How to make makkurokurosuke

Makkurokurosuke and mini-Totoro can come in super handy when you’re making a Miyazaki film themed bento. They are so easy to make and small enough to fill the space in a bento.
They may be too easy to do how-to on, but I thought I’d just do it anyway.

[Makkurokurosuke ver.1]
– rice
– seaweed (1/4 sheet)
– kamaboko (fish cake) or cheese if you don’t have kamaboko

1. Put 1/4 sheet of seaweed on plastic wrap, make a small rice ball and put it on top of seaweed.

Wrap it tight, and keep it wrapped for a minute or two.

2. Slice kamaboko, and using a bottle cap to cut out its eyes. (I used a cap of some moisturizer bottle. Of course, it’s been washed.)

3. Using a hole punch, cut out two seaweed circle pieces, and put seaweed on kamaboko.

4. Unwrap the rice ball, and put #3 on it.

[Makkurokurosuke ver.2]
– rice
– seaweed (about 1/2 sheet)
– kamaboko (fish cake) or cheese if you don’t have kamaboko

1. Cut seaweed into thin strips.

2. Make a small rice ball, and put it into #1, and roll around in it.

3. Make sure you cover rice with seaweed.

4. Slice kamaboko, and using a bottle cap to cut out its eye.

5. Using a hole punch, cut out two seaweed circle pieces, and put seaweed on kamaboko.

6. Put #5 on #3.

I sometimes just put eyes on a meatball to make brown Makkurokurosuke.
I think just about any dark circle with big bugged eyes will look like Makkurkurosuke.

You can also check out more “how-to’s” on my blog and my flickr.