Jess Bakes and Cooks: Panda Japanese Curry Rice

Today's tutorial will be on a simple yet tedious japanese curry rice. Yes, I am going to show you the tedious process of creating these panda to spice up plain old japanese curry rice!

Even with the use of the shapping tools, it took me an hour more than my usual cook time to complete the assembling of this meal!

Ingredients: (servings for 2)
1 cup long grain rice
2 serving cube of golden curry
280ml water
1 carrot, cubed
1 potato, cubed
1 Tablespoon oil
A few french beans
Some seaweed sheets
1 set panda mould tool

Instruction:
1. Wash the rice and cook as per instruction on packet.

2. Bring half a pot of water to bowl and cook french bean for about 5 to 8 minutes. You may add some salt to taste in the water. I did not add any to reduce salt intake.

3. Once rice is cooked, loosen rice with spatula. Scoop some rice to fill the mould and press the rice with the back of the mould to shape the rice. Long grains are stickier and will stick together in shape.

4. Wet hand to unmould the rice panda and place it n plate. Continue until rice finish.

5. Using the rubber mat of mould cutter, place seaweed sheet in between and press mould cutter down with some pressure from your palm. Continue to cut the parts enough for the number of pandas you have formed.

6. Assemble the part. The long stripe for the hands connected round the back; the commar like parts are the legs; small ovals for the eyes; the small circle for the nose and the last ribbon like parts are the ears. Keep scrapes aside for topping curry.

7. Here is an assembled panda. I cut the ribbon parts in half for the ears as I didn't like the look of the original ears.

8. In a clean pot, heat up the oil and fry the carrots and potatos for about 5 minutes.

9. Pour about 280ml of water and bring pot to boil.

10. Once boiled, put the golden curry cube into the boiling pot and stir till dissolved and well combined.

11. Let the curry simmer for another 10 minutes before turning off the fire. Here I placed onky 240ml water and hence, my curry was alittle thicker than usual!

12. Place the panda rice anyway you like on the plate and decor with the french beans (bamboos for panda in this case) before scopping the curry onto plate.

12. Lastly, place the scrapes of seaweeds from earlier onto of the curry and serve! What's not to love about pipping hot curry with cute panda rice! :)