Black Rice and Tuna Musubi Bento
It’s the weekend and Saba Man volunteered to stop at the store in-between running his own errands . (isn’t he sweet?)
”What do you need?” …he had his pen poised and ready to add to his list.
“Oh… whatever you want for lunch and some tomato soup” (The weather has chilled down so I was craving soup)
“Easy-peasy” and he was out the door!
A while later he was back with the mail in one hand and a bursting tote bag full of groceries in the other. “Never go shopping on an empty stomach!” His boyish grin gave him away…
I was amazed at his cache of goodies. Hawaiian style potato chips, fried chicken from the deli, dark chocolate covered edamame (those were good), sesame crepes from Trader Joes, Hawaiian sweet bread, kakimochi, and sweet pepper corn chowder. No tomato soup but the chowder was very delicious so I didn’t feel like I missed out. Saba Man ate his fried chicken and we both enjoyed our lunch with all the “side dishes.” ;)
The moral of the story… send Saba Man to store often because he buys good stuff to eat!
We had a quiet day at home so we made a HUGE dent in our DVR backlog which means no bento making tasks were completed, so for today’s bento post… it’s a lunch from a couple day’s ago.
Today’s featured bento box is really a musubi box. Top tier filled with black rice and tuna musubi. The tuna is flavored with mirin and shoyu then mixed with the rice before shaping into triangles. I’m an “old school” musubi maker which means that I usually form my musubi by hand. The molds are fun but I find them cumbersome. I should practice using them as the shapes are so cute and I enjoy seeing the variety of rice balls, hearts, and animals in all of your bento boxes. So much talent out there!
The bottom tier contains roasted zucchini, tomatoes, fried tofu and a slice of kamaboko. So there you have it, a healthy lunch for a “Saba-Man-on-the-go” !
I wonder what he’d would bring home if I asked him to shop for bento food? I shiver just thinking about it. :)
Updated to add another angle of this bento box.
I love the shiso like that! So cool. Me too, I was craving soup on this cold wet day. Wish I had corn chowder now…
Wow, Saba Man does a great job!
Beautiful and colorful bento.
Debra, your Saba Man really have a talent. Perhaps is coming from your great cooking and bento. I like your black rice and tuna musubi with the shiso leave, color contrast is really work
Old school? I would be happy to make such great musubi with my own hands. But… well, I tried and failed ^^” And yours look reaaaaally yummy!
Now I’m hungry…
saba man is welcome to do my shopping any day haha
these musubis are beautiful, and the whole bento is just popping with tropical color. yummy, beautiful lunch!
Dear Debra!
Greetings!
Great posting as usual!
To answer your question the Missus basically soak shiso/egoma in (not so much) soy sauce and dark re miso in a tupperware overnight.
She then wraps the musubi in them and fry them (yaki musubi)!
Your enquiries are always welcome!
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Thank you ( and please thank your Missus) for the yaki musubi recipe. I’m definately going to try it.
Dear Debra!
Me again!
I couldn’t help smiling when reading “Saba Man”! In Japanese it could mean “Mackerel Full”!
Can you grow seeds in Hawaii?
It might be a good idea for to grow your own shiso.
I will look if I can find egoma seeds if you are interested.
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Hello Robert-Gilles, Hehehe “Saba Man” got his nickname because of his love of mackerel and he is sometimes, after a large meal, filled with the same. It does sometimes appear that I currently live in Hawaii (it’s my accent) but actually I’m in Seattle, WA where I believe growing shiso is possible. If you can find some egoma seeds… that would be superb. Thank you for thinking of me and welcome to my blog.
Awesome post, hapa bento! When I ask hubby to do the food shopping, he also takes a “maximalist” approach and suddenly we are overflowing with interesting cheeses, delicious and pricey Whole Foods olive bar olives, etc!
These “old-school” musubi have me longing to attempt
re-creating their Zen simplicity and beauty. (Have you ever posted your recipe–or a tutorial? I must research!)They look powerfully yummy! And with shiso leaves as fresh, aromatic contrast–oh my!