Today was my big, travel-to-the-Asian-market-and-buy-stuff day. Husband was super thrilled that I woke up early with an overflowing barrel of energy.
Not. Hee!
Sleepy insomniac is sleepy…but I pulled and I tugged and bribed, and we made the hour drive down to Indy with very little road rage involved.
We went to the market and, I’ll admit it, I felt a little awkward. Everything was, obviously, listed in another language. While I had definitely done my homework over the last few weeks, that homework was done in the safety and fluffy warmth of my bed with a laptop, not in the middle of a bustling market. I took my time, though, asking the super helpful staff if I couldn’t find something I needed.
I also drug Husband to Meijer and the local Marsh back in Muncie because I wanted to see what the World Foods/Asian sections had to offer back at home base. Surprisingly, there was a decent selection of sauces, noodles, and rice. However, these stores were lacking in some basic flavorings. And I used to think Meijer had everything...jerks.
As you can see from the following pictures, I made a Japanese Cuisine haul. Seriously. Dunno how it all fit in the car. Almost had to leave Husband in Indy to make room:
As you can also see from this picture, we have a baby Bok Choi thief amongst us. Somebunny wanted to see what was up with all the food on the table:
In addition to these purchases, I’ll be using some of our regular food supplies: chicken, pork, beef, eggs…you know, the boring stuff. I also got my very own pair of Japanese chopsticks with a beautiful dragon design, and a Bamboo sushi mat.
I’m the master now. Mwahaha.
And, once I got home and took a nap from all that shopping, I set about making my bento for work. I’m working the night shift tonight, and so I was excited for the chance to try making bento.
For this bento, I cooked tonkatsu, a popular dish in Japan made from a breaded pork cutlet. I also made sticky rice in the shape of a panda’s head and used nori (seaweed wrap) to add ears, eyes, and a mouth. For my fruits and veggies, I cut up a pluot plum in a flower shape and used two strips of cucumber as flower stems. Finally, I had a small packet of pocky and a grape-flavored ramune drink. This is what my hard work looked like:
And then I ate it. All of it. ^_^
I’ve brought some udon noodles with me to work in case I get the 4 am munchies, but I think I’ll save them for later. I leave work at 7am today and will be coming back in at 6:30pm for a twelve-hour shift, so stay tuned to see my Japanese-Cuisine-In-A-Pinch Plan, because I doubt I’ll have time to make anything too extravagant. .
See you tomorrow!
--- AlyBear
Wowie! Nice! It looked nummy! And I love how you made the dish fancy with the flower veggies and the panda-rice.
ReplyDeleteYou guys got a new bunny?
Thanks! Actually, and I should have explained it more, bento that is made at home is typically made fancy. Japanese homemakers will spend a lot of time on bento for their family. I really appreciate this, because not only does it help little ones want to eat (who doesn't love panda rice?!) but spending time on the bento also exemplifies the Japanese tradition of focusing on the quality of food. They put a lot of time into preparation and presentation.
ReplyDeleteOf course, you can buy bento at train stations and other places in Japan as well, but they're usually less ornate. You know...homemade burgers are always way better than McDonald's.
^_^
As for bunny...we FOUND her again. This is the same bun! She was just chilling in our yard, and when I came home from a night shift, I saw her little fluffy bunny butt up against the neighbor's fence.
Ooo!!! That's a huge haul you had! hehe, its always nice to have all the ingredients ready with you isn't it? ;) Totally agree with you on the bento making part.
ReplyDeleteI get asked a lot about why I bothered making bentos too. For me it also gives a nice break from the receiver's boring work or school day. It's kind of like having something nice to look forward to during lunch times. It's also quite theraputic for me as I make the bento for my love ones.
Hahaha and that baby bakchoy bunny is so cute!! What's her name Aly?
I think having a bento is a wonderful idea. I think I'd have been more joyful during lunch at school if I had a rice panda. ^_^ I think I need a bento box. I saw one that was a duck, and it makes me very happy!
ReplyDeleteBunny's name is Bun or BunBun. We were very original with this, haha! She answers to "BunBun....carrot!" and will come bouncing over because she thinks you have food. She's a foodie, too! She wants to try everything, even if it's not good for bunnies (like chocolate).