Shirley Wong Will Introduce You to the Japanese Bento Craze

By
Rose B
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Bento boxes are all the rage these days, and it’s easy to see why. A staple in Asian culture—specifically Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean cuisines—a traditional bento holds rice or noodles, fish or meat, alongside pickled and cooked vegetables—all packed neatly (and cutely) in one box. But you don’t necessarily have to be a kid to enjoy this packed lunch.

Shirley Wong, aka, Little Miss Bento, will introduce you to the bento craze. An award-winning bento artist, Wong is the first Singaporean to be certified under the Japan Sushi Instructor Association in Tokyo and and the Japan Salonaise Association.

A top celebrity food artist in Singapore, Wong has amassed more than 330k fans on Instagram thanks to her undeniably cute bento boxes. But it takes much more than intuition to make each box.

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Had such a blast at the Breakfast with MILO Zoom session last Saturday. We made a quick & nutritious breakfast bento together with myself and special guest @iamjamieyeo. This breakfast recipe is great for busy parents and perfect to pair with MILO to give your children the energy to go further as they go about their school day. @milosingapore Here is how you can also make the📣🐣 Cheerleader Chick Sandwich Bento Ingredients needed – 2 slices wholemeal bread – 1 hard boiled egg – Low fat mayo / or mildly sweet greek yogurt – Pepper , salt – Carrot 1 slice – Black sesame seeds – Slice cheddar cheese – Sliced ham (halal ham can be used). – Ketchup or chili sauce (optional) – Packet MILO Steps: – Half one of the bread slices – Using a cup, cut a circle piece and a semi circle piece of wholemeal bread – Using scissors, trim and cut the semi circle into egg shell jagged edges – Using the cup, cut the slice cheddar cheese and place over the circle piece of bread – trim and cut carrot for chick’s beak – Trim a strip of ham for the exercise headband – half the remaining ham, make small cuts along the the center of the ham and roll up to create the pom-poms – Dice up any remaining carrots, ham bits and mix together with the mashed egg mixture. Season with salt and pepper , add in Greek yogurt or low fat mayo as desired – Place the uncut half slice of wholemeal bread as the base – scoop the mashed egg mixture and arrange the leftover bits of the bread on top, or at the side of the bento box – Arrange the final layer of chick design on top. – Add black sesame seeds for the eyes and place the ham pom-poms at the side – Dab some tomato sauce for blush (optional step) – Enjoy this wholesome fun breakfast with a packet of nutritious MILO #BreakfastwithMILO #PacktoSchool #EnergyToGoFurther

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“I will usually draw first, after which I will come up with the design and figure out what box I would be using, and the ingredients which I need,” relayed Wong in an interview with the Epoch Times, where she explained her process. “This usually happens the night before, or sometimes a few nights before. I can also have the design hanging out for a week before I start making it.

“I usually make the lunchboxes in the morning,” she explains. “I don’t usually wake up in the morning and start thinking what I am going to do. I prepare myself so that I will know what I am going to do the next day. That’s the process: sketch, design, plan, get ready my ingredients, cook, pack, and take photos.”

While we aren’t planning on visiting Japan anytime soon (or any other place, for that matter), packing ourselves a bento box seems like a good idea.