Crisp & Chunky Tempura Bento Box

Soy-marinated Eggs

*The soy mixture is enough to marinate 6 eggs, so you can opt to do 2 extra or just marinate the 4 needed for the recipe.

Add the Soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, vinegar, and water to a glass jar with a lid.

Preheat the Instant™ Vortex™ Plus Air Fryer with ClearCook air fryer to 130 ºC. Once at temperature, add the eggs and cook for 11 minutes. Remove from the basket and place into a bowl of ice water for 3 minutes before cracking and peeling.

Place the peeled eggs into the Soy marinade, seal with the lid and refrigerate for 2-6 hours, or overnight for maximum flavour.

Sushi Rice Pandas

Rinse the sushi rice very well until the water runs clear. Place the rinsed rice in a medium-sized pot and add the water. Cover with a lid and cook on a medium-heated stove plate until the rice comes to a boil. Once boiling, decrease the heat to low and let the rice cook until it has absorbed all of the water, about 10 minutes. Switch the heat off (but don’t lift the lid) and let the rice steam for another 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the sugar has dissolved, then set aside to cool.

Transfer the cooked rice onto a large tray or casserole dish and gently fold the vinegar mixture into the rice with a spatula (being careful not to squash the grains). Allow the rice to cool completely.

Place a golf ball-sized portion of rice onto a square of cling wrap. Gather the sides of the cling wrap, roll and twist tightly to make an oblong shape for a panda body. Repeat to make 4 sushi pandas in total. Cut out shapes for the eyes, ears, nose and body stripe from the sheet of nori. Unwrap the rice bodies and use the cutouts to create the sushi pandas.

Roll any leftover rice into golf ball-sized balls. Use small cookie cutters or a knife to cut carrot, radish and baby cucumber slices into decorative elements. Use these elements to decorate the tops of the rice balls, and any remaining cut outs can be as decor inside the bento boxes when assembling.

Vegetables & Fish

In separate bowls, drizzle the sweet potato with olive oil and the aubergine with chilli oil, and season both with salt and pepper.

Preheat the Instant™ Vortex™ Plus Air Fryer with ClearCook to 180 ºC. Add the sweet potato and aubergine to the air fryer basket and set the timer to 12 minutes; once cooked remove and set aside.

Add the Crisp & Chunky Tempura hake fillets and set the timer to 20 minutes and cook until crisp and golden.

To Assemble

Assemble the bento boxes as artistically as possible. Add a sliced Crisp & Chunky Tempura hake fillet to each lunchbox, as well as a sushi panda, rice ball and Soy-marinated egg (cut in half). Portion out the sweet potato, aubergine and edamame in sections. Add decorative cucumber and carrot elements, and then sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with edible flowers, if using.