Korean Reflections Bento

This bento was made with elements from yet another fun Korean/Asian supermarket in our area: on Saturday I spent quite a while browsing Super H-Mart in Fairfax. This "Redbean Mammoth" pastry looked great--but was the size of a small pizza, so I opted for a small chestnut roll instead!

The prettiest frozen vegetable package I've ever seen:

Candies and a great variety of prepared foods...and for the purposes of today's bento--yummy panchan and crab and scallion cakes:

My idea of a great supermarket includes a food court where you can get a steaming, spicy bowl of seafood and tofu soup!

 

Among other options...

Today's bento features the crab scallion cakes in sesame leaves--such a fresh, green complement to Korean and Japanese dishes! Also, some of the panchan, including crisp, lightly marinated cucumbers, beansprouts and an interesting take on cabbage kimchi--this one finely shredded. A baby yellow tomato holds spicy gochujang. In the upper left square: sweet potato slices, rainbow chard, enoki, pea sprouts. For a sweet finish: papaya slices and kiwi, banana slices with honey, almonds, cinnamon and almonds...and a butter kitty cookie.

Kreativ Blogger Award!

Thank you Megan of bentozen, Susan of Arkonite's Place, and Angi of Bento Junkie! So...seven (my favorite number) things about me:

1. I have a passion for Provence and the Languedoc--its cuisine of the sun, Indienne fabrics, the Gipsy Kings and bright pink roses, oranges and cloves, courtly love and Cathars, 12th century cloisters and cathedrals. I hope to work this into my bentos at some point...

2. I was born in NYC, and grew up in its orbit. New York has shaped my love of world cuisines with its amazing diversity...to me the city is the ideal of E Pluribus Unum brought to delicious life. Today, I live just outside Washington DC, and am relishing the wonderful range and depth of international food cultures in this area!

3. My husband Jamison is the best companion a foodie could ask for! He's up for trying any cuisine or dish with great curiosity and enthusiasm (and introduced me to Korean food, having lived in Korea for two years). He's the apple of my eye...

4. I love animals, especially cats and birds.

5. I garden because I love flowers and their amazing colors! I grow hydrangeas, roses, iris, and lilies in my townhouse garden and get very excited when spring arrives each year!

6. Colors can make me incredibly happy --especially bright pastels, certain vivid shades of pink and apricot, and deep, bright blues and violets. (See gardening, above).

7. I helped pay for my last couple of years in college by working at a fresh pasta shop/caterer, where I enjoyed making decadent lasagnas for our customers. I think I was influenced by my Mom's generous Italian approach to cooking in this regard--I'm eagerly anticipating her Christmas seafood lasagna with cream sauce!

There are many amazing bentoists out there...so it was hard to choose just seven! Here are my selections for this round!

Debra at Hapa Bento
Karina at Bunches and Bits
MAHOUTAKE http://www.flickr.com/photos/mahoutake/
Lia at bentolicious
Crystal at Adventures in Bentomaking
Amanda at Were rabbits
Sofia at http://from-japan-with-love.blogspot.com/

A Szechuan Feast at China Star

For several years now, we've been enjoying the densely flavored and artfully spiced dishes at China Star in Fairfax City. Located in an 80's era shopping center, China Star features two separate menus--one of Chinese-American standards and an exciting assortment of home-style Szechuan dishes cooked with incredible verve. Your order arrives in huge portions, served in large, hot ceramic pots and bowls. Fantastic leftovers are a built-in benefit of dining here, even on the hungriest of evenings. Last night, the feast included many of our old favorites. To start: hot tea and glazed soybeans:

Cilantro Ginger Beef

Eggplant with Garlic in Hot Pot is irresistible with its vivid purple eggplant chunks in a slightly sweet sauce packed with scallions, wood ear mushrooms, and yes, plenty of garlic and ginger. It is heavenly paired with Fish and Tofu Hot Pot:

This dish is all about silky textures: the freshest, smoothest tofu and tender fish in ginger chili oil. My husband's menu favorite is Fish with Sour Mustard: Look at the layers of spice and pepper on top! It's a real Szechuan tour de force, a delicious clash of assertive hot and sour seasonings, including plenty of Sichuan pepper, and sour, salty pieces of pickled mustard greens. Also on our crowded table: earthy and refreshing snow pea tops:

Today's leftover Szechuan feast bento, with hot pot eggplant, fish and tofu, baby greens, enoki mushrooms, kiwi, and blackberries!

Spiced Pear Salad and Umbrian Autumn Casserole

I've been haunted by an autumn salad recipe in Edible Chesapeake for about two weeks now, involving pears steeped in spices and wine, served over salad greens and goat cheese. The original recipe is here, courtesy of a glorious publication that connects cooks to their region and season with art, wit, and grace: http://www.ediblechesapeake.com/magazine/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=246&Itemid=64

I tinkered with the recipe a bit, adding pomegranate seeds and fresh figs, radicchio, and endive. Steeped the pears in sherry and star anise, and cloves, rather than red wine. The sweet-spiced almonds were a great element of this dish!

Mr. Bentobird mixed up the sherry vinegar, shallot, and mustard dressing which added a piquant contrast to the salad's sweet and exotic spice flavors...

For the main course, a dish conjured from my fantasy of a rainy November night in central Italy--a chicken, vegetable, and polenta casserole with the mellow, rich flavors of Italy's green-gold  heartland:

To make: Gently cook four organic chicken legs in garlic, olive oil, and butter until nicely browned; lightly salt and pepper, then add white wine and cover, cooking until done. Remove meat from bone. Cook polenta slices, coated in olive oil, in a 375 oven until lightly crispy. Meanwhile, cook shallots and garlic in olive oil and butter, then add sliced baby bella mushrooms, fennel and endive slices, and asparagus. Cook until tender but still vibrant; season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove polenta slices from oven, place chicken on top of the polenta, mounding in the center, then arrange fennel, endive, and mushrooms on either side and layer asparagus across the top. Scatter grated Reggiano-Parmesan over and bake for about 10 minutes. Top with fennel fronds.

Serve with the pear salad, and crusty warm bread. We enjoyed a 2008 Simi Sonoma County Sauvingnon Blanc with this meal!

New Hello Kitty Box Bento

This is my new Hello Kitty bento box's first outing! Sautéed purple cabbage with garlic buds, ginger, slivered almonds, and chili oil fill one section, along with brown rice, teriyaki saury, asparagus, sweet potato, and avocado.

Recently, I'm discovering just how special fresh ginger is with many vegetables, and it perked up the cabbage very nicely (said Mr. Bentobird)!

The dessert section holds raspberries, fresh figs, a chocolate madeleine, and a Mozart Kugel chocolate filled with pistachio-flavored marzipan:

Ginger Salmon Bahn Mi Bento for Two

 

These bahn mi were filled with a spicy ginger salmon salad and a mix of cooling herbs and veggies.

To make the spicy ginger salmon salad:

Combine a can of well-drained red salmon with finely minced ginger, a clove of finely minced garlic (I used a potent piece of Russian garlic given to us by our wizard-cook friend Pete from his Dad's upstate N.Y. garden), a dash of togarashi pepper, and someVietnamese fish sauce. In a small bowl, combine mayo and chili garlic sauce--enough for use as a bread spread and to combine with the salmon. Mince a small handful of scallion and cilantro, add to the ginger salmon.

Split and remove some of the insides of a freshly baked roll, then lightly toast. To assemble bahn mi, spread the roll with a good layer of the coral-colored mayo-pepper, then add the ginger salmon salad, pickled carrots and daikon, thinly sliced cucumber, avocado slices, baby greens, cilantro, garlic buds, and fresh basil.

We added fresh ground black pepper, extra avocado, and a ginger sesame dressing to the bento greens to round out the meal...

Han Gang and Lotte Market

We enjoyed a special lunch at Han Gang in Annandale yesterday, full of refined yet hearty flavors. The elegant, calming interior with pretty teal walls and seasonal displays of scarlet leaves, pumpkins, and pinecones set the tone for their fresh and carefully prepared dishes. This sensitivity to nature also reflected in the lovely gardens near the entrance:

A refreshing starter: melon slices and tomato in a sweet, mild peanut sauce.To follow: Saewoo Yachae Twigim, crisp tempura vegetables, full of flavor underneath their crisp coatings (a butternut squash slice was the highlight). Next: Jorangye Tteok Bokki, smooth rice cake noodles in a gentle red bean sauce.

The most interesting banchan was the acorn jelly (at 9 o'clock), a barely seasoned glimpse of earthy, autumnal forest-floor. We found the cabbage kimchee a little tame for our tastes, but overall the selection was nicely varied.

Ahl Bap with fish roe, enoki and radish sprouts in hot stone bowl was amazing! I'd like to try making some variations on this dish at home. My husband had a dish that I could not stop sampling: Bibim Naengmyon, a chilled buckwheat noodle salad with sliced Asian pears, beef, seasoned cabbage, and radish--served with a pungent golden mustard.

After this energizing lunch, we paid a visit to the newly opened Lotte Plaza Asian mega-supermarket, inhabiting the space of a former Costco: