Lunch and snack the Bento way

CEBU, Philippines - School is back and so is the choice for students either to bring lunch from home or just buy a meal at the school cafeteria. No matter which one is chosen, it is certain that as soon as the noontime bell rings, students have to eat.

These days more and more school cafeterias offer well-prepared and nutritious meals. Yet there are still others that simply fail to meet the nutritional needs of students, especially of the young grade-schoolers. On the other hand, packing lunch in a disposable plastic wrap or brown bag can be wasteful. Disposable packaging is costly and excess food is often thrown away with it afterwards.

A good alternative is a bento box. Lunch can be brought up to the next level and the lunch box itself is reusable. Bento is a single-portion meal set commonly practiced among the Japanese. It can also be a home-packed meal for takeout. A traditional bento box holds rice, meat or fish, with cooked or pickled vegetables.

Bento makes a perfect way to go for home-prepared snack and lunch for kids. Rustan's Supermarket recently gathered 32 moms and kids in an event that featured new ways to pack a bento. It was done through the store's loyalty savings reward program. Participants, both moms and kids, learned several ways of creating home-packed school snacks and lunches.

The Bento box serves as the lunchbox that children bring with them to school. Moms themselves prepare the food to put in the box. Expectedly the food is clean, nutritious, and in line with the kids' favorites. Vegetables and fruits can be mixed with other food groups to make a delicious meal or snack.

The food in the Bento need not be expensive. The kids themselves can help in the preparation, to make sure they like the food put in the box. Kids are more likely to finish off food that they helped create.

It can also put to work the creativity of the kids. Certain fruits and vegetables, for instance, can be cut in the form of animals and other things to make them look interesting to kids. Breads and biscuits can also be used to provide some accents.

The following recipes are good to start the Bento habit:

Fried rice with frozen vegies

Ingredients:

5              cups Pre-cooked rice or                left over rice (best if refrigerated)

3              Tbsp Cooking oil/Sesame oil

3              Tbsp White onion, chopped

2              Tbsp Garlic, chopped

Oyster sauce, as needed

Soy sauce, as needed

Pepper to taste

Pre-blanched frozen vegies

Procedure:

1) Blanch the frozen vegies in boiling salted water for a few minutes until a little tender. Set aside.

2)Saute onion in oil until translucent.

3)Add the garlic and mix until a little brown.

4)Add rice and mix well.

5)Add oyster sauce and soy sauce according to taste.

6)Mix in the pre-blanched vegies. Serve.

Fried Egg snacks

Ingredients:

3              pcs.Egg, medium size

1              Tbsp Carrots, chopped

1              Tbsp Spring onions and                 other vegetables of choice, chopped

1              tsp Salt

Dash of pepper

Cooking Oil

Procedure:

1)Crack the eggs into a clean bowl, add salt, and whisk to combine.

2)Add spring onions and vegetables, and mix again.

3)Heat a non-stick pan and put a little oil. Add in enough of the egg mixture to cover the pan.

4)Let it cook and when it starts to set, fold the eggs and roll until the end and then pull it back towards you, and put a little more of the egg mixture to seal the end of the roll.

5) Pour in another amount of the egg mixture to cover the pan and repeat the process until you get the desired thickness of the egg roll.

6)Remove and place on a plate and let cool slightly before slicing crosswise around ½ inch width.

7) To form into heart-shaped roll, have sliced-side facing up then slice slanted and flip the other slice up and stick together and dip in a little mixed egg and fry again to form, spoon a little egg mixture        on top before flipping on the other side to cook.

8)Remove and serve.

Chicken Terriyaki

Ingredients:

1              kg Chicken thigh, deboned and sliced into strips 1/4 cup Kim's terriyaki   marinate

2              Tbsp Onion, chopped

1              Tbsp Garlic, chopped

                Ginger, chopped, as needed

                Cooking oil as needed

Procedure:

1) Marinate chicken overnight with Kim's Terriyaki marinate or at least for 15 minutes.

2) Put little cooking oil in a pre-heated pan and pan fry chicken until a little brown.

3) Stir every now and then to prevent sticking.

4) Remove from pan and remove excess oil.

5) Saute onion and garlic in the same pan and add some Kim's Terriyaki marinate, and then add a little water. Reduce heat a little and season as needed.

6) Return the chicken and simmer. Thicken with                cornstarch slurry or preferred thickeners.

Plate and serve with rice.