bento#17 Laputa robot

I’ve mentioned repeatedly in my blog that my boyfriend and I are big fans of Studio Ghibli films. And “Laputa: Castle in the Sky” is of course one of our favorite titles. I’d always wanted to do a Laputa bento, but there aren’t that many “creatures” in Laputa… except…

Bento#17: Laputa robot with Fox Squirrel
Created and eaten on: 10/27/2008

My favorite scene in Laputa is probably a bit different from that of others.
It’s the scene where a Laputa robot (war robot) that Muska had captured awakens and tries to protect Sheeta at Muska’s fortress.
I get teary (or even cry :P) every time I watch the scene. Robots have the same effect on me as puppies or kittens. All my friends know that I have a huge thing for robots. Maybe because I grew up watching Gundam and another robot shows in Japan, but big metal things always make me smile. So my heart was set on making a Laputa robot!

The Laputa robot’s body is a rusty metal color, and first I was going to use hamburg again, but I’d been using it a lot for the “protein portion” of my bento (unfortunately, fish is really hard to use for kyaraben.) So I wanted to try a different protein source for a change, and what I picked up was thinly sliced chicken breast.
I’d always wanted to try cutting up chicken breast into a shape and then frying it. I had no idea if it’d even hold the shape, but I just had to try it.
I cut chicken breast into the shape of Laputa robot’s head, body, arms, legs the night before.
If you’re a vegetarian, please look away now!

"Oh no! I'm naked!"

After I cut and placed the parts on a plate like the Laputa robot, I looked at it and laughed. Maybe because the Laputa robot made out of chicken breast was so weird to look at, or maybe because it didn’t look like it was going to work at all. Anyway, I wrapped it tight with a plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for the night.

The following morning, I put the Laputa robot’s chicken body into flour, then in beaten eggs, rolled them around in breadcrumbs, and fried it in heated oil until it was golden brown.
I took it out and oh my goodness it worked! I fried the arms, legs, and head and they all came out amazingly well. I decided not to use the plates on the chest because they were too bulky. Instead, I made the face plate, the plates on the chest and the waist out of potato, then fried them to match the color of the body.

I wanted to make Laputa standing in the forest with a “fox squirrel” (kitsune risu) on its shoulder. So I filled a bento box with rice, and covered the rice partially with a lettuce leaf, and put the Laputa robot on the lettuce leaf. Then I placed broccoli and egg sun flowers (see “how to make a sunflower”) around the Laputa robot.
I cut out a small piece from a frozen egg sheet (see “how to make an egg sheet”) into three pieces for the head, body and tail to make a fox squirrel. Then I put the pieces onto cheese and cut around it to reinforce the egg sheet. I freehand cut seaweed for its stripes and eyes.

I added more flowers, sprinkled “ao-nori” (powdered dried seaweed) on the Laputa robot and put the Laputa stone on its chest, and it was done!

Even though I liked the chicken cutlet Laputa robot and the fox squirrel, I wasn’t happy about “the last minutes flowers” I made and threw in. (baby corn with baby carrot and kamaboko) Too many circular things surrounding the robot… Oh well, at least now I know that I can fry chicken breast into shapes!

I’ve been to the Ghibli Museum, and anyone who loves Studio Ghibli MUST go there. You can’t take pictures inside the museum but you can take pictures with a Laputa robot outside the museum. It’s made out of iron, and plants are growing from its body just like the one from the movie. It may look like a statue now, but one day it’ll awaken,,, I know it will!

Laputa robot:
– chicken breast cutlet
– fried potato for the face plate, the plates on the chest and on the waist
– seaweed
– ao-nori
– carrot for Laputa stone

Fox squirrel:
– egg & seaweed on cheese

Sunflower:
– beef mini sausage with egg (see “how to make a sunflower”)

Other food:
– baby corn and baby carrot
– kamaboko (fish cake)
– broccoli
– lettuce

For more pictures of my bento, visit Bento! set and Bento details! set on my flickr page.