Readers had fun making kawaii Hello Kitty bento boxes at this Simply Her Cooking Workshop. Here’s how you can do it, too. BY MIA CHENYZE.
Readers had fun making kawaii Hello Kitty bento boxes at this Simply Her Cooking Workshop. Here’s how you can do it, too. BY MIA CHENYZE.
WHAT: Cooking Workshop with Okome Shortgrain Rice and popular blogger Little Miss Bento (Shirley Wong) in August.
WHERE: Cookyn Inc.
THE BEST RICE FOR BENTOS
Japanese short-grain rice is sticky and holds well, making it perfect for moulding into the shapes or characters you want.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Plastic gloves Cooked rice sticks to latex gloves, but not plastic ones.
Cling wrap This keeps the rice in shape until it’s time to transfer it to your bento box. Wrap it up before shaping, and twist the cling wrap tight to set the shape.
Straws of different sizes A collection of regular drinking straws, bubble tea straws, and even those small ones that come with packet drinks are useful for stamping out eyes, noses and mouths of varying sizes.
Uncooked angel hair pasta It helps hold components together. Push a small stick of pasta through the ingredients you need to assemble all the way in to hide it. The moisture from the other foods tends to soften the uncooked pasta, making it crunchy rather than hard.
USEFUL TIPS FOR HOME COOKS
Cut veggies before cooking Trim or stamp out the shapes first. Once cooked, vegetables may become too soft and fall apart when you try to cut them later.
Make characters with basic shapes If you’re new to bento making, start with characters that consist of mostly basic shapes with minimal features (and clothing!). A teddy bear, for instance, is made up of round balls in different sizes for the head, ears, and body, plus rectangles for the arms and legs. The round outline of Baymax from the animated movie Big Hero Six also makes him a reasonably easy character to turn out in white rice.
Big is cute When it comes to cartoon characters, make the eyes and head bigger so they appear more adorable.
Draw inspiration from everyday life You don’t always have to model your creations after a cartoon character. For instance, make a savoury ice cream cone with mashed potato for ice cream, and peas and corn kernels for sprinkles. Instead of chocolate sauce, drizzle with gravy or teriyaki sauce.
Keep it colourful Choose foods with vibrant colours to entice your kids to eat. They contain a range of different vitamins and minerals, too. Also ensure you have a mix of carbohydrates, proteins, and vegetables.
Choose the right box If you’re doing sandwiches, a lunchbox will do. If you have foods like rice with curry, use a bento box with compartments. Alternatively, sauces and curries can go into small containers, and side dishes can be placed in cupcake holders nestled inside your box.
TIP: CREAM CHEESE IS GREAT WHEN YOU NEED TO GLUE SEVERAL PARTS TOGETHER.
