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Sunday, May 2, 2010

seafood lumpia bento

This weekend, we were very lucky to partake of a delicious Filipino feast at the home of our friends Gaylen and Thomas. Galen is an awesome cook who, like us, loves fish and seafood. Enjoying some nice upstate New York microbrew porters, we helped prep vegetables (well, Jamison did--I was too busy eating these incredible crab and shrimp lumpia, fresh from the wok):
Gaylen made a wonderful whole red snapper, quickly pan fried and topped with a tangy pineapple, carrot, and green pepper sauce:
And also this lovely fish filet cooked in lemon grass, scallion and coconut milk:
Jamison and Thomas, cleaning snow peas and dicing chayote for a stir-fry:
Our friends had us leave with generous helpings from the feast, including fresh lumpia and a beautiful whole red snapper in pineapple sauce.

This morning, we had a hearty breakfast of the red snapper flaked and added to a stir-fry of fat scallions, baby peppers, cilantro, enoki mushrooms, and a few handfuls of whole wheat couscous. Four eggs were scrambled in at the end, plus some chili-garlic sauce...yum!
Then it was time to deep fry the fresh crab-shrimp lumpia. Tomorrow's bento features two of them, wrapped with scallion and mint, and half an avocado filled with the egg/veggie/fish combo. For color and fun, a champagne mango wedge, dipped in coconut and edible flower petals:
 
 Speaking of flowers, the display this weekend included:
Wishing you an excellent week ahead, bento friends!

26 comments:

Unknown said...

Yum! Delicious looking bento and food pictures! Kitty looks hungry too! :D

tinyskillet said...

Oh my everything looks so beautiful! The food...the flowers...the cat! My daughter and I love champagne mangoes! Yummy!!

Happy Little Bento said...

Sounds like so much fun! Whole snapper had me drooling. I haven't cooked a whole fish before but it sounds divine :) Glad to hear you had such a fantastic weekend! Here's to a happy week ahead!

Lia Chen said...

Beautiful Jenn! Surprisingly the foods you cooked with your friends were almost similar with Indonesian foods. We called it 'lumpia' too here. You really have so much fun there with your friends. Nice!! (^.^)

hypothermya said...

I have a secret weakness for avocados -- the idea of having a stuffed avocado makes my mouth water. I wish avocados were a bit more durable though. By the time my bento makes it through the morning all the way to lunch, any avocado I've thrown in has typically browned a bit. :( Yours, however, looks delectable.

Also, the mango wedge looks like a piece of art. Coconut and edible flower petals! Wow. Creative, flavorful, colorful, and appetizing. Perfection!

Token said...

wow, very interesting and delicious looking food! I first thought these lumpias where spring-rolls :D Is there only crab and shrimp stuffed or other ingredients such like veggys or some kind of spices? I love your beautiful bento, too! <3

Bentobird said...

Hi Jenn and thank you! Sophie, the sweet visiting cat from next door, is getting more comfortable at our place all the time...claiming my chair in the kitchen here and demurely requesting treats! Mostly she likes to roll around on the kitchen rug with a very happy expression on her face :)

Bentobird said...

Hi Lydnsey, thanks so much for your visit and nice comments! Yes, champange mangoes are soooo good, and isn't it great that they are packed with vitamins as well? Yay for win-win foods :)

Bentobird said...

Hi there sherimiya :) I haven't made a whole fish at home before either, but my friend's calm, casual approach to the red snapper made it look pretty do-able!
A good cooking project to try, as hubby and I are always ordering crispy whole fish out at Asian restaurants...it would be so cool to be able to enjoy at home! Hope your weekend was delightful as your comment :)

Bentobird said...

Hi Lia! Your comment was so interesting, I went straight over to Wikipedia to learn more about the migrations of this dish!

"Lumpia are pastries of Chinese origin similar to spring rolls popular in the Philippines and Indonesia. The term lumpia derives from lunpia (traditional Chinese: 潤餅; pinyin: rùnbǐng; POJ: jūn-piáⁿ, lūn-piáⁿ) in the Hokkien language.

The recipe, both fried and fresh versions, was brought by the Chinese immigrants from the Fujian province of China to Southeast Asia and became popular where they settled in the Philippines and Indonesia.

In the Netherlands and Flanders, it is spelled loempia which is the old Indonesian spelling for lumpia and has also become the generic name for "spring roll" in Dutch.

A variant is the Vietnamese lumpia, wrapped in a thinner piece of pastry, in a size close to a spring roll though the wrapping closes the ends off completely, which is typical for lumpia."

Have a great week, my friend!

Bentobird said...

Hi Christie! My weakness for avocados can't be kept secret--I love them with everything! I also encounter that browning issue, so I tend to make them in bentos for days I'm working from home and can eat lunch right I've made it :) Your great comments really brightened a rainy Monday morning, *smiles* thank you! Have a wonderful week :)

Bentobird said...

Hi Token! Yes indeed, they are a type of spring roll, and these were especially delish because they were filled with very sweet crab meat and shrimp! Many variations are possible, like so many Asian treats :)Thanks so much for stopping by, looking forward to your new posts this week!

Kuusou said...

What a beautiful feast! Love all the flowers. :)

Bentobird said...

Welcome, Kuusou and thank you! Such a cute icon :))

KidsDreamWork said...

Every time I look at your blog I feel so hungry! Those food look so yummy! And I love your bento which is always fill with spring spirits! :)

Bentobird said...

Hi KidsDreamWork! Thank you so much, I love your expression, "spring spirits"!

BentoBoxUK said...

These are just the prettiest colours ever in this bento! If this were a dress, I would wear it, it is just so lovely!

tata | bonitafood said...

The food parades are so drooling Jenn :D. We have lumpia too here. It's one of popular snacks here, my most favorite is one with carrot and minced chicken filling :D. And those flowers... Fantastic!

Bentobird said...

Hi Asfora and thank you! Interesting comment, as the card I have photographed with this bento is a detail from a French silk textile, a ladies sash from the 1920's!

Bentobird said...

Mmmm, Tata I would love to sample the amazing food where you live! That version of lumpia sounds soooo good!!

Anonymous said...

That all looks so delicious! I can see why you're friends ;) *Not* meaning self-interest but you both like to feast on food! :)

Bentobird said...

Thanks gnoegnoe! Yes indeed re foodie friends :)

Marisa Lyn said...

What a wonderful meal. Great friends and great food always a good combination.

Bentobird said...

I agree Marisa--one of the great joys of life!

Margot said...

What a beautiful bento and the flower! I adore your garden :)

Bentobird said...

Hi Margot, thanks so much! Happy spring!!