Kanna's Bento: Inspired by Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (gluten free)
Inspired by Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, I’m making Kanna’s Bento! The scene is so cute and I really wanted to recreate that kawaii feel! This boxed lunch is delicious, filling, super satisfying to look at and so I highly recommend making a bento like this as your meal prep for the week! Soft fresh onigiri with flavourful tamagoyaki, cozy simmered kabocha squash and adorable little dragon hotdogs, a perfect spread to help get you through the day!
Ingredients
For the Tamagoyaki
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp dashi or 2 Tbsp water with ¼ tsp dashi powder
- 1 tsp soy sauce gluten free
- 1 tsp mirin
- neutral falvoured oil
For the Spinach Gomae
- 100 grams spinach you can sub with frozen whole leaf spinach
- ½ Tbsp sesame oil
- ½ Tbsp soy sauce gluten free
- sprinkle of sesame seeds
For the Simmered Kabocha
- ½ Kabocha squash
- water enough to cover the kabocha ¾ of the way up
- 1½ Tbsp instant dashi powder
- 1½ Tbsp brown sugar
- 1½ Tbsp sake/chinese cooking wine
- 1½ Tbsp soy sauce gluten free
For the Spicy Tuna Mayo Onigiri
- 3 cups uncooked Japanese short grain rice
- 1 can tuna in water
- 2 Tbsp kewpie
- 1 tsp sriracha you can omit if you don't want spicy
- sushi nori (seaweed)
For the Takuan (Daikon Pickles)
- 1 medium daikon radish
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- 20 grams salt
- 20 ml rice vinegar
- Yellow food coloring if desired
Instructions
For the Tamagoyaki
- Mix all ingredients except for the oil together.
- Soak a small piece of paper towel and keep in small bowl to the side.
- Grease your pan with the paper towel, make sure to get in those corners to prevent sticking.
- On medium heat (you want to hear that sizzle but not tooo much or it’ll get too brown), ladle in a thin layer of the egg mixture and tilt the pan to coat.
- Once the bottom of the egg is set but the top is still wet (the wet egg acts as a glue for your roll), roll the egg from top to bottom.
- Grease again and push rolled egg back to the top.
- Repeat this process with your remaining egg making sure to poke out air bubbles along the way.
- Dont worry if your first few layers are a bit messy, it will come out nicer as you go.
- When done, you can roll it in a sushi mat for few minutes to get a more uniform shape, slice and serve.
For the Spinach Gomae
- Blanch spinach and rinse with cold water (you can use frozen spinach
- Squeeze out all excess water
- Rough chop your spinach into 1-2 inch chunks, no stress on this
- Mix spinach with the rest of the ingredients.
- Serve your side dish!
For the Simmered Kabocha
- Wash the Kabocha, if you have a full one cut it in half and clean out the seeds. If you bought a chunk of Kabocha already cleaned, skip to the next step.
- Cut into 1 inch chunks. Don’t remove the skin, it is nutritious and edible!
- Optional step: Mentori method, cut the edges off to have a rounder edge. This helps the pieces break less while simmering.
- Place kabocha, skin side down, into a saucepan and add dashi, sugar and sake. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn the temperature down to med-low for a simmer. Add soy sauce and cover with a drop lid or Otoshibuta. You can easily make your own by folding a piece of tin foil into a round disk that fits in your pot and poke a few holes in the middle.
- Let simmer for 15-20 mins until the kabocha is cooked through and the skin is soft.
- Remove from heat and let cool for at least 15 minutes, this helps prevent the squash from falling apart.
- Serve hot or cold!
For the Spicy Tuna Mayo Onigiri
- Wash your rice! Rinse rice multiple times until the water comes through clear. Cook your rice using whichever method you prefer. I use my new rice cooker that I am in love with!
- In a small bowl, mix together tuna, mayo and sriracha (if desired) until combined.
- With wet hands, take about a ½ cup of rice and form into the cup of your palm.
- Press an ident in the middle with your thumb and add about 1 Tbsp of your filling.
- Place a bit more rice on top and use both hands to press the rice ball into your desired shape. Kanna’s onigiri has a unique cylinder shape but you can form them into the traditional triangles if you prefer.
- Take a slice of the seaweed and wrap it around your onigiri.
- Best served fresh!
For the Takuan (Daikon Pickles)
- Wash and peel the daikon radish.
- Slice in half and then into half moons.
- Put all your ingredients into a zip baggie or into a small container (as long as liquids cover all the radish slices).
- Close and let pickle in the fridge for at least 6 hours. The closer to 24 hours the better!