Fish Cake

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

2 lbs White fish fillet (haddock, cod, etc.)
1/2 cup Bonito flakes
1 Sheet of nori cut into thin 1/2″ strips
1 Egg
1 Green onion (scallion)
1/2 Cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Mirin
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Ground White pepper
1 tbsp Vegetable oil

Microwave the fillet for 1 min on high so you can separate the flesh from the skin easily, place the flesh in a bowl and put aside.

Mix the mirin, salt, pepper and sugar in a bowl and put aside.

Slice green onion into thin pieces on a bias using some green and some white.

Cut the fish into 2″ pieces and wizz in a food processor or grind up with a mortar and pestle until no large pieces remain. Add green onion, bonito flakes, nori and the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Cover container with a wet towel.

Next you will need two bowls. Beat egg in one of them and in the other put panko bread crumbs and put aside. Spread the oil on a pan or cookie sheet and put near the bowls.

Take fish mixture and make a into about one dozen small 2″ balls, flatten them and then one at a time dip in the egg (top and bottom) and then the panko (top and bottom) then place them on the oiled cookie sheet. Make sure there is space between them so they cook properly.

Place in 400ºF oven and until cooked through (about 12min.) and the bread crumbs start to brown on the top. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. I served mine with sushi rice, green beans with shiso, shitaki mushrooms and pickled diakon.

Variety
It is important to represent as many of the food groups as possible. I add and subtract things to compensate for dietary and preferential restrictions. But the ideal ratio I try to achieve is:

50% carbohydrates - Rice, noodles, crackers, pretzels, etc.
15% vegetables - Peas, carrots, edamame, etc.
15% protein - Tofu, eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, hot dogs, etc.
10% fruit - Grapes, tomatoes, dried fruit, apples, etc.
10% dairy - Cheese, yogurt, etc.

Textures
I think the kids lunches need to have a variety of textures from things that can be easily processed to other things that require a lot of chewing. I learned that crunchy snacks are very important to my family, so things like chips and pretzels and the like are a must.

Colors
I have found that contrast is more important than using a lot of different colors. And if you want to bring out the colors of vegetables you can steam them for 1-2 minutes in lightly salted water and then rinse them in cold water.

Contrast
When you use juxtaposing colors, textures and tastes it makes the lunch more exciting to look at and hopefully more fun to eat. Also by having contrast in flavors between salty, sweet, spicy, fishy, etc. it can make eating more pleasurable.

I now realize that I’m opening a huge can of worms because I am thinking that in addition to variety, texture, color and contrast it is just as important to have balance. But I think I will save that for a later post.

Because of the size of the containers in the Mr. Bento I decided to separate the rice from the toppings, this allowed me to make the rice look more attractive than just throwing it into a container. For toppings I decided to use a salmon crumble, egg crumble and steamed spinach.

Salmon Crumble

12 oz Salmon filet
3 oz Dashi soup stock
2 tbsp Shoyu (soy sauce)
2 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Vegetable oil

Microwave the salmon for 1 min on high so you can separate the flesh from the skin easily, place the flesh in a bowl and put aside.

Mix the dashi, shoyu, mirin and sugar in a bowl and put aside.

Choose a pot the will allow you to spread the crumbled fish out in a thin layer along the bottom. Place on the stove above medium heat and add the oil.

After the oil heats up, swirl to coat the bottom of the pot and add the salmon. Using a metal fork or wooden spoon break the fish into small pieces, similar to breaking up a can of tuna. Then add the bowl containing dashi, mirin, shoyu and sugar. Simmer until most of the liquid is gone. then remove from heat.

Egg Crumble

4 Eggs
2 tbsp Dashi soup stock (room temperature)
1 tsp Shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Vegetable oil

Mix the dashi, shoyu, mirin and sugar in a bowl. Add the eggs and scramble until mixed.

Add oil to a fry pan. After the oil heats up, swirl to coat the bottom of the pot and add the egg mixture. As the eggs cook, chop up with a wooden spoon. When the eggs are cooked remove from heat.

This is what it looked like when I made it the other night. My wife Meg thought the eggs tasted a little weird sweet so when I made this for her lunch today I left out the sugar, I’ll let you know what she thought.

I also think it looks a lot better with the spinach than with the edamame. Though I saw a recipe the other day that had chicken, egg and snow peas, I think that may be the next donburi I’ll try.

After I brought the chocolates home my son started asking me questions about the characters on the package and the wrappers. I of course had no idea, so we did some looking around on the internet and found some information about the show and some of the characters. My son was already hooked, and then I found some animations on YouTube. I think he’s watched all of them at least once by now. And I have to admit, I like watching the cartoons too even though I have no idea what they’re saying.

The premise of the show is a wonderful good verse evil kind of thing, with the good guys having baked bread products for heads and the bad guy being a germ.

“In each episode, Anpanman fights with Baikinman and helps the people of the town. He always goes on patrol in the area around the house of Jam Ojisan. He is a symbol of justice, fighting for the cause of justice every day. Anpanman has a long history and new characters are frequently introduced, keeping the series fresh.”

- Wikipedia

In the process of looking around for information for my son I came across the bento container and he told me he HAD to have it. So today he is having his first lunch with his new container, and needless to say he was quite excited this morning as I was putting his lunch together.

“Momma! Look! That’s my lunch, isn’t it cool?!” Such simple pleasures, made my day.