I make Japanese style lunch boxes, bento, for my mum when she’s at work. A lot of the time they’re just leftovers dressed up prettily or made in minature. I use a lot of western foods too. Since bento means lunch in a box it all works. Sometimes I get the urge to go very Japanese and I’m in that phase right now so expect a few Japanese recipes from me in the next week. Tomorrow’s lunch contains hiyashi chuka, which is a sort of noodle salad. It makes a great light lunch and is a little bit different, although not for the Japanese who would probably regard it as a tuna mayo sandwich type of lunch, ie. normal and boring!
For the egg sheet:
1 egg
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dashi powder if you have it
1 tsp corn flour
a splash of cold water.
1 nest of egg noodles per person
1 slice of ham per person
about 1″ of cucumber per person
Dipping Sauce (I use TsuYu, which I get in a big bottle from the Oriental Supermarket. You can find a recipe to make a good dipping sauce here.)
– Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Set aside to cool when done.
– Mix all of the ingredients for the egg sheet together well and heat a frying pan with a little oil.
– Pour the egg mixture into the pan and swirl around so it is evenly covering the pan like a pancake.
– Cook until the egg is solid then peel up off the pan and roll the egg sheet up swiss roll style.
– Thinly slice the egg sheet, ham and cucumber.
– Place the noodles on the bottom of each plate or bowl, then arrange the ham, egg and cucumber on the top.
– Pour over the dipping sauce and eat!
Anna in the kitchen 