With this juicy karaage (Japanese batter-fried crunchy chicken balls) for lunch, you’ll face the second part of your working day head-on! And the salty and sour umeboshi (pickled plum) has a refreshing kick that no coffee can give you. Discover the secrets behind Japan’s productivity with this tasty yet balanced bento box!
Preparation time 1 hour
Type Lunch
Origin Japan
Servings 1
Ingredients
- 4 bits of karaage
- ½ carrot
- 2 lettuce leaves
- ½-2 tbsp of furikake
- 1 umeboshi
- ½ potato
- ¼ stem of pak choi*
- ¼ leaf of pak choi*
- 1 tbsp of sesame oil
- Lemon
- 1 tsp butter
- Pepper & salt
- Leftover Japanese white rice
*Available in the fresh department of our physical stores. Check the locations of Amazing Oriental stores here.
Preparation
Step 1
Use leftover Japanese rice, or prepare ½ a cup of rice in your rice cooker or in a pan. Make sure the rice has cooled down before you proceed. For extra flavour, mix in some sushi powder or some furikake (rice seasoning). Now fill up half of the lunch box.
Step 2
Boil ½ a potato until done. Add ½ a tsp of butter, pepper and salt, then mash and stir until it is an equal mixture. Wet your hands and place the mixture in your palm. Shape it like a compact ball. Set aside.
Step 3
Prepare 4 bits of karaage according to the packaging. Place in a strainer with paper towels until it has cooled down. Once they have cooled down, pat with a paper towel to take away the grease. Set aside. Rub the lettuce leaves with lemon juice, pepper and salt. Place the lettuce against the rice, with some leaves sticking out (see photo). Place the karaage on top of the sticking out lettuce leaves.
Step 4
Add oil to the wok and stir-fry some bite-size cut pak choi stems for 4 minutes. Then add some strips of pak choi leaves. Once the leaf strips start to shrink, the pak choi is done. Let it cool down and place it next to the mashed potato in the bento box.
Step 5
Cut the carrot in julienne style. Season it by rubbing some drips of lemon juice, pepper and salt onto the carrot strips (optional). Place it next to the pak choi and karaage. Garnish the bento box by sprinkling some furikake on the rice. Place one umeboshi on top of the rice.
Step 6
Take it to work. You can enjoy this bento cold or hot (by microwaving it).
いただきます itadakimasu Let’s dig in!