Halloween Decoben (Seasonal Lunch Box) Recipe

This decoben (short for “decoration bento”) features a pumpkin created from ketchup-flavored chicken rice and a thin omelet

Cooking time

30min

Calories

459kcal

Sodium

600mg

Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Nutrition values calculated for the omelet-covered chicken rice and "mummy"-shaped sausages only.

Directions

Mince the onion, thinly slice up the mushroom, drain the green peas, cut 4 round eye shapes (for the mummy-shaped sausages) from the cheese slices and then thinly slice up the remainder. Cut the chicken into 1 cm (0.4 in.) cubes, and boil the sausages. Mix together the egg, milk, salt and pepper from (B).
Prepare the chicken rice (A). Heat 1/2 Tbsp of butter in a fry pan and saute the onion until translucent. Add the remaining butter and cook the chicken over medium heat, sprinkle in the salt and pepper, then add in the mushroom and green peas and saute all ingredients.
Once cooked through, add in the ketchup, lightly cook, then add in the rice and turn the heat to high. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper, then remove from the fry pan. Once cooled, divide into 2 portions and form into rounded mounds.
Prepare the thin omelets (B). Clean the fry pan, add in 1/2 Tbsp of oil, turn the heat to medium and add in half of the egg mixture. Stir while spreading in the fry pan, cook thoroughly and remove. Repeat these steps to prepare one more thin omelet.
Cover each chicken rice mound with one each of (4), place a clean kitchen towel on top and use to mold the form and place into the lunch boxes. Use a knife or kitchen shears to cut a face into the thin omelets.
Prepare the mummy-shaped sausages (C). Wrap the thinly sliced cheese slices around each sausage. Use the cheese round eye shapes and the yakinori to add eyes, then add a dribble of ketchup for extra effects.
Feel free to add more ingredients such as quail eggs and your choice of vegetables (extra).

Cooking Basics

Onions - finely chopped

Cut the onion with its outer skin removed vertically in half, and thinly slice cut-side down without cutting as far as the base. Then lay the knife flat and insert horizontal cuts, finely chopping from end to end.

Eggs - how to make usuyaki tamago or thin Japanese-style omelet

Ingredients

eggs: 3

salt: 1/4 tsp

sake (cooking sake): 2 Tbsp

potato starch (or corn starch): 2 tsp

vegetable oil: as needed

Directions

1.

Crack open and beat the eggs together, add in the salt, sake and potato starch and mix in well.

2.

Strain through an all-purpose strainer. This step helps to achieve a smoother, thinner omelet.

3.

Use a paper towel lightly dipped in vegetable oil to lighly coat a heated square-shaped fry pan.

4.

Pour a ladle of the egg mixture into the pan.

5.

Swirl the pan to evenly distribute the egg mixture over the entire pan.

6.

Once the egg becomes cooked on the surface, use one cooking chopstick to pick up and flip over the usuyaki tamago. Allow to cook on the opposite side for one moment, then remove onto a cutting board. Repeat this process with the remaining egg mixture.