Torihamu or Japanese Chicken "Ham"

In addition to fantasizing about being Jaime Oliver or Nigella Lawson, I also fantasize that I will send my children to school with healthy and inventive lunches, preferably served in a bento box. I'll make flowers out of hardboiled eggs, add some homemade sushi, include a medley of steamed vegetables and my children will be the laughingstocks of the lunchrooms. No, seriously, I've always been intrigued by the neatness, efficency and, well, just all around Japanese-ness of the bento box. And, this being the Internet age, there is no shortage of websites with cunning bento box supplies and recipes.

I don't remember exactly how I came upon this recipe from JustBento.com (probably just by chance on a bento fantasy surf) but I'm always looking for new and different ways to serve chicken. It is a protein I can be sure will be eaten without tears.

Don't be put off by the marination time (2 days) or the number of steps (really just 4). It's actually all quite simple. Check out the website JustBento.com.

Ingredients:

1 8oz boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Coarsely ground black pepper

Dried herbs of your choice (I used thyme, but they also suggest tarragon, red chili peppers, steak mix spices, Emeril's best -- you get the picture.)

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients in a sturdy ziploc bag. You can do more than one breast per bag, just make sure you double the marinade ingredients.

2. Press out as much air as possible from the bag, then squish the chicken and marinade together. Let rest in refrigerator for at least 48 hours, squishing and turning the bags when you think of it.

3. Remove chicken from bag and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Let soak in a bowl of cold water for an hour. This step apparently gets ride of excess salt while leaving enough for flavor. After an hour, dry off the chicken with paper towels.

4. Cook the chicken. There are three ways to do this (just choose one. You can only cook the chicken once):

a) Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Roll up the breast lengthwise and tie with kitchen string, then put the breasts on an oiled baking sheet for 30 - 40 minutes. (This is what I did because the next cooking method scares me with its use of plastic wrap in boiling water.)

b) Bring a pot of water to boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Roll up the chicken breasts and tightly wrap in microwave-safe cling film. Put chicken in water for 5 minutes, then remove pot from heat, cover with a lid and let breasts poach for at least an hour.

c) Same steps as b) above, but don't wrap in cling film, just tie with string. Put the bare naked chicken breasts in the simmering water for 5 minutes, then remove pot from heat, cover with a lid and let breasts poach for at least an hour. You can get fancy and add leek, parsley, ginger or whatever you think might be nice.

Confession:

I cooked those suckers in the oven for nearly 40 minutes and they still looked raw on the outside. So, I boiled a pot of water, popped them in for 5 minutes, sliced and served them. The consistency was a little rubbery, but the chicken tasted like ham as promised! The children ate it with gusto (even the one who was sent home from school today with a stomachache and fever.)