You know why?  I have been eating non-stop for the past three days.

On Friday, we had a buffet dinner at our holiday chalet.  I think it was 8 courses, including drinks.

On Saturday, we had a BBQ feast at the chalet too.  We had crabs, satay, kebabs, fish, sotong, prawns, sausages, etc.  BURP…Can you imagine how much I ate?  Haha.

On Sunday, my cousin hosted a buffet lunch at her house.  Another 8 course meal to stomach.

I think it’s time I detox a bit this week.  Perhaps I will think of some light meals to make.  But before that, I have a prawn recipe to share.  It’s really late now though, maybe tomorrow!

Well, for these bread rolls, you probably have to make them the day before as it will take a few hours to complete.  But it is a very fun activity that you can involve your kids as well.  Allow them to design the bread rolls the way they like them to be and I sure they will look forward having their own masterpiece in their lunch box the next day!

Even me, the “old” kid, had so much fun.  My mum and I moulded the dough into different shapes just to see how it would turn out after baking.  I even created one “uniquely shaped” bread roll (see it below) specially for Hubby.

Ingredients (for sweet bread dough):

Part A

• 480 g bread flour
• 120 g plain flour
• 110 g sugar
• 10 g fine salt
• 20 g milk powder (can be substituted with bread flour)
• 4 teaspoons instant yeast

Part B

• 1 egg
• 300 ml cold water

Part C

• 60 g butter

Ingredients (filling for sweet bread roll)

• About 400 g of luncheon meat, cut into smaller pieces

Instructions:

Step 1:  Mix Part A ingredients in a mixing bowl till they are well blended.

Step 2:  Add Part B ingredients and knead to form a dough.

Step 3:  Add Part C butter and continue to knead until the dough looks smooth and elastic.  Cover dough with a clear film.  Let it prove for 50-60 minutes or until it doubles its size.

To check if the dough is ready, test by pressing a finger on it lightly.  If the dough does not sink but shows a clear finger print mark, you can proceed to the next stage of separating them into individual portions.

Step 4:  Divide the dough into 60 g portions.  Shape them into balls and leave them to rest for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, you can prepare the luncheon meat filling.

Step 5:  Now the fun begins!  You can make the bread roll according to your liking.  The easiest way is to wrap the luncheon meat in the dough completely, or you can elongate the dough and coil them around the luncheon meat.

See what I did for the first tray?  I made a round one, an oval one, a “pillow” shaped one, and one that resembled a croissant.

Step 6:  Brush the surface of each bread roll with a little egg wash (egg yolk+water) and bake at 190 deg Celcius for 12 minutes.

Does my first tray of sweet bread rolls with luncheon meat look good?

I can’t describe to you in the picture, but the smell of freshly baked bread is just heavenly!

Besides luncheon meat, you can also vary the fillings for the bread roll.  Think of tuna?  Ham?  Raisins?  It’s up to your family’s preference!

For lunch box meals, just pack these sweet bread rolls in a normal bento box with a salad or some fruits at the side.  It’s a lighter meal, and an interesting alternative to noodles or rice.

Well, we made about 17 sweet bread rolls in total for this batch.  And this is the “masterpiece” I mentioned above that I gave to Hubby.  Can you make out what it resembles?  (Clue:  We usually call it a pile of …)

We both had a good laugh and he really ate it for breakfast next morning.  LOL.

Hope you like this recipe and have fun making your own home-made bread roll!

Well, I realized I have been MIA-ed (missing in action, LOL) for a couple of days, sorry!

For the last three days, we were often not at home, thus I could not find the time to write, although I have a few recipes waiting to be shared on this blog.

I have also been thinking lately about my directions for this blog in 2009.  Would you like to hear them?  Well, I hope this blog will continue to grow in content.  I hope this blog can become a good source of reference to my readers who are on the lookout for more lunchbox recipe ideas to cook for their loved ones.  I would also like to achieve my target of writing a post every alternate day.  I also hope that this blog can reach an Alexa rank below one million and probably get some page rank love from Google by summer time.  Hmm.  Do you think it is possible?

Well, the most recent milestone I have taken for this blog is to join Foodbuzz.  See that badge on the top right corner of this blog?  This is in recognition that easylunchboxrecipes.com has been accepted as a Foodbuzz featured publisher!  I have heard great things about Foodbuzz from other foodie bloggers and I am excited at the thought of making more foodie friends there.  Connecting with others of the same interest can also widen my pool of ideas and provide me with more inspiration in the dishes I continue to whip up for this blog.

The second milestone is the opening of my Lunch Box Store.  See the “Lunch Box Store” tab at the very top of the blog, beside the “Home” and “About” tab?  This is where I showcase the most popular lunch box merchandise, be it bento boxes, lunch jars, thermos jars, lunch bags and everything else related to lunch boxes.

Personally, I favour Japanese brands for their lunch boxes, so if you are looking for a good thermos food jar, I do highly recommend the Zojirushi Stainless Steel ones.  These are really worth every cent that you pay.

Alright, I will be back with the next recipe “Stir-Fried Black Pepper Udon Noodles” very soon.  This recipe got a big thumbs up from everyone who tried it, so do stay with me if you are keen to cook some udon!

I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas!  May abundant blessings be with you and your family.

How’s the partying so far for you?

I am feeling a little lazy to blog these two days.  Hehe.

It must be all the food that I am binging on that’s making me so sluggish.  Zzzz.

But I thought I would pop by and write this really short post before I go out for a walk to freshen myself up and try to lose those extra flab I have gained this week.  LOL.  Can’t bear to see myself in the mirror anymore these days.

Hope you have fun this holidays!  I’ll be back to share more recipes here very soon.

Enjoy!

Although wasabi is green and looks nothing like a chilli pepper, but don’t underestimate it.  It is fiery enough to clear a blocked nose and I am not exaggerating.  Haha.

This dish, which I learnt from a local chef, will surprise you with a pleasant tinge of spicy wasabi.  There are two parts to this recipe, one for the wasabi mayonnaise and the other for the prawns.

Ingredients (to make a small tub of about 200 g of wasabi mayonnaise):

• 200 g mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons wasabi

To make wasabi mayonnaise:

Step 1:  Scoop about 200 g of mayonnaise into a mixing bowl.  Add in the evaporated milk.  Blend with a whisk.

Step 2:  Add in the lemon juice and wasabi.  Mix well.  If you like it spicier, you can add in more wasabi.  Cover and store in the fridge.

I used tubed wasabi and my wasabi mayonnaise turned out not looking very green, but it tasted quite spicy already.  I will try powdered wasabi next time and see if it looks greener.

And also, I used only a few tablespoons from this tub of wasabi mayonnaise to coat the prawns in the recipe below.  So if you are the type who just like to make enough for this meal, you can modify the recipe above to make a smaller portion.

As for me, I kept the excess wasabi mayonnaise in the fridge for another week where I also used them as a dip for finger food like nuggets and also as dressing for my salad or coleslaw.

Ingredients (Serves 4 adults):

• 15-20 tiger prawns (medium to large size)
• Cornflour (100 to 200 g or enough to coat the prawns)
• Cooking oil (enough for deep-frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1:  De-shell and de-vein all the prawns.  If they are frozen, allow them to thaw before processing.

Step 2:  Wash and pat dry the prawns with a kitchen paper towel.

Step 3:  Pour some cornflour onto a flat plate.  Place prawns, one at a time, on the cornflour and coat them evenly.

Step 4:  Heat up the cooking oil.  Deep-fry all the prawns.

Step 5:  After they are cooked, set them aside on a plate with a kitchen paper towel to absorb excess oil.  These were how they looked just before I coated them.

Step 6:  Add a few tablespoons of wasabi mayonnaise to a bowl.  Coat each prawn on both sides evenly.  Serve.

Hubby had this for his dinner, together with sambal ladies’ finger and rice.

If you dare to eat wasabi, you should try this!

I will be posting another Japanese recipe “Tempura Don” next!  Do stay around…

I love it so much still that every time we cook this, I can finish two portions.  LOL.

I also found out that almost every kid who tried this dish liked it very much as well.  It is not only colorful, but it’s healthy, tasty and filling.  If you have kids who are fussy eaters, try cooking this once and see if they like it.  Perhaps, they will ask you to cook it again the next day!

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 5 adults):

• 1 medium carrot, diced into 1 cm cubes
• 2 regular sized potatoes, diced into 1 cm cubes
• About 170 g luncheon meat, diced into 1 cm cubes
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce (optional)
• Ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 5 tablespoons cooking oil
• 3 tablespoons water

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1:  Heat up 4 tablespoons cooking oil in a fry pan.  Deep fry the potato cubes, carrot cubes and luncheon meat cubes respectively.  Remove and set aside after they are cooked.

Step 2:  Heat up 1 tablespoon cooking oil.  Add the minced garlic.  When it is turning golden brown, add in the red onion slices.  Stir-fry for 1 minute till onion slices are soft and starting to brown too.

Step 3:  Put in the deep fried potato, carrot and luncheon meat cubes prepared earlier.  Add 3 tablespoons water.

Step 4:  Add the sugar, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce (optional).  Stir-fry for another minute, ensuring the ingredients are blended nicely.

Step 5:  Add a dash of ground pepper.  Stir-fry a few more times to mix well.

This is how it looks after it is completed.

It’s a well-balanced lunchbox dish as it is made up of a meat, vegetable and potato combo.  I recommend you to eat it with plain white rice.  Yummy.

It is good enough for me as a one-dish meal, but with another vegetable dish, my lunch box will be perfect.

Sometimes, home-cooked comfort food taste best, don’t you agree?

PS:  I am infatuated with luncheon meat, so there will be more luncheon meat recipes to come.  Hehe.

Initially, I created categories according to cuisine types, like asian, french, korean, etc, for my first WordPress theme.  But after settling for this theme, I don’t think it will fit nicely in the category tab I have at my header if I were to expand my ever-growing list of cuisines in the long run.

Thus, I have now classified them according to meal types.  I hope to explain a bit more in this post on what they will usually include so that you will find it easier to navigate.

Light Meals:  Most probably I will include recipes for meals like sandwiches, bread, toasts, crepes, pancakes, pitas, muffins, etc.  Anything that looks light enough.

All-In-One Meals:  The recipes I will add here will be those like fried rice, fried noodles, spaghetti, etc.  These are mainly cooked with their ingredients together and served all on the same dish.  So if you are a lazy cook, I will recommend you checking out this category more often.  Haha.

Main Course:  This category will feature recipes of different cuisines that can be taken as a single main course.  These dishes are usually served on their own with another staple, like rice.

Soup:  This is for all soup recipes, from Chinese double boiled soups, to creamy tomato soups.  Somtimes, these soups can also serve as all-in-one dishes, where all you need is just bread or rice to go along with it.

Food Containers:  Every now and then, I may share about different food containers you can use for your lunch box.  There may also be interesting product showcases from time to time.

Chit Chat:  This is where I talk about anything under the sun.  Basically a place to rant and chit-chat with you!

These are the categories I will be adding at the moment.  I am trying to keep them at a maximum of eight so that my header will not look so cluttered.

I hope this change makes it easier for you to read my blog.  If you have problems finding anything, just let me know and I will work on your feedback if possible.

Thank you.  Feel free to subscribe to my feeds for easy updates!

Well, I travelled to Korea last year and I fell in love with some of the dishes I had there.  In order to satisfy my cravings, I am trying to re-create some of these myself.

I found a simple recipe for Korean bibimbap and improvised it a little for home-cooking.  Bibimbap is a traditional Korean mixed rice dish where different ingredients are topped on steamed rice, and mixed well with gochujang (red pepper paste) before eating.  It is not only delicious, but it is also healthy and easy to cook from your own kitchen as well.

Ingredients (Serves 3 adults):

• 3 tablespoons cooking oil (for stir-frying of ingredients)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (for frying eggs)
• 200 g minced beef, thawed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 small carrots, cut into 2-inch strips
• 5 fresh shitake mushrooms, trimmed of caps and sliced
• 150 g of bean sprouts, with tails trimmed
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups of steamed rice
• 3 teaspoons of Korean gochujang (red pepper paste)
• Water for blanching the bean sprouts and spinach

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1:  Marinate the minced beef with soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil.  Add a dash of salt.  Blend well and leave it aside.

Step 2:  While waiting for the beef to marinate, heat up 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan or wok and fry the eggs, sunny-side up.  Preferably with the egg yolk still slightly runny.

Step 3:  Heat some water in a saucepan.  When it is boiling, put in the bean sprouts.  Take them out with a strainer when they are cooked.  Add a drop of oil and a pinch of salt in the water.  Put in the spinach next. Drain both cooked vegetables of excess water and set them aside.

Step 4:  Heat up 1 tbsp of cooking oil.  Stir-fry the carrot strips until tender.  Remove from heat and place it in a a bowl.  Next, put in half of the minced garlic, let it brown and put in the shitake mushrooms.  Add a dash of salt.  Stir-fry till they are cooked.  Remove them from heat too and set aside in another bowl.

Now most of the ingredients are ready.  Look at the colours!

Step 5:  Heat up the remaining cooking oil.  Add in the rest of the minced garlic.  When it is starting to brown, put in the marinated minced beef and stir-fry till tender.

Step 6:  Fill a serving bowl with one cup of steamed rice and place one fried egg in the center.  Place equal amounts of the cooked spinach, bean sprouts, carrot, mushroom, and minced beef around the egg.  Top with a teaspoon of gochujang paste (or more if you like it spicier!)

Step 7:  Repeat Step 6 for each individual serving.  Remember to mix all the ingredients together before eating.

Doesn’t this look easy?  The crucial ingredient is the gochujang though.  But I think you should be able to find them at Asian supermarkets.  By the way, this is how it usually looks.  I got a 200 g tub which should last me quite a while.

Bibimbap makes a fulfilling lunch box meal as it can be packed easily in a food thermos container.  As I had three individual containers, I put the vegetables in one and the egg and beef in the other.  The last one is of course for the steamed rice.

See how I packed Hubby’s dinner box for that night as he had dinner later than us?  How does it look?

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

When I saw this recipe from my local newspaper,  I was so inspired to give it a go as it looks quite simple.  Crepes also make good lunch box meals as they can be reheated warm before eating and they taste just as good as they were just made.

This recipe below makes five French crepes for my 28 cm pan.  If you use a 25 cm pan, you could probably make six to seven crepes.

Ingredients for crepes:

• 200g plain flour
• 20g sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• 300ml milk
• 50ml water
• 10g butter, melted

Ingredients for savory filling (you can modify the amount according to your preference):

• 3 slices of picnic ham, cut into strips
• 5 fresh mushrooms (preferably baby portobello, but I could’nt get them on the day and used white button mushrooms instead), sliced
• About 80g of cheddar cheese, diced

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Place the flour, sugar, salt and eggs in a blender.  Switch on the machine and gradually pour in the milk and water, processing until the mixture has a smooth consistency.

Step 2:  Pour the batter into a container, add the melted butter and stir until incorporated.  Refrigerate one hour before using.

Step 3:  While waiting for the batter to settle down, you can cut the ingredients for the crepe filling.

Step 4:  To make the crepes, heat a crepe pan or non-stick pan over medium heat until it is very hot.  This is important as how hot the pan is determines whether the batter gets cooked fast enough the minute it goes in.

Step 5:  Pour in about 70 ml of batter (I just use a medium sized soup ladle to approximate the amount), take the pan off the heat, and swirl the batter to cover the base of the pan and little up the sides.  Return the pan to heat and cook about one minute or until the edges start to come away from the pan.

Step 6:  Gently run a silicone spatula around the edges to loosen, then free the bottom of the crepe from the pan carefully.  If your batter is done correctly, the cooked crepe should come off very easily and not stick on the pan at all.

Step 7:  When the crepe is light golden brown at the bottom, you can flip it over and cook the other side for another 30 to 45 seconds.

Step 8:  When both sides of the crepe are golden brown, remove it to a large plate and make sure the pan is hot (go back to step 4 again) before you pour in the next batch of batter.

Finish making all the crepes and stack them up.  Don’t they look delicious?

Step 9:  It’s time to put the stuffing, so firstly saute the sliced mushrooms in a little olive oil and place them in a bowl.

Step 10:  Return one crepe on the pan and when it is starting to warm, sprinkle the cooked mushrooms, ham bits and diced cheese cubes on half of the crepe.  You can vary these ingredients according to your liking.

Step 11:  When the cheese starts to melt, use the spatula to fold the other side of the crepe to form a semicircle shape.  The melted cheese will hold the sides together.

Step 12:  Repeat for all the crepes you want to stuff with savoury filling.

You can keep one or two for dessert too, where you can drizzle honey, chocolate fudge or just strawberries and cream.  It’s up to your imagination!

This crepe recipe is great for a lunch box.  It’s easy to pack and can be warmed up.  For adults, two of these can make you really full!  Yes, I tried it on my Hubby and he could not stomach anything more than two.  Haha.  You can cut the crepe into quarters for your children to bring as snacks too, I bet they will love it!

Almost 25 years of age!

My mum kept these in her kitchen cabinets all these years and when I got married, she gave it to me as part of the dowry.  Haha.  Isn’t it amazing?

Although it may look like any simple lunch box and water bottle, but they bring back fond memories for me.  We got this lunch box and water bottle for my first year of school.  I remember we went to a now-defunct Japanese department store to buy them.  At that time, Made In Japan products were pretty expensive but I liked them so much that we got them all the same.

The square lunch box is really very small and I remembered all I could fit in was a slice of peanut butter bread or some cornflakes.  I also remember an incident where this cute lamb water bottle leaked and my whole bag of books became wet as a result.  I was really scared then, being so new to school so I think I cried buckets.  Haha.  Fortunately, my teacher did not scold me but comforted me instead.  She even helped me lay the books out in the sun to dry.

Looking back, it’s really embarrassing right?  But kids will always be kids and at that age, I did not know how to handle the situation, except to cry and look pathetic.  And now it has become something that we always laugh at when we recall our childhood days!