Tamagoyaki, Teriyaki Sake (Salmon), Enoki and Miso soup

This was tonight's dinner. Yum, Yum!

Tamagoyaki



That's how you 'roll' the Tamago

On the left - frying the Salmon.

Right - cooking the teriyaki sauce.








Left - Soaking dried Wakame for Miso soup

Next to the bowl is the Silken Tofu.

Right - Wakame "expanded".

Left - mixing the Miso into some Dashi stock .

Right - the final product,
Miso soup!!

Fried Enoki (straw mushrooms) with strips of carrot.
Sauteed with garlic and oyster sauce.
Class one!!

My Pickles are ready

My second batch of pickles. Delicious!!

Easy Bento #4

Daughter number 1 requested for 'one ton mee' for today's Bento.
She says it's best in the world!! Ha! Ha! Inspired to go on. Top Bento ~ Sawi and fish balls on a bed of 'one ton mee'. Bottom Bento ~ Banana washed and sliced with skin intact, raisins and marshmellows.

The ready Bento box to go. Next to it is the
'Sabah chilli sauce'
mixed with shoyu and hot water.
This is very potent and goes very well
with any type of oriental styled noodles.
My father-in-law never fails to bring our supply
when he comes to visit.
God bless him!

Experimenting on wiener (cocktail sausages)

I experimented with the wiener (cocktail sausages) molds today. It was quite challenging because I didn't have the cocktail ones, only had the regular long ones in the freezer.

If you look from the top of the plate clockwise, you can see the regular "scored" sausage. In front is the "octopus" shape sausage and further in front is the crab shape sausage. Further clockwise of the "crab" is the 'tulip" shape sausage.


These are the molds that shaped the sausages.

Clockwise the pink one is the crab mold, the yellow one is the tulip, the red one in front is the octopus and the yellow on the left is to 'score' (cut) the sausage.

Real cool stuff!!! Had lots of fun trying them out and my two elder girls were delighted!! We finished them all for lunch.

BTW behind the molds is my favourite cup which contains my favourite green tea!!

A close up on the 'crab'.

Alleluia! Bento #3

I knew I could depend on daughter number 2. She took a look at the camera and said "I don't know what to do". *Mum sighs* She goes on hhmmm.....check the Internet and see if I can get help.

Next moment she said: "Check out the memory card mum and see if it's there?" Sure enough it's there with all my pictures intact. *Happy* *Happy*.

This Bento is for daughter
number 1.
Left Bento contains blanched broccoli, cauliflower and canned corn. I drizzled Kewpie mayo and scattered grated Parmesan cheese on top.
Next to it is a mix of tiny Japanese biscuits.

Right Bento contains and organic crusty bread. I spread a thick layer of butter in between to keep it moist. Next to it are slices of Kiwi (full of vitamins) and garnished with a tulip carrot.



This Bento is for daughter
number 2.
The only difference is the crusty bread. This one likes grains in her bread whereas her elder sister doesn't like anything she terms "weird".

Daughter number 2 is very adventurous with food whereas the elder sister is very conservative and like her father, also loves RICE. Fortunately she's more open to Italian food though.

I'm glad these pictures didn't get 'lost'. I thought that the colour combination today was pretty good.

Mum - "A woman of substance"

I think I shall take a picture of my breakfast table while I am preparing my kids Bento. It's a complete havoc, as though a hurricane just passed through. There are tongs, chopsticks, cutting boards and knives, empty plates, plates full of food, sauces, Bento boxes, other containers, Bento accessories, etc. etc.

My kitchen is not spared either. Sometimes three stoves are running at the same time. On one stove - heating up some food, on another boiling water to blanch the vegetables and on another, more boiling water to heat up the noodles or steam rice. I try not to use the microwave oven too often due to personal preference.

I'm very happy and driven to prepare my kids Bento. I enjoy hearing them give me feedback about how they enjoyed their food during break time or how one didn't like the cherry tomatoes I put in and how the other loved it.

The Bento is such a topic of conversation for us that my youngest daughter (number 3) also insisted that she brings a 'Bento' to school too. That's why I had to buy a single layer, clip lock one for her. She's very picky with her food and has a very, very limited and constrained food group that she consumes. This is probably the work of the grandmother - my mother.

As I said in my earlier blog, mum is a fantastic cook and while my kids were growing up she'd spoil them whole scale by always cooking their favourite food. (even now when I'm not at home...but my elder two girls tend to compromise with the youngest one now just so that grandma doesn't break her back 'over-cooking') On the dining table would be a rice dish for one kid, a plate of noodles for another kid or a soupy noodle or porridge for another. Then there's my husband and I who will eat rice with several other dishes. However much I tried to coax mum not to cook in that way fell on deaf ears!

I really appreciate mum and her cooking enthusiasm but every dinner was like a buffet table laid out to please and satisfy the different palettes of the different people in the house. We've been very blessed with a woman who unconditionally loves and labour out of the love of the ones around her. In our daily prayers, we can only pray that God continues to love and take care of her soul and her health.

Mum may not have packed Bentos for my brothers and I when we were kids at school but the 'buffet table' she laid out every day is testimony enough of the unconditional love that she had for us all. Mum worked all her life and retired at 50 (took optional retirement).

Now, she spends her time with my family and my one other older brother and his family. My eldest brother passed away with cancer more than ten years ago and my dad more than 20 years ago. Mum has always been a pillar of strength and support in bad and good times. Really.... "A woman of substance"!

Sigh! Maybe no pictures today

I'm distraught! I packed two pretty Bento's this morning and while sending daughter number 2 to school, I was happily thinking of how I was going to upload those pictures onto my blog.

I got back, tried to get the memory chip out to extract the pictures and found that the memory chip was in the other camera. OH NO!! When I used the 'quick view' function this morning I could view the pictures. So where are my pictures now?? "Keep Calm".

I'll just have to wait for daughter number 2 to get back from school and ask her to check out the camera. She is 15 years old and very good with these gadgets.

"Patience is a virtue, good things come to those who wait"

Another busy day

In the midst of shuttling the children to and fro school, I completed my grocery shopping and my Bento purchases. Jusco stocks up most Japanese ingredients. Today I made Oden again. I love Oden and because lately it's been raining more the reason to eat Oden. Soupy hot and delicious. A friend of mine who's married to a Japanese visited my blog and told me that my Oden looked a little too dark and recommended that I use light soy sauce instead. I'll do that the next time I cook Oden - soon I hope. Thanks Alice!!

When I got to my favourite 100 Yen shop in Puchong this afternoon I was delightfully surprised because they brought in loads of new stock. Picked up lots of useful Bento related stuff. Wiped the shelves off the Bento belts, the wiener (cocktail sausage) molds and furoshiki (cloth to tie the Bento). It was an exciting and satisfying trip despite the jam. Have to re-pack my cupboard again to find space for the newly acquired stuff.

Bento #2

This morning's Bento looks too yellow/brown. Still sick so didn't have time to get some fresh food supplies. Probably have to do so today.

On the left is YCK (Yau char koay) courtesy of Mum - she made Bak kut teh last night for dinner and bought about 10 pcs of YCK from the seller at Chow Yang, SS2 -very famous stall for YCK. Didn't have vegetables that the children liked so I simply opened a can of corn.

On the right Bento box is spaghetti Olio e Aglio (Olive oil and garlic). My children love this basic and plain. Added some fishballs, carrot and tomato for color.

Bento box #1

This was today's lunch box. Rice, sour pork ribs (courtesy of Mum's cooking last night), baby corn and sawi.

On the right is a box of Honey Stars for her breakfast.
Far back is a Japanese rice cracker from 100 Yen shop.

On the left is a pair of recently purchased chopsticks to complete the meal. Enjoy!

[lunch box]

Aluminium foil food cups

Oval and round aluminum foil food cups bought from 1U.

Oil Pots

Mini oil pots.








I bought this one from Singapore.
It's fancier and more expensive.












I bought this one at my favourite 100 Yen shop. It's basic but very practical. I use this for oiling my pan when I make tamagoyaki

Pickle box

This is a pickle box used to serve pickles on the table.

Single Tier Bento Box for #3

This box is for daughter number 3. Can hold up to 360 ml.

More Bentos

I think they call this Sakura Bento boxes. Also can be seen sold on the Internet.

As usual, bought this at my favourite
100 Yen shop!! Lol!!






This is how it looks inside.