Posted in Savory

Psuedo-Chop Suey Bento

– Chicken & tofu Chop Suey – Grapes – Yogurt covered raisins
– Vitamin Water

This is a slightly un-conventional chop suey. Usually, its just some chicken and broccoli cooked with chicken broth over rice, but since my partner doesn’t like rice or broccoli that much, and is afraid of lack of flavor (never a problem for Cantonese cooking ^^), it got turned into something else.

– kung pao tofu
– chipotle marinade chicken
– orange pepper <– new favourite veggie
– mushroom
– green beans
– mian
– baby spinach!
– flax seeds

Flax seeds are really good for you, and taste like nothing! At home, I would prefer to grind up flax seeds and put them in oatmeal or smoothies (or anything!), but here I sprinkled them on top of the vegetables while cooking. You can get some flax seeds (whole) to try at Whole Foods in the bulk section (a few cents) and either eat them whole or grind them in your blender. You can also buy a huge bag of Ground Flax Seed at Whole Foods for about $6.

Baby Spinach is a great vegetable that doesn’t have a strong taste (for those that don’t like the taste of greens) and can be eaten wilted or not-wilted. Its great to always have spinach laying around to throw in omelets, fried rice, stir-frys, fajitas, nachos, and anything really! I like mine cooked with other things so it wilts down, and Dan likes his heated up, but added in at the end so it still has its leaf shape.

Orange Peppers are really flavorful and keep their crispness. These are really sweet and juicy and are a great fresh burst of flavor for any dish that needs it. One pepper sliced is enough for a dish of four and half a pepper is more than enough for two people (with other protein or vegetables).

These vegetables, in true chop suey style, were cooked with only chicken broth. You can add as much chicken broth as you want, and/or add as you go because the chicken broth cooks right off. Its a great way to cook vegetables (and meat or tofu) because its natural and not oily. Plus its full of yummy chicken flavor. I find that chicken broth works best, but you could try vegetable or beef as well.

鮭ライス

Originally made July 22, 2008

This was another 残り物 (nokorimono) day. My father had made grilled-marinated-salmon a few days prior and eating fish plain after a few days is kinda… un-appetizing, so I made some sake raisu — salmon fried rice. The flavor of the salmon itself was pretty strong, so I didn’t need to add anything flavorful to the mix.

Sake Raisu

– leftover rice (not as sticky as fresh and works better in the pan)
– vegetables of choice (negi, onion, cilantro, peppers, etc) [carrots were used here along with the green onions that dressed the salmon]
– protein of choice (I used a big hunk of salmon)
– 1 egg
– little bit of soy sauce

Heat up a pan (I used a wok) and add vegetables until softened. Add salmon and break into small pieces. Add rice and toss until all ingredients are equally distributed. Add soy sauce to taste (optional).

Make an egg separately or make a well in the bottom of the wok and pour the egg (whisked) into the center. Allow to cook and mix into the rice. Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

Eat hot! (served with Green Tea soymilk here)

オムライス

So I recently remembered when I lived with a foreign exchange student here and she made us Omu Raisu one morning. I didn’t remember anything more than ketchup and rice, and it took me two tries (and some research) to get a recipe I liked. Of course, you can put anything you want in your omu raisu–it’s a great dish to use up leftovers!

Omu Raisu

– cooked rice (I used leftover from last night’s dinner)
– ketchup
– vegetables of choice (negi, onion, cilantro, peppers, etc)
– protein of choice (I used 3 chopped up slices of left over filet mignon, but you can use fish, tofu, or deli meat).
– oil or butter
– 1 egg
– soy sauce or okonomiyaki sauce (optional)

Heat up a pan (I used a wok) and add small amount of oil or butter. Add rice and toss around pan for 1 minute. Add protein and vegetables until all are warm. Add ketchup until lightly colored (or as much as you want).

Slightly butter the egg pan. While butter heats up, whisk the egg. Thin it out with chopsticks and you can add soy sauce or okonomiyaki sauce or pepper to taste. Put in pan and allow to cook. Once done, take rice out of pan and place on plate. Organize in neat mound and flip the omelet ontop. If desired, split the top open and decorate with ketchup. If you want to encase the rice inside the omelet, use two eggs and a larger pan. Lay the egg flat, fill with rice, and flip over, then cutting. (This is a good way to keep food separated in bento).

Below are pictures of my two omu raisu.

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Nokorimono Dumplings & Fried Rice

Today was NOKORIMONO DAY (残り物日)!!
I’m one of those people who just HATE leftovers filling up the fridge, so I cleaned it out with a smoothie, dumplings, and fried rice!

FRIED RICE
 Fried Rice is a great way to use up left over veggies and meat. Here’s what I threw in:
– 1 1/4 c. rice (you can use whatever leftover rice you have from the day before, I made new this time)
– 3 pork chops (cooked), sliced
– 2 eggs
– 1/4 block of firm tofu, sliced
– 1 bok choy
– Soy sauce (to taste)
– Oyster sauce (to taste)
– 1 tsp. sesame oil
– vegetable oil
Yep. Basically mix everything in. I wilted the bok choy in the microwave first and used only a little bit of the root because it’s super dirty. I would recommend marinating the bok choy in soy sauce for a bit then adding it to the stir fry/rice because I used A LOT and it was a bit bitter. I the sesame oil and a little vegetable oil and heated it in the pan. I then added the tofu to brown it a little and then added the pre-cooked pork and the bok choy. Then I added the egg and rice. Then add soy sauce and a little oyster sauce. You can add pepper or salt if you want.

DUMPLINGS
Dumplings are another great way to use leftovers. I steamed half and fried the other half. You can do whatever you like best. The steamed ones allow the flavor of the filling to stand out more, while the fried ones work well with the sauce and taste super yummy.
– 1 pack of dough wrappers (I used the left over ones from Memorial Day’s won ton soup)
– 1/4 c. Southwestern Egg roll filling
– 1 slice tomato basil bread
– 3 leaves bok choy
– 1 pork chop (sliced)
– 1 small block of firm tofu (cut from larger block)
– Soy sauce (to taste)
– 1 spoonful of wasabi powder

Put everything in the blender/food processor (except the wrappers) until it is evenly paste-like. Put a teaspoon-ful of filling into the center of the dumpling. Wet the edges with water or egg mixture. Fold. To steam, steam for 4-5 minutes. To fry, fry on each side 30 seconds-1 minute (until golden brown)

DUMPLING SAUCE
Mix 1 tsp. Sesame oil, 1/3 c. soy sauce and 1/4 c. mirin

SMOOTHIE
Blend:
– 1/4 c. left over orange juice
– 1/2 c. frozen blueberries
– 1 strawberry
– 2 bananas
– 1/4 c. pink lemonade
– 1 long squirt of honey
– ice