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The Mango in the Sushi - My first bento


What's in this box:



 Savoury box:
- vegan sushi
- tamari and wasabi

 Sweet box:
- banana
- chocolate and peanut butter caramel muffins

Method and Recipes

For the sushi, you will need:
1 cup shortgrain rice
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp rice or apple cider vinegar
salt
4 nori sheets
one slice of mango
half an avocado
two slices pan roasted tofu 
sriracha

 Rinse the rice thoroughly (I often just buy pudding rice - much cheaper, great taste), then put it in a pot with the water. Bring to the boil, then cover and let cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. I usually check after 8 minutes, then check again until I can see the rice has absorbed all the water. Add the maple syrup, vinegar and a good pinch of salt, and mix delicately with a spatula.

 Because I am the laziest cook EVAR, I then spread the rice in a thin layer on a baking tray and leave it to cool. Not only this makes the rice cool more quickly, but as I discovered, if I quarter it and lift it delicately with a spatula, I can pretty much lay it on the nori sheet and press it down and it's DONE. I make 4 rolls with this amount of rice, two for dinner and two for the bento.

 Now, here is where you can get creative and stuff your sushi rolls however you like. The ingredients above are my favourite combo at the moment. You will need to cut them in long thin slices. I start with putting a thin line of sriracha on the rice (I used to use vegan mayo mixed with sriracha, but it is actually ok just with the sriracha), then put the other ingredients on top and roll using a sushi mat. 

 For the muffins, you can use any easy chocolate muffin recipe (like this one). Fill the muffin cases halfway, then using two teaspoons drop a small dollop of my favourite peanut butter caramel on the batter, and finally cover the filling with the rest of the batter. Bake the cupcakes as normal and you will have filled cupcakes.

 The peanut butter caramel is one of my biggest obsessions, and it is super easy to make.
You will need:
1 part peanut butter
2 parts maple syrup
a splash of vanilla.

Mix everything, microwave for a few seconds, mix again. 

Final stats:

Time: 30 minutes prep + 1 h to cool the rice
How many meals: 2
Appearance: savoury box *****, sweet box **
Taste: **** 
Staple potential: ***** 
Notes: This was one of my first bentos. I adored the sushi, but I have since stopped putting bananas with the peel in my bento. It is much better and prettier to slice the banana (it will keep). Also, now I have the moulds to make stuff of the exact shape of the bento, I am looking forward to experimenting with cakes!

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