new bento box

My dear friend Jen gave me a new bento box. She spent most of last year living in Africa and traveling Europe and found the bento box in Norway and got it for me.

I adore it, especially since tomatoes are my favorite food.


The first bento using the new box!

top: white rice with furikake
bottom: roasted kabocha; steamed rapini; poached chicken; ginger-oyster-green onion sauce


My mom came to visit last week and cooked a bunch of stuff for us. I miss her cooking so much. The chicken and sauce are something I haven't eaten since living at my parent's but it's the easiest thing in the world. And the sauce is delish on any steamed green, fish, or chicken.


Ginger Garlic Green Onion Oyster Sauce
-knob of ginger, grated
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-a few green onions, sliced thin
-enough oyster sauce to cover the ginger and garlic
-dash of soy sauce

If you have a microwave: put the ginger and garlic in a microwave safe container and pour soy sauce on top, just enough to barely cover the ingredients. Microwave for 45 seconds or until fragrant; mix in at least twice as much oyster sauce as soy sauce, then mix in the green onions. If you like a thinner consistency, add water or more soy sauce.

If you don't have a microwave: in a shallow pan, gently heat the ginger and garlic with a teeny bit of water, until fragrant. Transfer into a container and add a dash of soy sauce and at least twice as much oyster sauce. Then add green onions and stir. If you like a thinner consistency, add water or more soy sauce.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for a while.


We've always poured the sauce on steamed or parboiled greens -- such as rapini, broccoli, napa cabbage, green beans, kale, chard, spinach -- and poached chicken. It's delicious either hot or cold (proteins, veggies, and sauce) and pairs so well with rice.

If you poach the chicken, leave the chicken in the poaching water until cooled. If you take it out while hot and slice it, the chicken will end up dry and flaky. Another tip if you make poached chicken: add some ginger to the water and keep the water afterwards to make soup!


Here's what it looked like for dinner before it became my bento: