Top tier: crabcake leftover from Friday's dinner; another Shepherd's Scramble
Bottom tier: veggie hearts, stir/steam fried by mom with a dash of ho-yau
Yummy! But even better, I have exciting news! Everyone has been asking me where to get bento-supplies/items and I am definitely going to do a post SOON about this topic, here is something very cool.
First, thanks to a tip I read on My Daily Bento, I wandered on over to Target and picked up a really useful square Lock & Lock box with 4 removable cups inside. It comes out to about 870 ml, way too much for me for lunch (the above is only 580 ml, I believe), but it will be really great for days when I want to put some green salads or anything bulkier than normal but lower calorie as well. Or even when my boyfriend might be around and I pack a lunch for him. Lock & Lock, as noted on many many bento sites, is a great brand because of the super tight seal- I haven't tested it but supposedly it's completely leak proof! That's awesome for those of us who are a bit rougher on their containers than say, someone as anal retentive as I. In any case, the container was only- check this out- $3.49. Dude! That's awesome!
Box pictured here (not my photo; courtesy of MDB, I hope that's okay!)
I also was flipping through some channels the other night and my eye caught "Lock & Lock" in the title of something. I was pretty confused for a second there until I noted it was on QVC. Yes, QVC now sells Lock & Lock! I took a look and basically checked out every "set" they offer, and though there are a lot of large portions and a lot of awkward sizes (deeper than you'd want for a bento), there are definitely a couple worth looking into, if you really want to go the Lock & Lock route and don't have anywhere near you that you can purchase them. (At Target, that was really the only size I noted that was doable for me. They did, however, have the Fit & Fresh line- specifically, I noticed the Breakfast Chiller (which I bought immediately for $8, and am not sure I want to keep) and the 4 cup salad box.) Happy hunting for that!
I promise my "Where to Buy Bento Stuff" post is coming, I just want to take a few more pictures of my collection. I will tell you this now, though, fellow NYers- it's not going to be pleasant...
Anyway, happy bento!!! Have a great Monday!
Target rocks. I am definitely going to seek out these boxes on my next visit.
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ReplyDeleteHi M!
ReplyDeleteI am (fortunately for bento purposes, unfortunately for my sanity) currently living with my mother for a briefff few months while settling my future living arrangements. Which translates to my mother cooking a big box of veggies for me in the beginning of the week for my lunch (I know, I thank her every day for this). I asked her how to make the veggies- I don't cook Chinese style *ever* really (you can look on my Feisty Foodie blog for the rare occasions when I do) because her instructions are cryptic at best. She says:
"Boil water. Add oil. (???) Add veggies. When it's really green, take out. Add ho-yau (oyster sauce; Lee Kum Kee brand- you should be able to find it in Asian markets or in the Asian section of a non-Asian market) to taste." If you don't like ho-yau or want to add something else, add salt with the oil step. She said the veggies don't turn green enough without the oil, for this particular type of veggie, which I can't explain what the name in English is... sorry! I hope that helps.
(I thought she stir fried these, not blanched; another method of veggie cooking, which I believe she does for my bean sprouts, is:
Heat oil in pan. Add salt to oil. Add veggies. Stir around a bit. Add a splash of water and cover (steam-fry, I think this is called). Voila, done.
Happy cooking :)
Oh, and I try to get my veggies "dry"ish for bento purposes, so I try not to use real sauces for my veggies :)
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