623 replies to this topic

[torakris]

Here's a question about the actual containers people are using. In particular, I want to know how good their seal is.



Then, upthread, I read that Torakris is even giving soup to her husband, and I'm thinking: how can she do that??!! I can't even manage with giving solid food.


TIA.

anzu,
this is the kind of bento my husband uses (sorry for the bad picture)



it has three parts, one for soup, one for rice and one for the okazu (side dishes?) it is all put into an insulated container to keep it warm.
These can be pretty bulky, mine is probably the largest size available. They can be found at stores all over Japan.
The bentos I use for my kids I have never had leak problems with、I just looked at the bottom of the bentos and they are manufactured by OSK. Their homepage.

I also go through quite a few paper towels when putting together the bentos so as to get as much water/liquid off as possible.

[helenjp]

Skater brand bento boxes have been my husband's favorite for 10 years or so. The small lift-out containers can be reheated separately and also stop liquid from soaking everything else. You can also buy replacement packing strips which fit inside the lid to create a really good seal. I've never had anything leak from those boxes.

However, I have had things leak from plastic lunchboxes bought overseas...but old-fashioned Japanese bento boxes weren't totally airtight either, and some people say that the airtight ones are more likely to result in food poisoning because they prevent the contents from cooling.

I second Torakris' suggestion of paper towels - everything sits on them for a little while before being packed into the lunch box, even items with dressing which will then go into a foil cup.

Another handy thing for cooling and draining boiled vegetables is a bamboo "seiro" drainer - it not only drains moisture, the bamboo also absorbs moisture from the vegetables. You can also use those roll-up bamboo mats used for rolling sushi. I save the small ones that occasionally come with other foods, as they are a handy size and even better than paper towels for squeezing spinach, draining omelets or boiled beans etc. etc.

Edited by helenjp, 25 September 2005 - 06:58 AM.

[Hiroyuki]

As you can easily see, aluminum bento boxes, like the ones shown below, are prone to leak. Plastic ones with a sealing ring, like the one shown below, are free from this problem.

One of the things to bear in mind in making a bento is to cool any hot foods before packing.
I found this useful webpage:
http://www.gcn-osaka...cc04-03-01.html

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

I've been eyeballing bento sets like the one Torakris's husband has for my 8 year old to take to school in the winter. He can't eat the school lunches, and occasionally likes to have a hot lunch on a cold day.

I've found the following here in the US.

The Zojirushi Bento Series
http://www.amazon.co...7298251-6168132

similar item made by Thermos
http://thermos.smart...asp?sku=1917730

What I have for him now
http://thermos.smart...asp?sku=1917913

[helenjp]

I succumbed today and bought this thermos lunch jar by Zojirushi, though certainly not at the price given in the link!

It'll go to school with son1 tomorrow, but the main aim is to provide my sons with a quick hot dinner on the increasing number of days when we are all coming in and out of the house on different schedules.

However, I now have to change my thinking - from bentos which taste good and don't get hard when cold, to things which don't become sludgy in texture or dull in color when kept hot for several hours!

P.S. These looked like a good compromise - they would be a good size for an 8-10 year old! I thought they were easier to manage than pulling out the stacked containers in the thermos type. They are also a bit lighter than the type I bought, because only the round "rice" jar is insulated - the other small containers are not insulated, though everything goes into an insulated carry-sack, so they won't get stone-cold, but on the other hand, they make it easy to include things like fruit. I saw the Tiger one and a couple of other brands (which had very slightly larger side-dish containers. Some came with a fork).

Edited by helenjp, 25 September 2005 - 06:56 AM.

[sanrensho]

Thermos makes a bunch of these products, and in a Miffy version, too.

http://www.thermos.j...ucts/index.html

Edited by sanrensho, 25 September 2005 - 03:53 PM.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

The Zojirushi stuff is always more expensive here than in Japan. I really liked the second one you posted Helen... wish I could get one here in the US.

[helenjp]

Snoopy thermos lunch set (Tiger)

Ladies thermos lunch set (Tiger)

The Thermos jar lunch set I bought...

Incredibly cool Japanesque Thermos jar lunch set

These are on the Amazon Japan site (scroll down to the bottom of the Amazon US or UK sites and you'll find a link to it. You can select "English", which allows you to view the search and order pages in English, but the individual product pages are in Japanese, so it's most useful for ordering things you already know about. Also, you will find more departments in the scroll-down box by the Search Button than in the "Browse Departments" guide below. You may have to fiddle around to find an English word that actually hits a live nerve - I got nothing searching in the Home and Kitchen sections for "bento" or "lunchbox" but "lunch" and the brandnames "Thermos" and "Tiger" brought up stuff (have to wade around a bit though),

Edited by helenjp, 27 September 2005 - 04:44 AM.

[torakris]

The simplest of simple bentos



this was for my 4 year old son.

this is how it gets packed

sorry for the blurry picture, the bento gets placed into a bento bag and on top of that is placed a luncheon mat (this is spread onto the table and the bento is eaten on top of it). There is also a tissue (for wiping the mouth) and chopsticks (in a case).

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

Wow... that bento set is really cute Torakris!

[torakris]

the second sports day bento of the season



and the fastest made one to boot.

[torakris]

this was a prize for coming in third place in a tug of war at my son's school, mini ketchup and mayo tubes for bentos

[gus_tatory]

...These are pictures of bentos made lovingly my the mothers of kindergarten children...

My daughter is now begging me to make her the Power Puff Girl one...

eww, these bentos are so creepy and so cute at the same time:
click the right arrow to go Next...

the person wrote haikus to go along with the images...

[sanrensho]

eww, these bentos are so creepy and so cute at the same time:

Are you kidding? They're all brilliant. Every last one of them. Edible (pop) art.

[torakris]

That was one of the funniest things I have ever seen!

[Sencha]

That was a good laugh!

[JasonTrue]

About a year ago I visited the home of one of my girlfriend's close friends, planning a slightly premature cherry-blossom viewing party at a nearby park. Of course, I learned, such an event is about drinking and eating, not about the cherry blossoms, so it worked out anyway.

In preparation for the Hanami gathering, we made an insane number of sandwiches on shokupan, using egg salad or Japanese-style processed cheese or other toppings.

I thought this was an excellent opportunity to introduce our friend's children to the joys of the classic grilled cheese sandwich. I made it with a few slices of tomato, and mom was quite surprised to see her youngest daughter, who usually rejects tomatoes without a second thought, devouring food that had tomatoes in it... she wasn't sure if it was the grilled cheese format or the novelty of a strange white guy making it that made the whole thing work.

Tonight I was reminded of children's food as Hiromi referred me to this nifty site:
Kasumin Yoroshiku Bento Gallery

This site features one mom's efforts to make attractive (and apparently time-consuming) bento for her son. Complete with contemporary cartoon characters illustrated with the benefit of nori and other such accoutrements, the presentation is inspiring, even though I've never been much of a food surrealist. A few years ago, my pottery instructor sent me a batch of similarly cartoonish bento, and it didn't occur to me that people could make a fairly substantial hobby out of such endeavors...

Any other homey children's food in your Japanese cooking repertoire?

(I'm still trying to avoid having children, so I don't have much to contribute here).

Edited by JasonTrue, 18 November 2005 - 02:43 AM.

[SuzySushi]

Tonight I was reminded of children's food as Hiromi referred me to this nifty site:
Kasumin Yoroshiku Bento Gallery

This site features one mom's efforts to make attractive (and apparently time-consuming) bento for her son. Complete with contemporary cartoon characters illustrated with the benefit of nori and other such accoutrements, the presentation is inspiring, even though I've never been much of a food surrealist. A few years ago, my pottery instructor sent me a batch of similarly cartoonish bento, and it didn't occur to me that people could make a fairly substantial hobby out of such endeavors...

I donn't know whether to be impressed or appalled!

I'm glad my daughter wasn't watching over my shoulder when I clicked the link!!!

[Sencha]

I find it incredibly amusing (in a good way;not in ridicule) and interesting that some people will actually go to the trouble of making such extravagent bento! Such bento must really brighten a person's day.

[chibirisu]

Here's one of the most jaw-dropping bento sites I've ever seen:

http://www.e-obento.com/

..."boggle" doesn't even cover it really. I think I recall reading on one of the dozens of pages on the site that the site creator is publishing a book in Japan this fall, too...

[torakris]

Since I never grew up as a Japanese bento toting child , I often wonder about these fancy bentos and what they end up looking like by the time the child actually gets to eat them. I am sure the nori (seaweed laver) gets quite soft and a lot of the pieces start to move around, especially if the bento belongs to a 4 year old boy.
My son and I walk about 4 minutes to his preschool in that time the bento that he carries in a small backpack gets turned upside down as he bends over to look at rocks and dead bugs, it gets shaken ( to put it mildly) as he races his best friend the length of the sweet potato field. I can't even imagine what happens as he struggles to get it out of his backpack.....


As to food for children in Japan...
...anything deep fried.

[helenjp]

One of my favorite bento books made the same point - that basically you are creating a decoration which will be smeared all over the inside of the bento lid!

It's worth thinking about an array of colors, and about a contrast of textures, and seasoning so that dishes will taste good cold - but the other stuff is really for mothers, not for the kids!

[helenjp]

This two-layer lunchbox with its own soup bowl, in red lacquer with a Totoro motif...I just can't think of a reason to buy it, though I'm trying very hard

[jeniac42]

Oh, that is far too cute, Helen. Lucky I probably can't buy it here in the US.

Thanks for bumping the thread up, too - reminds me that I'd meant to post a picture of my bento from earlier in the week. A friend gave me one of the Zojirushi Mr. Bento lunch jars. I've decided it needs another container, though!

[Hiroyuki]

Oh, that is far too cute, Helen.  Lucky I probably can't buy it here in the US.

Thanks for bumping the thread up, too - reminds me that I'd meant to post a picture of my bento from earlier in the week.  A friend gave me one of the Zojirushi Mr. Bento lunch jars.  I've decided it needs another container, though!

Looks yummy!
You have two umeboshi on your rice... Quite ingenious.
What's the name of the fish? And how did you season it?

[torakris]

Jen,
That bento looks great!
I also just noticed the links to your blog, great job. The babelfish translation is hysterical.

[helenjp]

I have one of those Zojirushi lunch jars - I use it for son's dinner rather than lunch though.

Mine DOES have an extra container - the top container has a drop-in half-moon shaped container, so I can divide it in half or not, just as I like.

Otherwise, what about putting some stuff in the rice container, if there's too much rice space and not enough side-dish space for you?

The only thing I have against these hot lunch jars is...hot umeboshi!

[jeniac42]

Thanks.

The fish is just Atlantic salmon, which is easy to get here. I pan-grilled it with some salt, and the sauce in the bottom of the container is some of the liquid from braising the kabocha, which is one of the side dishes. I also had hijiki with carrots, shibazuke, and kimchi.

I put two umeboshi in with the rice because I was a little greedy that day. I love umeboshi! I agree with Helen, though - when they're in the container with the hot rice, they get sort of dried-out. They still taste delicious, though!

There's a lot of food there because I eat it for lunch and dinner. I am usually away from home for about 15 hours a day....

[BarbaraY]

This two-layer lunchbox with its own soup bowl, in red lacquer with a Totoro motif...I just can't think of a reason to buy it, though I'm trying very hard

That is just so cute. I would probably buy it just to have it even though I rarely carry a lunch anywhere.

[helenjp]

Today's bento - miso-ni made with a light rather than a dark miso: pork, burdock, long onion, and mibu-na greens.

Rice with miso-pickles, including young ginger pickled in miso, and tiny umeboshi.

If you have the chance to make them, the tiny ume that are usually pickled crunchy-style make great umeboshi for kids and lunchboxes if pickled as for regular umeboshi - they turn out much milder in flavor.