Pink Ribbon Bento (399)
Well, it’s been an exciting morning watching the Twitter frenzy over the Balloon Boy, who it turns out, isn’t a Balloon Boy. At least, I’m hoping not. I hope we hear later today that him and his punk brother decided to prank their parents for not letting them watch a late movie or something. That would sure be a heck of a lot better than the alternative. I’ll take almost losing Buddy in Sears over thinking my son was in a helium balloon I stupidly left in my backyard any day.
As many of you may know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so in honor of that, I present my 399th bento.
I got the idea for this the other day as I was experimenting with usuyaki tamago sheets. I was practicing making some for Bento 400 and ending up thinking this one up. It came out just how I wanted it to, hooray!
Since making a bento with a pink ribbon on it doesn’t really do much, I’d like to take this a little further by offering to donate $0.25 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every comment made on this blog posting. (One comment per person.) I’d love to get at least a hundred comments, so please spread the word! I’ll take entries until the end of the month.
I wish I could make it more, but we just got word of a 5% paycut/furloughs. Ouch.
I actually had to make two omelets this morning because my first one bought a one-way ticket on the Fail Plane to Sucksville. I used a whole beaten egg and added one drop of red food coloring. This left me with a great, thick omelet and I was quite amazed at myself for not screwing it up. The only problem was it was freaking ORANGE. Damned yolk. I cracked yet another egg and this time used only the egg white.
After I beat it and strained it in a sieve, I didn’t have much egg, so I thought one drop might be too much. I put the drop of food coloring on my finger and let some of it drip off, then dipped my finger in (it was clean!) the egg whites to add the color. I then added about 1/2 a teaspoon of potato starch and some water. I’d read about making these egg sheets somewhere online after seeing them in a Japanese bento book and the recipes said to use potato starch or cornstarch. I’ve since found that potato starch is much better than cornstarch. I’m in love with the stuff!!
I heated a pan on medium heat, then added oil, then lowered the heat down to 2. The omelet with the yolk in it was much thicker and hardier than the egg white one, but the color combo turned out just right for the color I wanted and in the end, the thinner omelet made it easier to make the ribbon stick without having to hold it down with a piece of raw spaghetti.
The ribbon rests on top of a brown rice musubi wrapped in nori. The food around it consists of the rest of yesterday’s salmon, Okinawan sweet potato, asparagus, a grape tomato, and some mandarin orange slices. I thought the ribbon turned out quite nicely. It was easy to make, so if you want to give it a try, please do!
In other news, I’ve got some food that I tried out from Asian Food Grocer. The Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program gave us $30 to spend and it’s a good thing because their shipping prices to Hawaii are ridiculous. I stated as much and I guess I made them feel bad because my order arrived with some complimentary tea cups. Those things were so heavy that the shipping ended up even more than what I paid.
I bought four items including udon noodles, zaru soba noodles, memmi sauce, and ume paste. The Memmi sauce is something I hadn’t even heard of until a few months ago from a bento buddy of mine in Japan. I saw it on Amazon and then when this Tastemaker thing came along I thought I would finally try it out.
Of course, I found it at Foodland over the weekend. Figures.
Memmi is called “mentsuyu” in Japan and it’s a noodle soup base that you dilute with water to make soup for your udon, soba, somen, or for tempura sauce. I’ve used it for both the udon and the zarusoba so far and am totally loving the taste.
Here we have a rather unglamorous photo of my udon, which I ate for breakfast yesterday. It’s supposed to have a lot more soup in it, obviously, but I found myself feeling rather stingy, so I only made half the broth I made the first time. As a result, my kake udon looks like a bowl of noodles with no broth. I can assure you it was quite yummy though. I haven’t used the ume paste yet, though I probably could have put some into my musubi this morning. I tasted a bit of it and it’s wonderful! I loooove ume.
Next up is Bento 400, which I might do over the weekend. I’m trying to convince Mr. Pikko that we should go see Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (Lost writers) at the HIFF this Saturday, but so far he doesn’t seem too thrilled about it. *sob*
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My name is Crystal Watanabe and I'm 32 years old, living in Honolulu, Hawaii with my husband and two children. I have an addictive personality and that's a terrible thing when you're into cute bentos. I own over 200 bento boxes and way too many bento accessories!. 
Yeah for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a successful omelet! I’m loving the matching pink skewer in the tomato too
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nice gesture for breast cancer awareness
i love memmi, have used it since i was a kid for soba!
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Why do you use ume paste instead of a whole ume?
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Loving the roses in the background. <3
Pretty bento, as always. ^_^
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The ume paste is cheaper than buying the big fat ume. The bottle was less than 4 dollars while the pack of ume is like $5.79!
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Thanks for donating to cure breast cancer!
Also, great idea with the colored omelet. I’ve used cut egg sheets, but I’ve always stuck with the traditional yellow color. Now I’ll branch out to a whole rainbow of colored eggs! (haha, I bet hubby will be thrilled!)
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The ribbon looks very yummy.
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DONATE!!
(yum those noodles :’()
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Awesome bento!
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This is a great idea you’ve got going here.
… Now I need to remeber to get to a local Asian grocery this weekend to see about getting some noodles of my own.
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Awesome bento as usual! Here to help you with your gesture for the Cure.
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Yay, donations!
And I am in love with your blog
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Cute!
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I’ll have to try memmi. I hope to find it here in Hilo.
Props to you for donating to the breast cancer cause!
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mmm yummy noodles. i recently had soba noodles for the first time and they were delicious!
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As always a beautiful Bento! (‘-’*)
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I love to read your blog, though seldom comment. Mainly b/c your bentos leave me speechless. But such a worthwhile event means I’ve gotta open my mouth.
What a wonderful thing to do Pikko, and a lovely bento to showcase it all. I hope you reach your 100 comments!
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Comment! Now cough up that quarter.
Were the ingredients you purchased ones not readily available to you? I know the soup base is something I can get here in Colorado Springs. Udon — I love that stuff!
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Well, I can get all of it at the market, but I didn’t know I could get the Memmi. -_- There wasn’t much “new” to buy so I just tried some random udon noodle that sounded good!
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Lovely bento! I thought it might be ham until I read your post.
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Wow. I couldn’t tell that was egg at first. I thought it was a piece of that bubble gum that was all wrapped up. This stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_Tape
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What a wonderful gesture for a wonderful cause! And an absolutely delicious looking bento. You’re making me hungry and I’ve already eaten dinner.
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What is this FoodTaster program? Is it through Amazon or Asian Food Grocer? And can anyone apply, is it just for food bloggers only, or has the time limit on applying expired already?
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The Tastemaker program is for Featured Publishers with Foodbuzz.
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Ahh… I see! Thank you! I’ll have to try ordering Memmi, and I wonder what the flavor tastes like. I’m already making plans for a big order with them as soon as a paycheck clears. I live in rural Wisconsin, so they’re one of my few resources for asian seasoning and cuisine. I’ve fallen hard for Sour Ume plums and red shiso.
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The bento is beautiful and I think the donation idea is wonderful
Kudos!
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been a follower of yours for awhile now and i love love bento. i need to do it more but never have time in the morning and too lazy to cook food. haha
the donation is a wonderful idea as well
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very nice! i’ve been reading your blog for a while now, and i must say you do a terrific job! i’m tooo busy to emulate, but i do admire your work!
i love the donation idea!
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Thanks for making this, and for donating as well.
I wish I could showcase all the bentos all the race for the cure this weekend
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The noodles look delicious! Sometimes going stingy on the broth is exactly what you need! (and want)
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i’m totally obsessed with your blog and i drive friends and family crazy talking about your bentos all the time!! thanks for donating to the cause!
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I really like it. I thought it was pickled ginger. Love your site and your lost bentos
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I must admit, that is what I WANTED my pink ribbon bento to look like.
Well done!
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Very clever bento.
Wish I had your udon for breakfast. It was 52 degrees here in Atlanta this morning. Brrrr…
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A very very nice gesture on the donation. Nice bento too!
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What a wonderful gesture. This is a cause close to my heart. I love your blog, and this bento looks amazing.
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Awesome cause!! The bento looks so yummy too!
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great cause! thanks for caring!
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Lovely thought, lovely bento. Go Pikko!
)
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Wonderful bento for a wonderful cause!
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Go see the Lost guys!!!!! The bento is wonderful and it’s great you’re doing your part. Thanks Pikko!
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I love that pink ribbon onigiri! ^_^ It’s so cool!
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What a great cause and so nice of you to donate especially in time as this.
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so nice to see you doing this /comment
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i guess i can take a break from shadowy lurking to post. it is for a good cause after all. how generous and kind of you
ps-can’t wait to see what you come up with for #400
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Thank you for making a donation! =)
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Thank you!
You are a great inspiration. I need to start planning bento lunches for me–it would be much more appealing that my usual lunches.
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Yay for donations for the cure!
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Saw your post on Flickr….so generous of you!!! And, a lovely Bento!
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Definitely whole eggs aren’t good for subtle color! I’ve made a lovely deep red and a pretty green (using blue food color), things that work with the yellow of the yolk. It came out perfect with the whites though.
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The color of the ribbon is PERFECTLY done. It looks terrific! (And you made me giggle with “Fail Plane to Sucksville”)
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Gorgeous bento!!!
And you are really amazing for donating based on comments. =)
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Very good idea with the comments, I’ll think about something similar next year
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Yay for the cure!
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Posting cause you need them!
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Wonderful thing you’re doing x And gorgeous bento as ever!
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Wow, nice thing to spend some money for a good thing for each done post
First as I saw your ribbon I thought it would be made with ham. But then I read you made it from egg. Great
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I’ve seen recipes for an ume mentsuyu! Sounds like it was meant to be!
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So cute! Great idea! Here are some more ideas for a Breast Cancer Awareness Event.
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My great aunt died of breast cancer just a few years ago (it came back a second time and overwhelmed her), so I appreciate your donation!
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your stories are so funny! i’m going to have to try that memmi sauce.
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yay for breast cancer awareness, you’re doing a great job and your bento is adroable
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Thanks for the donation to Breast Cancer.
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Thanks for that donation which is a good cause!
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Happy to add my comment for a donation. Hello from England and congrats on all the wonderful Bento meals you have here I shall be back for more tips.
I have a wonderful Japanese fusion restaurant down the road called Misugo that serves Bento and all my friends have fallen in love with it.
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What a lovely idea! I really enjoy your adventures in bentomaking.
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So Excited. I just found out about Bento yesterday and today I found your picture of your 300th Bento with all of the animals. I really want to start making these uber-cool lunches. Your blog makes me so happy. I am going to try and make something tonight and hopefully I will be comfortable enough soon to enter your bento contest this year. I don’t expect to win as a complete newbie, but why not try. I’m proud of you for your breast cancer donation!!
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mmmm, now I’m craving a big bowl of noodles. yum!
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cute bento and thanks for the comment-based donations!
you’re sweet.
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I’ve been following your blog since I took a class from you last spring… (fun class!!) Do you think I’ll find Memmi on the mainland?? I’ll try Ichi Ban Kan in San FRancisco’s J-town, maybe they’ll have it.
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Lookin’ good! Your lunch must be very heart friendly.
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First time here and I love it! I look forward to spening some time on your site and can’t believe you have 100+ Bento boxes! I look forward to purchasing some and hope to find recommendations from your site.
Great cause you are supporting and I am glad to be a part of it!
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It is so generous of you to donate even though you are getting a pay cut. A great bento for a great cause.
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Great bento and great cause.
Save the boobies!!!
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mm noodles look yummy!
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love this! thanks for the reminder about national breast cancer month too.
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Great way to give back. I love it.
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Oooooh, the udon you have there look better than the ones I get! I’ll have to try them. I’m still trying to find a dry-packaged substitute for the delicious frozen ones I buy. Oh, and thank you for helping to….
SAVE THE TATAS!
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i’ve always seen that bottle called “tsuyu” here, is it called something differently in different regions?
i’d love to hear how the ume tastes! trying to find a good ume paste
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Pink is the color of the month! Nice thing the pink ribbon is included in the bento. spread the word and be aware! And let’s eat!
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what a beautiful bento
and a great cause too!
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lovely photos- an extra nice touch on a bento site is skilled photography!
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Yay! The pink ribbon bento is awesome!! Great that you will be making a donation too even with the furloughs! Thank you! =)
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Wow, the bento is yummie, but you’re great as well at taking marvellous photos !!!
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Great bento! thanks for donating
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Love what you do! Keep up your fantastic work!!
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I think it’s awesome that you’re going to donate!
I’m a relatively new reader and I’m loving your site! 
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I love your Website and your Bentos look delicous every time! I wish I could do mine so cute too, but I’m just a beginner
Thank you for this wonderful blog (with a wonderful webdesign, too ^0^) I visit it very often for inspiration and recipes!
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thanks for donating pikko!
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A lovely bento, as always!
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Posting (a little late) for your cause. I hope I made it in time.
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Hope It’s not to late to comment for a donation! Fabulous idea! Love your bentos as always!
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I just found your site off Foodgawker, and the bentos are so cute! (putting my 25 cents in ;] )
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