Black Cat Bento/ Lunchbox 小黑猫饭盒

~ When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween ~


Rice Based Food Art - Halloween Theme Bento/ Lunchbox: Black Cat Bento 小黑猫饭盒. MEOW.....

October is here and it's time for Halloween theme food. Made this not-so-frightful halloween bento/ lunchbox for the kid. 

Some quick notes of how I made this cute little black cat bento/ lunchbox:

1.  The black cat and jack-o'-lantern are made from rice that has been mixed with mashed pumpkin. 

2. Added some Furikake in the pumpkin rice, mould into cat and jack-o'-lantern, then wrap with seaweed.

3. Facial details are made of seaweed and egg sheet. 

4. Side dishes are pan fried snapper fillet, tofu with Shimeji mushrooms topped with crispy dried shrimps, served with some blanched broccoli. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you are inspired after reading my blog. If you love to see my food, click here, LIKE & follow Miki's Food Archives Facebook page to receive more recipe updates. Don't forget to change the setting to 'SEE FIRST' if you wish to see my post on your Facebook news feed. Enjoy!

Cute Lion King Bread

Animal Theme/ Bread Based Food Art - Cute Lion King Meat Floss Bun. Baking fun shapes bread makes bread-baking more interesting. From turtles to bears to kittens to seals and many more that I have tried, this is one of the easy animal shape bread. 

Cute Lion King Bread

I never attend any bread making classes, all I did was just trial and error. If you think you can't make it or it's too difficult for you, think again...

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In August 2014, I have made my very first lion shape meat floss bun and I wrote:

"I laughed every time I saw these pictures of the animal bun. Just came across some cute animal buns made by others and I thought my boy would love it, so I made for my boy. I made this at night after my boy went to bed because I'm not good in handling bread dough, I need full concentration when doing this. To shape the dough wasn't as easy as decorate cakes with fondant. Bread dough change it's shapes a little after final proofing and I shaped it before the final proofing, that's the challenge!

I made 2 animals... my boy's favourite hippopotamus and lion. Hippopotamus with my dad's homemade kaya filling and lion bun with pork floss. Guess which one my boy likes the most? By animal, he likes hippopotamus, but he likes to eat the lion bun more because he likes bread with pork floss. I made this with Soft Breakfast Bun recipe, the buttery soft buns. 
8 buns never too much for both of us."

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Updated: September 2017.

Revisited this blog post and I have made it again. This time, the lion definitely looks better than my first attempt 3 years ago. :) 

How I made it: 

1. Prepare the dough. Tap to get full recipe here << Soft Breakfast Bun >> 

Soft Breakfast Bun

2. After step 4, shape the bread as follow:

3. After baked, use melted chocolate to draw the facial details.

4. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise around the head and tip of the tail.

5. Add chicken/ pork meat floss on the mayonnaise. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you are inspired after reading my blog. If you love to see my food, click here, LIKE & follow Miki's Food Archives Facebook page to receive more recipe updates. Don't forget to change the setting to 'SEE FIRST' if you wish to see my post on your Facebook news feed. Enjoy!

Little Chick Ham & Egg Mayo Sandwich 鸡蛋美乃滋火腿三明治

Bread Based Food Art - Little Chick Ham & Egg Mayo Sandwich 鸡蛋美乃滋火腿三明治. Enrich your breakfast menu with this simple yet delicious egg mayo & ham sandwich. Just 15 minutes from preparation to dining table. :)

如需要中文翻译，可在网页的右边点击Translate，然后选择中文或其它语言。

Basic Egg Mayo Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Egg

1 heap tbsp Japanese Mayonnaise 

Pinch of Salt & Pepper, add to taste

Homemade Egg Mayo Bagel for the son's breakfast,
made using the same egg mayo recipe (doubled the amount).
Click here for homemade bagel recipe
Photo updated: April 2025

Homemade bread with egg mayo 
Photo updated: March 2026

If you are sharing this recipe, kindly attach the link to this blog instead of screen capture/ copy & paste/ use in your blog and claimed as your recipe! Thank you. 如果您要分享此食谱，请联系这个部落格的相关链接。敬请不要复制或改篇为自己的食谱。谢谢！

Method:

1. Cook the egg in hot boiling water for 8 minutes. Rinse under cold running water. Peel and mash with a fork. Add in mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Mix well, set aside. You may make this ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator for later.


Assemble the Little Chick Egg Mayo Sandwich

2 slices Bread, I use my homemade soft bread. 

Tap here to get <<Bakery Style Soft Bread Recipe >>

2 slices Shaved Ham

Seaweed/ Nori 

1. Trim off both sides of the bread. Place a slice of bread on the serving plate. Place the ham on the bread. 

2. Spread the egg mayo on the other slice of bread. Trim 2 small pieces of bread to make the wings. Cut some cherry tomato to make the beak as shown in the picture above. When it's done, place the bread with egg mayo onto the bread with ham.

3. Use a pair of small scissors, trim seaweed/ Nori to make the facial details of the chick. Serve with your choice of salad and dressing. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you are inspired by my blog. If you love to see my food, click here, LIKE & follow Miki's Food Archives Facebook page or follow us on Instagram: mfa_dingoozatfood  to receive more recipe updates. Don't forget to favourite my pages' if you wish to see my post on your news feed. Enjoy!

Stir Fry Clam In Oyster Sauce 香炒蚝汁啦啦／蛤蜊

Stir Fry Clam In Oyster Sauce 香炒蚝汁啦啦／蛤蜊 - Clam meat is tender, delicate and easy to cook as it pick up flavours quickly. They are perfect for stir frying in a good quality wok - Song Cho Ideal Wok, that's what I used to stir fry these flavourful, juicy and delectable clams. 

The IDEAL Wok is a flat based stainless steel wok that can be used to do more than just simple stir-frying. It is a multiply stainless steel wok without chemical coating, so it's safe to use in any cooking and deep frying. 

Thanks to Song Cho Singapore for sending this wok to me. :)

FEATURES:

• - Multiply stainless steel
• - Lightweight
• - Multi-functional (use as a hotpot; pan-fry, stir-fry & steam)
• - Suitable on various types of cooker (gas, induction, infrared, ceramic, electric, oven)
• - Energy saving
• - Economically effifient
• - Environementally friendly

• 
  

Ingredients: 
材料


1 kg Clam 啦啦／蛤蜊 1公斤

2 tbsp Salt 盐 2汤匙

2 litre Water 水 2公升（可以用清水或米水）



30g chopped Shallot 小葱头 30克，剁碎

1 chopped Red Chili/ Bird's Eye Chili 红辣椒／指天椒 1条，剁碎

20g chopped Garlic 蒜茸 20克

1 tbsp chopped Ginger 姜碎 1汤匙


1 tbsp Oyster Sauce 蚝油 1汤匙

1 tbsp Shao Xing Hua Tiao Wine 绍兴花雕酒 1汤匙




2 tbsp chopped Spring Onion 青葱碎 2汤匙

If you are sharing this recipe, kindly attach the link to this blog instead of screen capture/ copy & paste/ use in your blog and claimed as your recipe! Thank you. 如果您要分享此食谱，请联系这个部落格的相关链接。敬请不要复制或改篇为自己的食谱。谢谢！


Method: 
步骤

1. Pour water and salt in a large bowl, add in clam, let it soak for 2 hours to expel sand. Remove clam and rinse under running water, drain and set aside.
把盐加入水，将啦啦／蛤蜊浸泡在水里2小时，然后用清水冲洗干净，备用。

2. Add water in Song Cho Ideal Wok until half full, bring to the boil over high heat. Add in clam. When most clams have opened, remove from heat. Discard any unopened clams. Break off and discard the top shells of the opened clams. Set aside.
松厨IDEAL万能锅加入半锅水，大火煮滚。加入啦啦／蛤蜊。当大部分的啦啦／蛤蜊打开后，熄火。待凉一些就把啦啦／蛤蜊的上壳去掉。没开的啦啦／蛤蜊丢掉。

3. Heat some oil in Song Cho Ideal Wok, add shallot, garlic, ginger and chili, fry until fragrant. Stir in clams, add oyster sauce and wine. 
烧热油，加入小葱头，蒜头，姜和辣椒，爆香。加入啦啦／蛤蜊，翻炒。然后加入蚝油和酒。拌炒。

4. When the sauce is thicken, stir in spring onion. Remove from heat and serve right away.
收汁，加入青葱碎，拌均。即可享用。若喜欢我的食谱，可以LIKE和追随我的面书专页，不要错过最新食谱发布。

If you like my recipe, click here, LIKE & follow Miki's Food Archives facebook page to receive more recipe updates. Don't forget to change the setting to 'SEE FIRST' if you wish to see my post on your Facebook news feed. Enjoy!

~ Special thanks to Song Cho Singapore ~ 

Some feedback from those who have tried this recipe:

Feedback from Esin Chua

By Esin Chua

By Corrine Tpw

By Corrine Tpw

Feedback from Corrine Tpw

Teddy Bear Mooncake Festival Bento 小熊咖喱三文鱼饭盒

Rice Based Food Art - Teddy Bear Mooncake Festival Bento 小熊咖喱三文鱼饭盒. Mid Autumn Festival is all about celebration with the family, colourful lanterns and yummy mooncake. This is a lovely and hearty lunch box that I have prepared for my 8yo son. Teddy bear was made from rice mixed with some dark soy sauce, hugging a piece of mooncake. Serve with my kid-favourite non-spicy curry salmon.

My teddy bear loves mooncake, my son loves teddy bear more than mooncake, how about you? ;)

Here are some quick notes to show I made this cute lunch box:

1. Cook the rice and salmon. Blanch the broccoli and cauliflower. Prepare yellow and white egg sheets.

Tap here to get my kids-friendly << Curry Salmon Fillet Recipe >>

2. Portion out some rice, mix with dark soy sauce and mould into bear shapes as shown in the picture below.

3. Line the bento box with lettuce, add the remaining rice.

4. Transfer the cooked salmon, broccoli, cauliflower, bear rice ball and mooncake into the bento box.

5. Add facial details using seaweed.

6. Use the yellow egg sheet to make the moon and stars, white egg sheet as cloud.

Thanks for reading, I hope you are inspired after reading my blog. If you love to see my food, click here, LIKE & follow Miki's Food Archives Facebook page or follow us on Instagram: mfa_dingoozatfood  to receive more recipe updates. Don't forget to change the setting to 'SEE FIRST' if you wish to see my post on your Facebook news feed. 

Enjoy!

Penguin Goes Fishing Onigiri Served In Homemade Japanese Curry 小企鹅钓鱼咖喱饭团

Rice Based Food Art - Penguin Goes Fishing Onigiri Served In Homemade Japanese Curry 小企鹅钓鱼咖喱饭团.  This little penguin is handcrafted rice ball wrapped with seaweed, details are done with 2 types of cheese and some finely trimmed seaweed. 

Some quick notes to show how I made this cute penguin fishing onigiri:

1. Prepare homemade Japanese curry. I have an easy recipe to cook Japanese curry from scratch. This is the recipe I have been using for years, my kid-favourite curry. Get full recipe:  <<Click here for Homemade Japanese Curry Recipe >>

2. Place some cooked rice on a sheet of cling wrap, wrap up and mould into rice ball. Trim seaweed as shown in the picture below. 

3. Remove the cling wrap, place the rice ball onto the seaweed, wrap up. Trim seaweed with a pair of small scissors or seaweed cutter (if available). Add details using cheese and seaweed and assemble, as shown in the picture below. 

If you do not have cheese at home, you can use seaweed to make the facial details as follow:

This was my first attempt making penguin onigiri in September 2014.
Click here for more images of my first batch of penguin onigiri. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you are inspired after reading my blog. If you love to see my food, click here, LIKE & follow Miki's Food Archives Facebook page to receive more recipe updates. Don't forget to change the setting to 'SEE FIRST' if you wish to see my post on your Facebook news feed. Enjoy!