Any one experienced making Japanese food?

[Glorian]

I'm going on a long walk sunday with my partner, and decided i'd make us an interesting lunch to bring with us rather than a sandwhich.

I found out about bento boxes (japanese boxed lunch) and decided to give it a go. Just wondered if anyone here has had any experience cooking this sort of food and can offer any tips. Currently i plan on making :

Rice balls

Rolled omelette

Spicy prawns

breaded chicken

raw veg (No tips needed here!)

Sweet pepper onion confit

Mostly the rice balls, omelette and general layout / decoration tips would be appreciated =) I have had a good read on several websites but it's good to get a variety of perspectives and experiences.

[Grumpy Old Git]

Not too much spice.

Veg may be better if you dip / flash fry in tempura batter - excellent when cold.

Maybe a chilli-based dip?

What about Saki - You must have Saki!

Make sure the rice balls are not too compact - they should crumble fairly easily.

[Glorian]

I'll try the butter, was just planning on doing carrots and mini corn but a little flavour cant go amiss =)

Got some sweet chilli dip at home i can use.

No idea what Saki is =D

And rice balls will be a nice experiment Worst comes to worst we're just having rice haha!

Cheers GoG

[Grumpy Old Git]

I'll try the butter, was just planning on doing carrots and mini corn but a little flavour cant go amiss =)

Got some sweet chilli dip at home i can use.

No idea what Saki is =D

And rice balls will be a nice experiment Worst comes to worst we're just having rice haha!

Cheers GoG

 

BATTER not butter

"No idea what Saki is"

[Glorian]

Oooh that could have gone wrong then

Do you mean the alcoholic drink? Sake?

[RantMachine]

Go full sushi, you know you want to

Some general tips:

Invest in seaweed. If the rice balls go tits up you can make sushi rolls instead and the seaweed will bind it for you (but don't use too much or they'll be a bugger to bite through!).

Buy sushi rice instead of any other kind, it'll be easier to get it to bind together properly.

A thin layer of fish eggs on the exterior of any rice elements can add a nice splash of colour and a distinctive flavour and texture. Don't get too carried away though, or they'll overpower everything else.

Subtle flavours are important, so buy the best quality and freshest ingredients that you can, and don't prepare them any earlier than the night before so they stay crisp and fresh.

Presentation is important - if you use any veg that would normally brown overnight, you can offset this by tumbling the chopped bits in a very small amount of lemon juice prior to assembling the meal. Not much, or it'll contaminate all the flavours you're working with.

Do a practise in advance if you get the chance, or at least give yourself twice as long as you expect to need, it will almost certainly go wrong at first and it's worth having the spare time to prepare more rice or run to the shop for anything you forgot!

Steer clear of sweet chilli dip, the stuff is grim and will completely hide the flavours of your food. Plus it's mostly sugar. If you have any small resealable bottles, bring some soy sauce. A little wasabi, and maybe go nuts and buy some pickled ginger as well if you want to dress it all up a bit. Don't need much of either of them as they're strong stuff!

[Bonniebird]

Try making some cucumber maki, very easy to do with sushi rice, cucumber chopped into strips and seaweed sheets. You can also get bamboo rolling mats in a lot of supermarkets which make them easier to do

as Ollie says, genuine sushi rice works best because it sticks together. Don't rinse it too much to keep the gluten.

Also cut the seaweed sheets in half so you just have one layer otherwise you get a spiral - looks neater

Also try rolls with prawns, avocado, smoked salmon or cooked aubergine.

A VERY light smear of wasabi inside to roll is also good but its easy to overdo

Katsu chicken strips are easy too, the panko breadcrumbs are also easy to get hold off.

Have fun

[XmisterIS]

I'll be another top recommend sushi. It is dead easy to make with the right kit, once you've got the hang of it. The most important thing about making sushi is to keep your fingers wet or else the rice will stick to your fingers like glue.

[Glorian]

Cheers for the advice folks =)

Made some battered chicken, prawns, egg fried rice (Egg rolls were not very easy wish i had sushi rice haha) a vegetable side and few bits of raw corn a rolled omellette and a bit of soy sauce in a pot for dips.

Hope it tastes good tomorrow but this was a lot harder than i thought more practice is definately needed!

[Abraxix92]

How'd it go then?

[Grumpy Old Git]

[Glorian]

 

Haha

Not to bad, For a first attempt Omellette was nice, chicken things had gotten a little soft lost it's crispy ness. confit was flavourful and raw veg was raw veg Rice was a let down it had gone a bit hard overnight.

I'll try again some time but might practice before hand first.

[XmisterIS]

Rice was a let down it had gone a bit hard overnight.

 

Use sushi rice and keep it wrapped in lightly oiled cling film.

[Grumpy Old Git]

Rice was a let down it had gone a bit hard overnight.

 

Use sushi rice and keep it wrapped in lightly oiled cling film.

 

Synthetic Oil OK or should it be SAE40 mineral oil?

[XmisterIS]

 

Use sushi rice and keep it wrapped in lightly oiled cling film.

 

Synthetic Oil OK or should it be SAE40 mineral oil?

 

Personally, I use this stuff: http://www.cassellie.net/acatalog/Wurth-Dry-Chain_1.jpg