Cooking Tofu balls with Dana

I’m Dana. Mom of two (@hellolittlefoodies_ on Instagram). I always find cooking therapeutic and I just love cooking for my family. I grew up with my Grandma who loves to cook all the time so I think I adapted that from her and the kitchen has become my play area.

I migrated here to the US 4 years ago and when I had my second daughter, cooking and baking helped me to a lot with my emotional ups and downs. I’m a SAHM and I’ve never really thought of my Instagram account growing or me being part of a bigger community at first, (as it started as just a hobby and it still Is) when I started posting, documenting, and sharing my second daughter’s solids journey online. But now, I’m grateful that it did, and now I share baby, toddler, kid-friendly meals and easy family-friendly recipes for inspo. I’m also so grateful to find and become a part of a community with parents who can relate to each other and creators who love to inspire other creators when it comes to cooking and feeding their kids.

• Life Aspirations

I had my bachelor’s in mass communication but I’ve always dreamt of being a chef or having my own restaurant or café. Although I’m still far from achieving that, I want to be able to do that in this lifetime. Cooking has always been my passion, and I think being a small-time food content creator has set me up to start achieving that goal. While I still have a lot of learning to do, I am grateful that I have this passion and skill to become who I want to be in the future, in God’s perfect time.

• What is a Bento Box / Lunch Box to you?

I find bento boxes so fun to pack lunches with or any meal. I’ve always been fascinated by how a bento meal is made even before I had kids and now that I’m a mom, and I love to cook and pack lunches, a bento box has become my best friend. It’s just so fun to plan and arrange food in it.

• What do you pack in your TAKENAKA Bento?

I pack lunches for my girls; for school, on the go, or even when we’re just at home. My daughters’ face lights up when they see, well-arranged colorful meals serve in bento boxes and meals instantly becomes a hit!

• What is your favorite part of our boxes and what colors have you chosen?

Everything. I love everything about Takenaka bento boxes and choosing the style and color is the hardest part and that’s how you know how well thought of a product Takenaka bento boxes are.

I love love the solid colors and the minimalistic look, but I chose the Takenaka x Poketo design. I find it so cool and I just know my girls would love them too.

Tofu balls recipe

• 1 pack extra firm tofu , pressed and drained
• 1 med size carrot, peeled and grated
• 2 spring onion or scallion chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 and ½ tbsp oyster sauce
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp sweet paprika
• ¼ cup panko seasoning bread crumbs
• Salt and sugar to taste

Important: press and drain tofu before using to get rid of the excess liquid.

1. Mash the pressed tofu in a large bowl and add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix until well combined.    
2. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of tofu mixture and roll into balls.
3. I used an airfryer to cook these, you can also bake, deep or shallow fry..
4. Place the tofu balls in the air-fryer and brush the top with some oil. 
5. Air-fry for 12-15 min at 395F ,flipping half way.
6. Cool down before serving to your little ones or enjoy them warm !🏻

Note:

Oyster sauce is optional, you can also use char siu sauce, coco aminos, light soy sauce instead. Or just don’t add any for younger babies. (6m+)