Alternatively, use a large pot with a small heatproof colander lowered into it.) Prepare an ice bath in a medium bowl and season with a pinch of salt; set aside.
• Add the broccoli florets to the boiling water and cook until bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Lift the insert and drain away excess water. Transfer the broccoli to the ice bath. Return the insert to the pot with the boiling water. Drain the broccoli and transfer to a small sheet pan or plate lined with paper towels.
• Cook the noodles in boiling water until tender, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the insert, draining the excess water, and pour the noodles into a large bowl. Dress the noodles with the reserved marinade. Add the carrots, broccoli and edamame and toss to combine.
• For the cucumber salad: Mix together the fish sauce, vinegar, maple syrup, chile-garlic sauce and garlic in a small bowl. Toss with the cucumbers and set aside.
• Toast the black and white sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until slightly fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove the seeds to a bowl.
• Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Increase the heat to medium-high and lightly coat with about 1 tablespoon canola oil. When the oil glistens, remove the pan from the heat and set the tuna steaks in the oil; you should hear a sizzle. (Reserve the tuna marinade.)
• Return the pan to the heat and sear the tuna for about 30 seconds on each side. Turn off the burner and pour in about half the reserved tuna marinade, turning the steaks to coat. Return the pan to medium heat, bring the marinade to a simmer and cook for about 1 minute. Remove the steaks from the heat and let rest for a few minutes before slicing across the grain. Return the pan to low heat to keep the sauce warm
• Add the soba noodle salad, cucumbers and sliced tuna to the bento box sections. Garnish the tuna and cucumbers with the toasted sesame seeds and the soba noodle salad with the scallion greens. Serve with the warm sauce.

BENTO CHICKEN TERIYAKI

Steps:

• Mix first 3 ingredients together in bowl big enough to hold the chicken. Add the chicken. Let this marinate for 30 minutes, turning over halfway through.
• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
• Take the chicken out and pat dry. Reserve marinade. Put chicken skin side down (if you aren't using skinless) in pan and cook until browned on that side (just a minute or two) and then flip and brown the other side.
• Pour reserved marinade over chicken and cover tightly. Lower heat and simmer until chicken is done, about 5 minutes.
• Remove cover and raise heat back to medium high. Reduce marinade until it is more of a glaze. Toss chicken in glaze to cover.
• NOTE: You could certainly substitute beef or tofu for the chicken in this recipe. Just adjust the cooking accordingly.

SANRIO-INSPIRED BENTO BOX

Steps:

• Before beginning, you will need: a sharp kitchen knife, bow cookie cutter, 1 inch round cookie cutter, 1/2 inch round piping tip or cookie cutter, 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter, and 1 piece of card-stock if you'd like to create a template for the character's shapes.
• *Tip: Place a tiny piece of cheese under any of the pieces of nori to keep them from curling.
• Hello Kitty: Cook the somen noodles in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain. Rinse the noodles under cold water and drain again. Stir in enough toasted sesame oil to coat the noodles and keep them from sticking together. Transfer the noodles to your refrigerator while preparing the bento box. You can draw Hello Kitty's face shape onto a piece of card-stock paper to use as a guide. Cut the template out, if using, and lay it (with the side you drew on facing up), on top of the slice of white cheese. Use a sharp kitchen knife to carefully cut out the face shape. Place into your bento box. You can use either a fork, tongs, or chopsticks to neatly twist and place the cooled noodles on top of the cheese. I like to start from the inside and work my way out - placing the twisted piles of noodles on top of the cheese and using my utensil to spread them out to form the shape. Create the body first, then repeat to make each ear. You can place a little of the green onions and herb mixture around the noodle shape to create a separation and also to add flavor when eating them. Fold the nori sheet in half, and cut out 3 long sprinkle like shapes for the whiskers, and 1 small arched shape for her closed eyes (when you unfold the nori you should have 6 whiskers and 2 eyes). Transfer the nori cutouts to the top of your pasta. Use the sharp knife to cut an oval shape out of the yellow cheese and add to the noodles, placing in between the eyes and slightly down. Cut the bow shape out of bell pepper, and use the 1 inch cookie cutter or piping tip to cut a separate piece of pepper for Hello Kitty's iconic red bow. If the pieces will not lay flat on top of the noodles you can use toothpicks, underneath, to hold them in place. Fill in around your noodle character with any ingredients that you would like to enjoy with the noodles. I used pieces of curly kale. .
• Keroppi: Cook the Cha Soba noodles in boiling water for 6 minutes, Remove from the heat and drain. Rinse the noodles under cold water and drain again. Stir in enough toasted sesame oil to coat the noodles and keep them from sticking together. If you'd like to add a little more color and flavor to your noodles you can also stir in the matcha powder. Transfer the noodles to your refrigerator while prepping as you did for Hello Kitty. Cut a long oval shape out of the cheese and place, in your bento box, below your Hello Kitty noodles (making sure to leave room for the eyes). Twist and drop the green noodles, and spread them to fill in the shape. Use the 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter to cut the eyes out of the leftover white cheese. Use the 1/2 inch round piping tip or cookie cutter as a guide to press the shape for Keroppi's eyes into a folded piece of nori. Cut the eyes out as well as a v shape for the mouth. Add the eyes to the top of the noodles so that the cheese is overlapping the noodles and touching in the middle (you can use veggies behind the eyes, if needed, to hold them up). Add all of the nori cutouts. Use the same 1/2 inch cutter to cut 2 cheeks out of the radish, and add them to Keroppi, on either side of his mouth.
• Dipping Sauce: This part is super simple! Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and sweeten, with the honey, to taste. Transfer to a small lidded container to pack with the noodles.
• Badtz Maru: Wash and dry the blueberries. Use the other layer of your bento box to arrange the blueberries in an oval shape similar to the bottom of Hello Kitty's face (I cut some of the blueberries in half to fill in gaps). To create the spikes at the top, cut 4 blueberries in half and lay two halves next to each other, with one blueberry cut into a point on top for each of 4 spikes. Cut 2 U shaped pieces out of the pear and lay on top of the blueberries, adding another half a blueberry to each for the eyes (as long as the pear is in a sealed container it will stay white for a at least a day or 2). Cut a rounded triangle out of the mango for the beak. Place on top of the blueberries, just below and in between the eyes.
• Finish your masterpiece by filling in the empty areas with your favorite fruits and veggies. Make sure to keep the bento box cold and well sealed until it's time for lunch.

GROUND BEEF TERIYAKI

Steps:

• Combine ground beef, carrots, and bell pepper in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat; saute for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add zucchini and continue to cook until ground beef is fully cooked through and vegetables are crisp-tender (to your preferred "doneness"), about 5 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, sugar, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, onion powder, ginger, and garlic powder in a small bowl for the sauce. Whisk until well blended.
• When the meat and veggies are cooked, whisk sauce once more and pour into the skillet. Use a spatula to mix and get everything off the sides and bottom.
• Turn the heat up until sauce begins to bubble, stirring occasionally until mixture becomes thickened and glossy. Turn heat off. Taste and adjust seasonings.