Totoro & Friends Bento

41 comments


I was a bit in two minds whether I should make another Hello Kitty-themed bento or Totoro bento to end this week. I finally decided for Totoro, because I do like Totoro better than Hello Kitty ;). But I am sure I will still make the Hello Kitty bento I had in mind in the next few days (or weeks), especially because I do not want to disappoint the people who have been waiting for my other Hello Kitty-themed bentos :).



I don't have the motivation to get back to work again tomorrow, because I have been in summer vacation mode for some time. I guess, I simply need to be patient, because it's only one more week to go and then I am (somehow) free...:D)!! I made today's bento especially cheery to remind myself that my summer vacation is indeed coming soon :). I hope you will all enjoy looking at this bento as much as I did making it :)!




I included all three Totoros this time: Totoro, the gigantic friendly forest plus his companions, the blue Chu-Totoro and the petite white Chibi Totoro. I also made some Susu Wataris (dark sootballs which inhabit dark places and immediately flee in the presence of light) to make the bento more 'Totoro-festive'.

I like this Totoro bento much much more than my first Totoro bento, which I now think looks quite ugly. My second Totoro bento is quite cute IMHO, but the mini Totoros indeed look more like little mice than Totoros :).

I used toasted ground black sesame seeds to colour the rice dark gray (for the giant Totoro). Since I didn't have red cabbage available, I did use a tiny drop of blue food colouring for the Chu-Totoro. If you want to have a natural blue colour, use the juice of red cabbage and a bit of baking soda. The sootballs are made out of cheese and nori, the red flowers of radish and cheese and the yellow ones of cheddar cheese and goat cheese.

The side dishes today include a portion of salad with a few pieces of pan-fried chicken karaage and feta cheese and the smallest bento box is filled with Japanese-style stir-fried pork with peppers, sugar snap peas and shirataki noodles. You can also see one half of soy sauce-soaked egg and a piece of strawberry.

Japanese-Style Pan-Fried Pork with Shirataki Noodles
  • 500 grams pork, very thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 200 grams Shirataki noodles
  • 100 grams sugar snap peas, sliced
  • 5 mini green peppers, seeded and sliced
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 3 tablespoons sake
  • A pinch of sugar and pepper




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41 comments:

  1. I love this bento, it is so much fun and looks wonderful. What a good job you did on this, how long does something like this one take you to make? Very summery, I have a month left until I have to go back to work(school). It is always so hard to go back. Have fun!!! I finally posted a bento on The Tiny Bento, and I had a month :P

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  2. ahhh adorable as usual!!! where do u find all of your inspiration from?? :D btw, who gets to eat all this? :D

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  3. Thank you for your kind comments on The Spice Garden! I found that baklava difficult! Tasty, but difficult. Your bento creations are just wonderful! I have been fascinated by the art of cooking bento box meals for a while and have even looked at bento boxes on line. I am going to NYC very soon and was thinking of buying a bento box when I am there ... I need to have things in my hands when I purchase special items ... don't you? I shall be back to visit you now and then to see your new ideas and work! Tschuss!

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  4. i LOVE Totoro! thank you so much for making this bento ;-)

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  5. The Totoro bento looks as if you had spent whole day preparing it! I also prefer Totoro and am really impressed! (I wonder what your holidays bentos will look like...)

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  6. Love it, this one too will be one to show my kids. I like the black sesame to colour food black, but yes, it is hard to get a natural blue... usually I get some sort of purple...Still, it is fun to use natural colours :-)

    Ciao and have a good week
    Alessandra

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  7. How cute! Love the blue colored rice.

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  8. Haha whenever you do characters you do them so well here is no doubt who they are! :D

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  9. I adore totoro... this bento is almost too cute to eat ^^

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  10. Totoro is my favourite! I love this bento!

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  11. My little daughter just LOVES Totoro after watching it in her Japanese class. She will love his too!

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  12. Hi CG! This the the best Totoro themed bento in your collections! It really brings out the summer season and put smiles on everyone's face! Very well done CG! :D
    I wonder HOW LONG (maybe 1 whole day!) I'll need to make this! LOL

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  13. Best Totoro so far! You just keep getting better and better. Woo hoo! Summer break soon come :)

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  14. What nice and lovely Bento!!
    Esperanza have to look this! xxgloria

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  15. my boyfriend loves Totoro! His bday is coming up I was thinking I should do something like this for him. Awesome job!

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  16. i love the big grin on the totoro and those Susu Wataris! I adore them so much! too cute!

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  17. Such a cute bento! :) Too lovely to eat hehe

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  18. What a fantastic bento! I love totoro... so cute!!! :-)))))

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  19. I love Totoro!!! You are really great with your hands!!

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  20. I love Tortoro and yours are especially cute! You always seem to have too much fun with your food!

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  21. I CG! I haven't been back here for a while and looks like you have made a couple of bentos - I need to check them out. First, I LOVE your Totoro bento~~~~. Every time I see, I just go wow... I love this frying with umbrella scene and I'm so glad you made this. Can't wait to share with the kids. =) I'm so impressed by your detail work CG... Terrific job!!

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  22. Oh Totoro is super cute, great bento. Your so talented!

    sweetlife

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  23. As usual, WOW! your bentos are just incredible works of art ... this one is so cute.

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  24. I adore Totoro! And have since I was a child. Great job!

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  25. Love this bento, very colourful.
    How long did it take you to work out this bento? You're very artistic.

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  26. this is an adorable bento. The susu wataris looks cute, looks like they are lost !!

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  27. Very nice bento as always! Honestly, when I look at your bentos, I always wonder if I could eat them. LOL. They are all too beautiful to eat!

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  28. This is too cute! Very colorful and is like a story book. You are very creative (^.^)

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  29. OH, I love Totoro, one of my favorite bento subjects for my kids too! Your family of totoro looks so cute and sweet. In fact all your bento are beautiful. So glad I came over from Nami's site. Have now added to my blogroll.

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  30. I am a big fan of your bentos. This looks awesome too! Lovely blog and great pictures!!

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  31. that bento box is just about the coolest thing I have ever seen! My word you are talented! I am so impressed

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  32. love your inclusion of the soot balls! nawww u added the chibi totoro too!

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  33. I love "My Neighbor Totoro!" Actually, I love all Miyazaki movies! :)

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  34. SO cute! I love this!! And I'm really enjoying scrolling through your older posts :D I need to subscribe because I want to see more of this cuteness ^^

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  35. So Adorable.. looks too good..

    I am new here and absolutely love ur space.. and following u for more wonderful creation of urs..

    Do visit me as time permits
    http://comeletseat.blogspot.com

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  36. What a cute Bento!!! We love Totoro!!!

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