I received my new wooden bento box which I ordered online from CasaBento a few days ago. It looks gorgeous and traditionally elegant...! The only drawback is that it is not dishwasher-safe. But truth be told, I don't really mind that it's not dishwasher-safe. It only takes less than one minute to wash it by hands...
Since I love this new bento box so much, of course I need to make a bento meal just for the sake of using this new box ;). I had some leftover yellow-tinted quail eggs from two days ago (I thought about using them for the Easter Parade Bento, but the basket got too full before I could do anything with the quail eggs), and somehow Winnie the Pooh came to mind, even though I am not a fan of this character. I do like the classic Winnie the Pooh illustrated by E.H. Shepard though.
If you own a nori punch for making characters with quail eggs, making my version of Winnie the Pooh would be quite effortless. I have got quite some requests from my blog readers that I should include a tutorial to my bento posts, so today I will attempt to show you how to make the pooh bear in the tutorial below. Apologies in advance if it's not that clear. I still need to get used to doing a tutorial...!
What You Need
STEP 1 - The Happy Faces
Use a fat drinking straw to cut an oval (by slightly pinching the straw) out of the cheese for the Pooh Bear's ears. Cut the oval in half.
Use a knife to make a slit at the top of the quail egg. With tweezers tuck the cheese ears into the slit.
If you own a nori punch for making characters with quail eggs, making my version of Winnie the Pooh would be quite effortless. I have got quite some requests from my blog readers that I should include a tutorial to my bento posts, so today I will attempt to show you how to make the pooh bear in the tutorial below. Apologies in advance if it's not that clear. I still need to get used to doing a tutorial...!
TUTORIAL
HOW TO MAKE BABY POOH BEAR USING QUAIL EGGS
What You Need
You can colour the hard-boild quail eggs by soaking them in yellow-tinted water. Dilute turmeric / curry powder in warm water and soak the eggs until they turn yellow. You can make the eggs rounder by slightly pinching them with your fingers.
STEP 1 - The Happy Faces
Use a fat drinking straw to cut an oval (by slightly pinching the straw) out of the cheese for the Pooh Bear's ears. Cut the oval in half.
Use a knife to make a slit at the top of the quail egg. With tweezers tuck the cheese ears into the slit.
STEP 3 - The Nose
STEP 4 - The FUN Part: Applying Facial Features
Attach the nori eyebrows, nori eyes, nori/cheese nose and nori mouth to the egg. I didn't use anything to stick these facial features to the egg, but in case they didn't stick well, use a dab of mayonnaise as 'glue'.
Attach the nori eyebrows, nori eyes, nori/cheese nose and nori mouth to the egg. I didn't use anything to stick these facial features to the egg, but in case they didn't stick well, use a dab of mayonnaise as 'glue'.
Please welcome The Egg Pops...:D)
The Pooh Bears Trio
Bento Box 1: Rice topped with toasted black sesame seeds, ham flowers and cucumber leaves, 2 pieces of edamame, Baby Pooh eggs, lettuce, 2 slices of tomato, a piece of broccoli and a piece of strawberry.
Bento Box 2: Easy Mapo Tofu, a few slices of cucumber, tomato and carrot, 2 rolls of ham, half a quail egg and a few pieces of edamame.
Easy Mapo Tofu
Easy Mapo Tofu
- 100 grams tofu, cut into little cubes
- 100 grams minced pork
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 - 3 tablepoons hot bean sauce
- 2 - 3 tablespoons Szechuan chili oil with fried pork (see picture below)
- A pinch of sugar
My secret ingredient for beautiful Szechuan dishes...:D)!
Stir-fry all ingredients until cooked. That's it. Super simple. And super tasty! I used to make the elaborate version of Mapo Tofu, which was also very good, but this speedy version really can compete with the original!
Wow, another very cute bento box. I love ma po tofu, we make it like once every week.
ReplyDeleteQue lindos te han quedado, deliciosos del todo.
ReplyDeleteSaudos
Thanks for the instructions! Cute!
ReplyDeleteWow I can't believe you made pooh. So skillful and of course adorable <3.
ReplyDeleteI love these baby bears bento, hope I can make some day, always I think are lovekly and so cute!! gloria
ReplyDeleteOh, so that is how you made the smiling faces! :) ... A lot of work but I am sure the obe who gets to enjoy the bento will be really thrilled!
ReplyDeletehow many hours did u make the bento?? hehhee...
ReplyDeleteHow gorgeous! Your Poohs look like savoury, more healthy versions of cake pops.
ReplyDeleteFinally you post the tutorial!! (which is actually long over due :-)))))
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely as always, and now I can learn from scratch !
another fantastic job from you! haha. your bento always filled with healthy food and never look bland!
ReplyDeleteHi CG, you are always impressive! I wish I have delicate hands like your! Lovely!
ReplyDeleteThat bento box is gorgeous, and I am amazed at how detailed the pooh bears are. So much effort, but it paid off quite well! They are so lovely!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! I would love to have that mapo bento! So delicious looking! And I would be keeping those cute bears to admire as long as possible:D Great creations! You are so artistic!
ReplyDeleteSo cute!!!! I love the Pooh, the flowers, and everything :D
ReplyDeleteWow!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am totally speechless, looks gr8,
love ur space and glad to follow :)
Another cute bento from you! I love it and your food photography is a pro one. :)
ReplyDeletewow, that looks cool. I hate doing fiddly stuff :), very artistic
ReplyDeleteSo cute! and I love the box!
ReplyDeleteIm speechless. You are a PRO!
ReplyDeletePapacheong
http://home-cook-dishes-for-family.blogspot.com
Thanks for the tutorial. My son is a big fan of Winnie's so I am sure he would love these little ones!
ReplyDeleteSo cute, you are really talented! And I love that wooden bento box, beautiful! Is it cherry wood?
ReplyDeleteciao
Alessandra
Aw, they pooh bears are so adorable! They look a bit like cake pops, you could have these pooh bears as the main course and then pooh bear cake pops for dessert! Thanks for the tutorial, that's really helpful :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and for your kind words on my blog. You too have a cheery blog! I have never made a bento meal but yours sure are cute!! ♥-Katrina
ReplyDeleteLOVE those bento boxes, Cute pooh bears made out of quail eggs. Great picture instruction and lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteWow! Amazing! I know a lot of work went into ths post!!!!!!!!! How great! Those wooden boxes are really beautiful too!
ReplyDeleteAwesome tutorial! I figured it took alot of work and skill to make your incredible bentos, now we can see just how talented an artist you are! Well done :)
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing the step by step instructions! now i can make a winnie the pooh bento set too! :P
ReplyDeletehi cg, this is great that you are showing the step by step. how did you get the nose to stick on to the eggs? sorry, i'm totally unknowledgeable about this! also a very nice round up of the 5 easter recipes, the cookies look amazing!
ReplyDelete@ Kartika - This bento took me less than an hour to make because I used leftover mapo tofu :)
ReplyDelete@ Xinmei - I thought so too that they look a bit like cake pops, let's name them 'Egg pops' ;)!
@ Lena - I didn't actually use anything to stick the nose, normally it should stick by itself, but if it doesn't, use a dab of condiment, e.g. mayonnaise, as the glue. Hope this helps :).
So adorable, this looks incredible!
ReplyDeleteu r adorable CG!! i love ur bentooo!! super cuteyy!! ;)
ReplyDelete*loveee
How cute are those?? I love those, and I love bento boxes. So do my kids. We'll have to try these ones out soon for sure. Great work!
ReplyDeleteLots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com
Your are very good at this. The boxes and your photos of them are wonderful. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteWhat a goregous box! And the baby pooh bears are cute too! LOL
ReplyDeleteWonderful and cute bento! Looks so festive and many details for this bento. Thanks for sharing the tutorial too :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful and cute bento! Thanks for sharing the tutorial too :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I love the step-by-step pictures...I think I'd not be able to eat this bento...SO SO cute! Hopu yoyu have a great week ahead :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is me again...sorry for the typo...should be "hope you" have a great week ahead :-)
ReplyDeletewow i love your pooh bear oooo so cuteeeeeee!!! like your detail tutorial too thx dear
ReplyDeleteIn heaven, I bet I can have bento like this every day! Looks so beautiful!! I know I say that every post, but just can't help it. :)
ReplyDeletedelightfully cute! the bears are really well made!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the step-by-step pictures today!! It looks easy but I know it's not! LOL. Are you using tweezers? Thank you for letting me know about who eats this cute obento everyday... you and your husband! How lucky your husband is! You are so talented with endless idea!
ReplyDelete@ Nami - Yes, I use tweezers to handle very intricate work, but of course not cosmetic tweezers ;). I have a kitchen tweezers, just for handling food :).
ReplyDeleteHow adorable. I love your new boxes. Sometimes things are more special if we have to wash them by hand rather than in the dishwasher don't you think?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the step by step procedure.
Sam
Yet another adorable bento box frm u! love the wooden bento boxes and I use the same chilli oil too hehe
ReplyDeleteThanks for the step-by-step photos too!
Great step by step photos thanks!
ReplyDeletehi cg, thanks for letting me know that!
ReplyDeleteMore yummy bento :) Love it! And thanks for the step by step :)
ReplyDeleteLove your pooh recipe it is so easy to make and so so cute!
ReplyDelete