Recipe: Soboro Gohan

Another day for Obento, I made Soboro Gohan, shown in the box with egg piggie.
This sweet and savory soboro is one of the easiest dish to make, but it's definitely delicious and you would like to make it again.

(Please excuse me for the blurry photo, I made it before sunrise and no natural light...)

It's a common dish for bento since it tastes good even if it gets cold. Using a microwave is not popular in schools in Japan, so it's important to choose what to put in the bento box.. it still  has to taste good when lunchtime comes!

Also soboro stays good for up to 5 days(when cooked well) in refrigerator and a month in freezer. Sometimes I make in larger batch, let it sit until it gets cool, separate it in small portions, seal tight with cling wrap, put in a ziplock and save them in the freezer so I always have something quick to eat :)

(Make sure it's completely cooked and cooled before wrapping, if not it gets spoiled faster)

It's so quick and easy but tastes absolutely delicious.

そぼろご飯

Soboro Gohan : Flaked meat over rice

10 minutes

Ingredients for 4 

• Ground beef/pork/chicken : 10 oz
• Sugar: 2 tbsp
• Mirin: 2 tbsp
• Sake: 2 tbsp
• Soy sauce: 3 tbsp
• Grated ginger: 1 tbsp

Steps

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, and cook the meat until almost cooked through
2. Add sugar, sake and mirin and mix for one minute
3. add grated ginger and soy sauce
4. Stir fry until most of the liquid is gone, breaking meat into small pieces

Best served over warm white rice with scrambled eggs. 

You can also adjust the amount of sugar and soy sauce for your taste.. or skip ginger, add garlic or chili, etc. 

Enjoy!

Onigiri Action Project 2016

Today I am sharing cute photos of my little Onigiri...

Onigiri(riceball) is a Japanese soul snack. It can be quick breakfast, picnic lunch, or power snack for hiking. Many of us grew up with memories of Onigiri made by mothers(Secret ingredients of homemade Onigiri is love)

I am posting this to be a part of Onigiri Action led by the World Food Day Campaign in Japan.
If you post  pictures of Onigiri on instagram or facebook and tag #onigiriaction, five meals will be given to children in hunger, in African and Asian countries.

Someone here is hungry and waiting for onigiri..

For the detail of the project: Tablefortwo

Obento Lunch Box

Today's post is not a recipe, but please allow me to show you my little creation :)

Here is obento(lunch box) I made last week!

So my fiance is generous enough to let me make this obento for his office lunch.

Obento Menu: Tako-san(Octopus-shaped) sausage, panda onigiri(rice ball) and Gudetama Tamagoyaki(Omlette) , Sesame marinated Mizuna, Soy Mirin Tebasaki(Chicken wings), and Sauteed Brussels Sprouts.

Does it look like panda?

Panda onigiri is made of rice and seaweed sheets. Inside rice ball is seasoned katsuobushi(bonito flake). Hardest part was to cut seaweed into small pieces to look like a panda.

It was the first time for me to make this kind of unique obento with animals or characters (called Charaben in Japan, usually made for kids in kindergarten or elementary school) . It was challenging but absolutely fun.

The morning I woke up at 5am and started cooking, and it took an hour to finish. It would be much shorter if I prepared seaweed in advance.

Usually, in Japan obento is made very quickly in the morning, because it wouldn't be convenient if we take too long every morning when we are busy getting ready for the day. The best way to make obento is to prepare the night before, or use leftovers.

Here is the picture he sent me from his office -- It survived subway ride in the morning rush hour in New York and still in great shape! Hope he enjoyed the meal.

I would make normal obento next time but hope he allows me to make another charaben sometime.