All posts tagged: side dish

Repurpose Pickles for Salad Dressings!

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I try to have as many vegetable as possible in my bento, thus I’m actively searching for different seasonings to create new flavors in my vegetable dishes. Recently I’m exploring various Taiwanese pickles from Asian grocery stores. When I was in Taiwan, I used to eat these pickles alone with rice porridge. Now I don’t eat rice porridge often, and I found these pickles very flavorful, so I use them as seasonings and pair with different vegetables. Pickled bamboo shoot is one of my favorite. It is mildly spicy and full of fermented acidity. I used it as a salad dressing to mix with blanched cauliflower and thinly-sliced cherry radish. With few drops of lemon juice, its flavor is so refreshing and can serve as a cold entree or a reheat-able bento side dish. Repurpose Pickles for Salad Dressing What you need: The pickle A medium bowl A whisk or a pair of chopstick for stirring A courageous mind What to do: Adjust the taste and texture of the pickle to make it become an …

Lunar New Year Bento🧧

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Last Friday was the first day of lunar calendar for 2021, for the whole weekend I was in holiday mode, which meant eating lots of snacks and hanging out with friends. Traditionally, you expect lots of relatives and friends to visit during New Year, so every household would prepare a red snack box filled with goodies to treat their guests. Today I want to share a classic Shanghai style New Year dish, 四喜烤麩 four happiness wheat gluten(there are four ingredients). You can find wheat gluten in Asian grocery stores as kaofu(烤麩), or mian jin(麵筋). Four Happiness Wheat Gluten Yield: 6-8 bento Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Ingredients: 6 dried shiitake mushroom 1 cup warm water 10oz wheat gluten, sliced into 0.5 inch thick 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/2 cup sliced carrot 1/3 cup edamame 1/2 cup wood ear 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce 3 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon mirin Method: In a bowl, soak dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water. In a medium sauce pan, bring 4 cups …

Sunrise Turmeric Carrot Scramble Egg

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Have you ever seen sunrise in the mountains? Today’s bento is inspired by the beautiful scene of sunrise in Jade mountain, the highest mountain in Taiwan. At first, the mountains are still dark and purple. Only the snow-capped top is visible. But slowly, you can see the golden sun starts to shine and brighten the sky with beautiful orange shades. Whenever I think of that scene, I feel empowered and hopeful. The sun will come out and the darkness will fade away. The ☀️ in the bento is my carrot and turmeric egg ball. As for the mountain which is capped by snow, It’s purple rice ball cooked with coconut milk and then garnished with shredded coconut. Turmeric Carrot Scramble Egg/Egg Ball Recipe Yield: 2 bento Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes Ingredients: 1.5 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 cup grated carrot Pinch of salt 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 large eggs, whisked with a pinch of salt Method: Use medium flame to heat the pan with oil, and stir fry grated carrot with …