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Leftover remake: Curry pasta lunches

I had some leftover Japanese chicken curry from dinner, so today’s lunches are a Leftover Remake: curry pasta.

Contents of my lunch: Japanese curry pasta (gemelli) with chicken, carrots, onions, potatoes and added broccoli. The fruit layer has fresh figs, half an apricot, blackberries and mango nectarine. The mango nectarine is a pale nectarine reminiscent of both mango and nectarine in flavor and texture — delicious although delicate and easily bruised. I packed mango nectarines in a lunch last summer and liked the flavor, so when I saw them again this year I picked some up. Good thing, as evidently their season is very short (just two to three weeks in the summer).

Morning prep time: 6 minutes, using frozen unsauced pasta and leftover curry. I quickly cooked some broccoli florets in my microwave mini steamer for one minute, and added them to the leftover curry and frozen pasta that I microwaved to revive the texture before packing. Sliced some fruit and we’re ready to go.

Packing: Much of the fruit here is very delicate and ill-suited to rough treatment or tight packing (see my post on gap fillers). As blackberries are especially fragile, I put them in a reusable plastic food cup to ensure they didn’t turn into mush in transit. I like these little cups as they’re reusable like silicone cupcake liners, but sturdy enough to actually protect the food inside from damage. I bought some of these at Daiso, others from eBay (click the photo for details). I did forget to reserve some extra curry sauce to pack on the side, though, so unfortunately the pasta was a big dry by the time we ate it (live and learn). The lunch was packed in my 580ml Urara dragonfly box.

Husband and preschooler bentos behind the cut…

I packed my husband’s meal in stainless steel containers (review here) for a masculine touch.

Bug’s meal was lightly packed into a 600ml two-tier box with built-in food cup. The meal would have been too big for him according to the bento box size guidelines, but he decided he didn’t like this shape of pasta (go figure!) and just ate the meat and veggies out of the curry pasta. The curry was a big hit with him at dinner (Curry no Ohji-sama from S&B — a Japanese curry roux for kids), just not this particular pasta. Oh well!

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July 13th, 2007 | Categories: bento, curry, equipment, for kids, lactose free, leftover remake, pasta or noodles, poultry | Print This Post | Email this post

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6 Responses to “Leftover remake: Curry pasta lunches”

EvilXylophone Says:
July 13th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
For anyone who is looking to buy cups like that and doesn’t have any of the cool Asian stores around them, you can find them for a not too bad price at:

http://www.sugarcharms.com

They are my new favorite bento store. ^_^

Biggie, you just make the curry and pasta seperate and then mix together? Was that all there was too it? It looks more complicated than that lol.

I’ve been thinking about making curry, but I’ve never had it before and am a little weary to try.
Biggie Says:
July 13th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
EvilXylophone: Yes, the curry was already made separate from the pasta (both leftover), so I just mixed them together and added a little microwave-steamed broccoli for some green. Japanese curry is dead simple if you buy the little blocks of ready-made roux. Saute some meat & veggies, add water and simmer, then dissolve the curry roux in and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Serve with rice and rakkyo (pickled shallots) — mmmm…
Jeri Says:
July 14th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Once upon a time I had a co-worker whose Mom was from Japan. One day I had curry for lunch and she admired it, saying, “It smells just like my Mom’s!” I told her that it was easy to make, you just get the S&B curry block. She went home and asked her Mom…Mom said, “Yes, S&B is the brand I buy, too.” An illusion shattered…my coworker had always thought it was some special family recipe!
Biggie Says:
July 15th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
@3 from Jeri:
It really is one of those dishes that *seems* complicated and intimidating, but is super-easy with the packaged curry roux from S&B, Vermont Curry, etc. Very nostalgic for us, and easy to duplicate (as the secret ingredient is that pre-packaged roux!).
Glenn Blakney Says:
July 17th, 2007 at 9:53 am
This is so great! I thought I did a pretty good lunchbox, but I’m in awe over the diversity and just great-looking food here! Thanks for sharing!
Biggie Says:
July 17th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
@5 from Glenn:
Hey, I just took a peek at your blog for the first time — ooohhh…. Beautiful photos and delicious-sounding food! Mmmmm, pork loin..