A Taiwanese woman married and moved to Japan — it’s amazing what kind of bento dishes she can make

Reported by You Ru / Taipei

It’s truly amazing to be able to make such bentos (lunch boxes)! A “Taiwanese wife,” who moved to Tokyo, Japan, found herself making bento for her husband every day at home but felt it lacked a sense of accomplishment. So, she began using images of cartoon characters from the internet to come up with creative new ideas. From Disney characters like Duffy, Elmo, and Rilakkuma to Totoro, and even spooky Halloween-themed dishes, she crafts them all by hand with incredibly high levels of detail.

 
▲%After creating this cute bento, she was overjoyed. (Japan, from her official page a href="https://www.facebook.com/candyssnglifeinjp?fref=ts">Candy's SNG Life ft. Japan）


“At first, I just wanted to make cute bento for my own vanity,” said Candy, the “Taiwanese wife.” Because her husband had to take bento to work, she originally made simple dishes, but without any sense of achievement, she decided to create something “different.” She referred to cartoon images online and used different ingredients to shape characters. At first, she started with the colorfully simple and easily shaped Disney character Duffy as the main subject. When her husband opened his bento, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “This is amazing!”

What used to take two hours to make one character bento has now been reduced to just one hour. Candy uses more varied ingredients to create different bento designs—characters like Anpanman, Santa Claus, and the Three-Eyed Monster have all become stars of the lunchbox. “Before moving abroad, I rarely cooked at all,” she admitted, adding that she has no natural artistic talent and isn’t a born cook. The cartoon characters are all carefully referenced from the internet, and then she slowly assembles them with ingredients. “That way, eating becomes fun, and I save money too!”


▲%The character images are all carefully referenced from the internet, then slowly turned into food with ingredients. (Japan, from her official page a href="https://www.facebook.com/candyssnglifeinjp?fref=ts">Candy's SNG Life ft. Japan）


 
▲During Halloween, Candy made a “finger feast,” which even scared her husband. (Photo / fromCandy's SNG Life ft. Japan）

Candy shared that essential tools for creating character bento include cheese, nori (seaweed), ham, and crab sticks, which can be used to outline parts of the character. As for giving rice different colors, you can use edible seaweed dyes or sprinkle chopped red ginger on top. Most importantly, you’ll need small nail scissors to delicately shape the facial expressions of the cartoon characters.

“The sense of achievement in making character bento comes from the look of surprise on my husband’s face when he opens the lid.” Putting in an hour of effort just for that one moment of amazement, Candy strives to create unique joys in life while living far from home. It also gives her a sense of fulfillment beyond just cooking—this is the perseverance and creativity of the “Taiwanese wife.”

Candy’s Totoro soba noodle recipe:

▲Ingredients needed: soba noodles, grated yam, nori, and watercress. (Photo / fromCandy's SNG Life ft. Japan）

1. Use a large clump of soba noodles. First, boil the noodles and place them on a plate. Use a fork to coil the noodles into the shape of the body and the pointed ears.
2. Slowly spread the grated yam paste over the soba noodles. Remember to go slowly to form smooth, rounded shapes.
3. Fold the nori in half, then use small scissors to cut out the eye shapes. Folding it ensures both eyes are the same size.
4. Place watercress on Totoro’s head and feet to complete the look. (You can vary the vegetables as you like)