Well, here it is ~ my first ever attempt at making a bento box. I literally have NONE of the nifty little parts & pieces that should make a pretty bento. Only a few cookie cutters, an egg slicer, & some imagination. That ancient round Tupperware from the 70's isn't the cutest container, either ~ but, it will all have to do until my ebay & Daiso goodies get here.
the contents are portabella mushrooms & crab sautéed in lemon grass, ginger, & garlic (among other things) snap peas, avocado, & a boiled egg dyed in the beet juice, along with cucumbers, carrots, cheese & beets cut with a small flower cookie cutter ~ all on a bed of jasmine rice & some fancy or other long leaf lettuce.
Took about 15 minutes to put it together.
I hope my husband likes it, because it was REALLY fun to make.
Recipe for the crab & mushrooms:
(feeds one ~ however, the sauce base you could definitely get a few more mushroom slices in there, as well as another 1/2 cup or so of the crab.)
2 portabella mushroom slices
about
1+ cup (or so) of imitation crab
3 TBSP sesame oil
1 tsp finely minced lemongrass
1 tsp finely minced ginger
1 tsp coarsely minced garlic
1 TBSP chinese 5 spice
2 tsp beef base (somewhat optional, but oddly enough it enhances the flavor, I get it from the bulk section at WinCo)
about
2 TBSP dill pickle juice (again, sounds odd, but adds the right flavor, I use Claussen, best pickles EVER...other than my mom's ;-D)
a little under
1/4 cup of Aloha Shoyu soy sauce
In a nonstick pan ( I use one of those white ceramic types), pour the sesame oil,
& sort of coat the pan a bit with it.
Then add the beef base, 5 spice, lemongrass, ginger, garlic & pickle juice.
Now heat the pan up to about medium, till it starts to make a nice sauce, then add the soy sauce in & stir that around for a second or two.
Just as it is starting to really bubble, lay the portabella slices in the sauce, let it sauté for about a minute or less, flip them over, let them sauté for another minute or so, then take off, & place on a plate for later.
You'll notice the sauce nearly carmelized while you were putting the slices on a plate, so hurry & dump the imitation crab in there, stir it all around, cook it up for a few minutes, then turn the heat off & keep stirring it for a few seconds. You want the sauce to really cook into the crab, but you don't want the crab to disintegrate into little shreds.
And voila, you are done!
This mixture is just about the perfect saltiness for 2-4 cups of rice, for more rice, increase the recipe accordingly.
A note about the lemongrass ~ you can save lots of time by purchasing the lemongrass pre-minced, sold in a tube, goes back in the fridge when you are done, stays fresh & lovely, & has a much longer shelf life.
Same thing with the ginger & garlic, only that usually comes in a jar. It's so win-win. ;-D
As for the pickle juice.... well, now you have something to do with it, no more guilt about wasting when you are done with the jar of pickles! Just save it & use it in your cooking! I have found that it is especially delicious with beef anything & most Asian recipes. It's the vinegar, dill, & garlic combination. YEAH! Never waste pickle juice again!
