Japanese fried chicken bento lunch

Posted By Biggie On May 29, 2008 @ 1:07 pm In bento, fish or seafood, for kids, lactose free, phyllo or pancake or other, poultry | 17 Comments

[1] Karaage is the addictive Japanese version of fried chicken that’s marinated in garlic, ginger and soy sauce — very light and crispy. Because it’s well spiced, it’s a bento classic that holds up well even when eaten at room temperature.

[2]

Contents of preschooler bento lunch: Strawberry, blackberries, kiwifruit, apricot, grilled squid, and Japanese ginger fried chicken (karaage). Can you tell that I’d just gone to the produce market?

[3] Morning prep time: 7 minutes, using leftover squid and chicken from a restaurant meal ([4] Sapoten in San Francisco, a nice little [5] izakaya-style restaurant with a yakitori menu). In the morning I popped the chicken into my [3] convection toaster oven to quickly crisp up the outside a bit, and cut the fruit. ([6] Read on for packing details and an additional preschooler lunch.)

[7] [8] Packing: I put the chicken in a [9] reusable silicone baking cup to keep it away from the squid, and the delicate blackberries went into a [7] hard plastic reusable food cup from [10] Daiso discount store ([11] branches worldwide) to keep them from getting bruised and smushed in transit. I threw in a couple of little [12] Anpanman food picks as fork substitutes for little hands. To keep the fruit cool and fresh until lunch, I included little ice packs cut from a [13] flexible ice blanket in Bug’s [8] insulated Shinkansen lunch bag.

Verdict: Pretty good. Despite having specifically asked for the squid when I was packing his lunch in the morning, Bug only ate a little of it at preschool. He also left the blackberries, having decided he doesn’t like them after all. He did eat the rest of the squid after school as a snack, but had zero interest in the berries.

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Contents of preschooler bento lunch: [15] Mini quiches from Costco (Lorraine: swiss cheese and bacon, and Florentine: swiss cheese and spinach), peeled apple slices, and red seedless grapes.

Morning prep time: 18 minutes, mostly inactive prep time waiting for the frozen mini quiches to cook in my [3] convection toaster oven. In the morning I popped the quiches in the toaster oven, sliced the apple, and used kitchen scissors to cut of a little cluster of grapes.

[16] Packing: To avoid having the phyllo crusts on the mini quiches go soggy on me, I let them cool on a mini cooling rack for a few minutes before packing them in the bento box. To [17] prevent the apple slices from browning, I dipped them in a combination of lemon juice and apple-peach juice (minimizing the tang from the lemon), then patted off the excess moisture with a paper towel. I used a plastic food divider (baran) to keep the moist apples away from the crispy quiches. The food dividers are meant to be disposable, but I wash and reuse them, and [16] store them in a little plastic organizer box I picked up at Ichiban Kan. The lunch is packed in a [18] 360ml Disney Cars bento box with both subcontainers removed to accommodate the line of mini quiches.

Verdict: Sometimes simple is best. Bug ate everything at preschool, and happily told me that he liked being able to finish his whole bento.
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FURTHER READING:

[20] Blog Event Round-up: Organizing your lunch-packing gear[20]
[20] M[21] y kitchen reorganization using a bookcase, filing boxes and plastic baskets
[22] A list of all products reviewed on Lunch in a Box (food, gear, equipment and stores)
[23] Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews

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Article printed from Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento: http://lunchinabox.net

URL to article: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/05/29/japanese-fried-chicken-bento-lunch/

URLs in this post:
[1] Karaage: http://www.justhungry.com/2004/04/karaage_japanes.html
[2] Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/2534579264/
[3] Image: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/01/26/bento-love-for-convection-toaster-ovens/
[4] Sapoten: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sapoten-san-francisco
[5] izakaya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izakaya
[6] Read on for packing details and an additional preschooler lunch.: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/05/29/japanese-fried-chicken-bento-lunch/#more-423
[7] Image: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/01/10/muffin-sandwich-for-toddler-more-accessories/
[8] Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/1935657157/
[9] reusable silicone baking cup: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/09/08/silicone-baking-cups-salmon-box-lunches/
[10] Daiso discount store: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/04/09/award-nomination-sf-bay-area-shopping-guide/
[11] branches worldwide: http://www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/english/storeinfo/
[12] Anpanman food picks: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/01/06/daiso-opens-in-sf-bay-area/
[13] flexible ice blanket: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/05/08/food-safety-for-packed-lunches-updated/
[14] Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/2533764519/
[15] Mini quiches from Costco: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/04/15/appetizers-for-lunch/
[16] Image: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/02/16/toddler-pasta-lunch-accessory-organization-madness/
[17] prevent the apple slices from browning: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/05/30/sukiyaki-lunches-preventing-fruit-from-browning/
[18] 360ml Disney Cars bento box: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/10/10/carnitas-lunch-in-disney-cars-gear/
[19] Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/2210266084/
[20] Blog Event Round-up: Organizing your lunch-packing gear: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/03/17/lunch-gear-organization-event-the-round-up/
[21] y kitchen reorganization using a bookcase, filing boxes and plastic baskets: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/03/25/reorganization-of-lunch-gear-storage/
[22] A list of all products reviewed on Lunch in a Box: http://lunchinabox.net/top-tips/reviews/
[23] Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews: http://lunchinabox.net/top-tips/
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