Here Doggy Doggy!

This isn't a bento but it can be easily modified to be placed into a cupcake tin for a bento. It's a vegan egg from this recipe with sriracha and plenty of veggies on the bottom. The trick is to fill about 3/4 of the holder with vegetables and just to allow enough brown rice to cover a bit of the bottom of the "egg". I used the cheap (clean) egg used for pantyhose to make this so that I didn't have to cut anything in half. Then I added some sticky rice mixed with soy sauce around the edge to make it softer and more of a mound shape. Then I added some sliced spinach and spring onion. It looks kind of like something from the Yum-Yum Bento Box by Crystal Watanabe and Maki Ogawa doesn't it?
Obviously not as cute - but it's a first and unique try.
Dog Bento Ingredients:
Soy Sauce
Vegan Egg + Yolk
Nori
Sriracha
Spinach
Spring Onion
Brown Rice
Sticky Rice
Your choice of vegetables

Construct as you like and enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Lunch With Totoro

I planned on making a bigger bento but forgot to buy a few things so I just stuck to some of the key characters and parts from "My Neighbor Totoro". Since I normally see Totoro made with black sesame seeds I decided instead to use cocoa powder and soy sauce (it tastes like coffee) to create a rather tasty Totoro. Next it was a vegan Chu Totoro egg. What? A vegan egg that isn't tofu? Yes, ladies and gentlemen - it's true. But first we have to get through the rest of the bowl. I made a catbus head out of couscous and store-bought hummus that was absolutely delicious, wrapped it up in plastic and stashed it in the fridge to keep it fresh. Next I added a nice English cucumber that you normally see in oi sun or Japanese pickles. I added radishes to symbolize the seeds and carrots for stability and a s a filler. As another filler and a double-agent I also used cauliflower for clouds. Nori and cheese made up the rest of the Totoros and then you're done.

I peered through two recipes for the vegan egg but ended up with my own combination. Because I didn't have soy creamer like most of the recipes required I ended up with an off-white egg instead. Still cute though, right?

Shin's Vegan Egg Recipe:

1 tbl Agar Agar

1/2 cup Soymilk

2 tbl All-Purpose Flour

2 tbl Cold Water

A pinch of Salt

Let the agar agar mix with the water for about 5-10 minutes and start to boil your soymilk with the flour, once that is done you can add the agar mixture and cook it for about 2-3 minutes. Whisk it together a few times and strain it into your choice of mold. I didn't have any actual egg molds that were shaped like eggs so I decided to use some of those 30 cent "eggs" used to hold pantyhose. After snapping on the tops and making sure that they didn't move, I stashed them in the fridge for about 2-3 hours and made my own Chu Totoro as per AnnaTheRed's instructions here, subbing soy cheese for the kamaboko and the whole egg for the agar mixture.



Other Recipes Links:
First Egg Recipe (that I found)
Second Egg Recipe (that I found)

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Silly Raccoon

I'm in love with J.G Quintel, or moreso - his works (and hair) and wanted to show off some things totally inspired by him. This bento features a nice little healthy surprise for Rigby the Raccoon when he tries to get off of his diet. The little rascal thinks that he can eat all of the "french fries" in the bento and get away with no fruits or  vegetables. I'm sorry to say tell him that this is a healthy vegan lunch box.

Rigby's Body:

California Brown Rice (I used a different type, but this works much better)

Nori

Sticky Rice + Soy Sauce (for color)

Steamed Tofu

Make Rigby's body anyway you want to after fluffing the rice. Wrap it up into plastic wrap and with the back of a spoon, drag a dugout for Rigby's stomach. Place the packaged rice into the fridge for about five minutes and steam the white rice. After steaming your sticky rice and mixing it lightly with some good quality soy sauce, unwrap the brown rice package and pack the other rice onto it. Add a pointy nose out of brown rice and stick some nori onto it with a touch of water. Place the hair around Rigby's head, place thin strips of nori there for hair follicles and then place rounds of nori onto Rigby's face. Cut out smaller rounds of tofu and place them onto the nori, then place some nori eyes onto his face. Add a tail and an arm and do whatever els you like with it.

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3