hapa bento

Ah…another tuna recipe.  A special tuna recipe.  But before we get to it we have to take a trip… an actual trip and one down memory lane.

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It started out a gray day but turned sunny by noon…just in time  for a Meatless Monday bento!

Yummy fried tofu, bought from the Vietnamese market, then simmered in sesame, shoyu  and garlic.  Partnered with “hapa rice” (brown and white mix), gai lan (Chinese Broccoli) and carrot sticks it’s both a balanced and satiating meal!

If you don’t have access to fried tofu,  you can fry your own using firm tofu that’s been drained of all moisture.  Just press between cotton towels with  a heavy plate on top. Leave it for at least 20 to 30 minutes switching to dry towels as needed.  Cut into bite-sized cubes then fry in hot oil until golden.  Drain thoroughly.   I keep them  in the freezer which does alter the texture a bit, but I like them that way. Cook them up in almost any kind of seasoning for bento or drop them in stews or soups.  More than just bento-stash!

I was hanging out at the top of a tall building today.  By lunch time, the clouds made way to blue skies which made today rainless as well as meatless!

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I love sweet potatoes!  And it doesn’t matter how they’re fixed.  Baked, mashed or french-fried… they’re oh so yummy.  But whenever I have extra time I like to eat them like this…caramelized.

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At last!  The recipe. 

But before you take a peek… a warning that the instructions for Furikake Tuna Burgers only looks daunting.  Three stages! What the heck?  Isn’t bento making supposed to be easy?

No worries. 

I assure you it’s very quick to prepare and the outcome is delicious.  I promise.

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Doesn’t this look like a pumpkin?  Amazingly this Amber Cup or Ambercup squash is only about six inches across, easy to prepare and tastes oh so delicious!

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We are adding to our “bento-stash” with quick and easy chickpea pancakes!  They make excellent snacks, side dish or bento filler!

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Continuing our video/slideshow of “how to pack a bento” with this quickly made bento lunch using leftover pancit (Filipino fried noodles) from a party!  I also reached into my bento-stash of hardboiled eggs  to provide extra protein.

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I was poking around the  current frozen foods in my bento-stash… trying to decide on the item for the next article.  Then I discovered that my foodie friend Robert-Gilles had posted an  in-depth (like he always does) article about Japanese Tubers!   I was inspired…”I have yams in my stash”… big, bright, orange yams…and yams are tubers!  And that’s how I selected the star of this post!

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We’re continuing our bento-stash series  with a slight twist!  It’s not about the freezer this time it’s about the refrigerator… a  BASKET in the refrigerator!  

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I took a short intermission and now I’m continuing the “bento-stash” series with  kabocha!  We are nearing the end of winter; the squash and pumpkin season is wrapping up so I’m stocking the freezer with one of my favorite bento fillers… the kabocha!  Its sweet and  firm flesh is perfect for roasting, baking or simmering.  It also keeps well in the freezer for a couple of months if cooked first and wrapped up tight!  Another good property of kabocha is that it’s skin is soft enough to cut through with relative ease and it’s edible!

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I’m  starting a series of recipes for food items that can be cooked and stored in volume for packing future speedy bento boxes!   This  first one is for Mini Potato Tuna Burgers as featured in this bento lunch.

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