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The Rice of the Leftovers


This bento was made of a bunch of leftovers. (please don't hate on the terrible pun in the title. I could not resist)

What's in this box:


Savoury box:
- inari pockets with garlic and potato rice
- carrot
- tamari and wasabi

 Sweet box:
- straweberry chia pudding
- dates

Method and Recipes

I had leftover inari pockets from a sushi lunch I prepared with a friend. Inari is one of my favourite things in the world, although it's probably not the healthiest, seeing as it's seasoned fried beancurd. I use this brand (because it's the only one I can find) and I buy it in a Chinese supermarket for about £3.50. My trusted Thai shop in my area has betrayed me on this one. They didn't even know what inari was! The only issue with inari is that it is not gluten free because it is made with a small quantity of soy sauce and not tamari. I have done some research but I have not been able to find a gluten free one, unfortunately, but I did find a recipe to fry your own inari pockets at home, which can be made gluten free by using Tamari. This is where me being intolerant and not allergic helps, because I don't have to worry about trace gluten.

 I had made the garlic and potato fried rice from this video and had some leftover (after eating it for dinner and filling another bento that I forgot to take a picture of). On Sunday I was perusing my fridge and had this partial enlightenment moment: I am going to stuff the inari pockets with that leftover rice. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I was worried it was going to taste weird, but it didn't. Of course, you can stuff the pockets with sushi rice if you prefer.

 All you need to do is to gently open the inari pocket, then use your wet hands (if using sushi rice) or a spoon to stuff them with rice.

 I had a bit of space left, so I put in a small carrot as well, and a small bottle of tamari and wasabi.
This box took about five minutes to make, plus maybe two for cleanup. (I STILL had some rice left after stuffing the inari pockets!)

 Strawberry Chia Pudding:
1/2 cup strawberries
1/4 cup non dairy milk
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 and 1/2 tbsp chia seeds

 I blended the first three ingredients, poured in the mould and added the chia seeds. I finished the box with some Medjool dates. The sweet box took about five minutes including cleanup. A word about aesthetics: I was disappointed by the appearance of this because of the little bubbles. If you give the pudding a good stir after about half an hour it will then settle in your usually pretty chia self.

 I had made the pudding on Sunday night, but ended up eating it on Tuesday lunch. It was ok, but I would not recommend it. I think fresh is best.

Final stats:

Total time: 15 minutes including cleanup
How many meals: 1
Appearance: **** (I love inari pockets)
Value for effort: ****
Taste: **** 
Staple potential: *** (***** for the chia pudding)

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