Bentos (2003-2008)

[nakji]

Well, the museum was fabulous! We ate our lunches in Inokashira park, which was beautiful. It was a bit like being in a Ghibli movie, actually, as all of the trees had their finest colours on, and soft breezes sent fluttering cascades of golden leaves onto us as we ate.

If you know "My Neighbour Totoro" at all, hopefully you'll get what I was trying to do with this photo...

My Husband prefers sandwiches, so he got a roast beef Totoro, with pickled eggplant accents.

I like the "soot gremlins" as they're properly called in English. These are tuna mayonnaise onigiri - my favourite! These are the first onigiri I have ever made. Next time, more salt.

It took about an hour to put these together, mostly because I prepared two separate boxes with different ingredients. It was nice for a special occasion, but you wouldn't catch me making these every day! I only lost one eye in transit, too, which was nice. I mainly credit that to the fact that I'm an adult who pays attention to carrying my bento upright when I'm on the bus/train. I wouldn't expect similar results for a child.

Monday's lunch had the egg and chicken crumbles inspired by Torakris's conbini bento. It was delish, but hard to eat with chopsticks. Next time I'll pack my fork. It inspired a gasp of awe from my American co-worker, who was startled to realize that things bought in a conbini can be made at home. Next week, I'll shock him with spaghetti.

[kbjesq]

Maybe I should post this in the Kitchen Consumer forum, but just in time for the holidays, Amazon has a great deal on the popular "Mr. Bento" bento set. It is 44% off, only $35.99 with free shipping. I have two of the smaller bento sets from Zojirushi and they do work very well for keeping things hot/cold.

[GlorifiedRice]

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bento-box-dog

Bentos for Doggies! AAAAWWW!!!

Kawaii!

[sk_ward]

Hi!

I'm back from our wonderful holidays in Japan! Oh, how we loved the country... I didn't have much time to go hunting for my bento accessories.

Back in Taiwan I went to this Japanese shop and found some more things I couldn't find in Loft:

And my beloved Egg Molds I was looking for!

And today my husband took his first bento box to work. In UK he normally makes some pasta or sandwiches for his lunch. But this time I made him a complete meal with a bunny shaped boiled egg.

He's just called me to say that he ate it all and it was very good.

←

Ever since Marcia posted these egg molds, I have been on a quest to find them. I've looked everywhere and I haven't been able to find any as cute. In the blog called "Lunch in a Box", she suggested using ice cream sandwich molds as egg molds, which seems to work really well for her. In case anybody is also looking for egg molds, the molds that she uses are currently on clearance at Williams-Sonoma for $6.99, down from $9.99. I like the star-shaped one the most! Paying the $5.50 for shipping isn't really worth it, but if you have other things to buy as well, it might be a nice addition to your cart.

Lunch in a Box

Williams-Sonoma ice cream molds

[prasantrin]

Can I post my bento here even if I didn't make it?

My S3 girls who took an elective Cooking class had their last class today. Traditionally, they make a traditional Japanese meal, and present one bento to each of the S3 homeroom teachers. This year's graduating class was larger than usual (48 more students than usual grades), so they had some extra bentos to pass around. One group chose me as the recipient of theirs!

Kabocha, taro, konnyaku, chicken, snowpeas, and little tiny carrots cut like momiji and sakura (I guess they wanted to include all the seasons...)

Sakura-shaped takikomi gohan with chicken konnyaku, and I can't remember what else. This was actually quite tasty. They used more oil (I could taste it) than most takikomi gohan I've had, and I think that's why I liked it.

Some kind of fish, and you can see some lotus root in the background. I was pretty worried about the fish--it looked a bit overcooked. But most of it was quite moist, with only the thinnest part being dry.

My little egg and my dessert! Mochidango, one of my favourites!

They like me, they really like me!

[nakji]

It's beautiful! What thoughtful students. Where did the box come from? Does the school keep a set on hand for the cooking classes, or did the students have to bring their own? And yet another question, what are the leaves used as garnish with the fish and lotus root, and on the rice?

[prasantrin]

It's beautiful! What thoughtful students. Where did the box come from? Does the school keep a set on hand for the cooking classes, or did the students have to bring their own? And yet another question, what are the leaves used as garnish with the fish and lotus root, and on the rice?

←

I can only answer the first question for now, but I'll try to find the Home Ec teacher tomorrow and ask about the leaves. The Home Ec. department has many sets of those bento boxes (and miso soup bowls, donburi bowls, etc.). I actually went into the kitchen for the first time in the four years I've been working at this school, and they have a great set up! Several microwave/convection ovens (most with 3 racks, but one has 4! It could even fit a large turkey!), 3-element gas stoves at each station, and lots of counter room. I'd love to cook in there one day!

Edited January 24, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[prasantrin]

Did anyone in the Kanto area make it to the bento exhibition? It was all about the history of bento, but was only on for a limited time--I think it's either over, or it will be over by the end of this month. It was, maybe, sponsored by Ajinomoto.

[nakji]

Did anyone in the Kanto area make it to the bento exhibition? It was all about the history of bento, but was only on for a limited time--I think it's either over, or it will be over by the end of this month. It was, maybe, sponsored by Ajinomoto.

Missed it! Where was it? I've been without internet for a month, and I feel like I lost a limb.

Catching up on bento-ing, I invested in a Muji two-tier box for my husband, and it's been two bentos a day for the last 6 weeks. Thank goodness I work evenings, so I don't have to be up at 5:30am to make them. Some highlights:

My husband loves sandwich bentos.

I've been cooking through "Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen", and this uses the gingery ground chicken recipe. I like it a lot, but my husband complains that it's hard to eat. Next time he gets a spoon, like a pre-schooler.

I also tried out the recipe for grilled omusubi. A nice change from plain rice.

I like making udon noodles instead of rice sometimes - these are stir-fried with miso and ginger and some veg. It's really filling, which is important when you're away from home for 10 hours!

This one was really tasty and used some leftover meatballs and grilled eggplant from dinner the night before. I boiled potatoes together with the edamame, and made mustard potato salad. It came together quite quickly, without a lot of clean up afterwards.

[prasantrin]

Missed it! Where was it? I've been without internet for a month, and I feel like I lost a limb.

←

I just looked it up. It was at the Ajinomoto Foundation for Dietary Culture, and it just finished yesterday! Maybe you can give them a call and see if they'll let you sneak in while they're taking everything down.

[nakji]

This is quite depressing.

Any thoughts on appropriate bento fare for hina-matsuri?

I was thinking chirashi-zushi. Thoughts?

[GlorifiedRice]

http://www.markbattypublisher.com/servlet/..._view?number=58

I had to share this with you all...

Flip thru to page 4!!!!

Isnt it KAWAII!?

[nakji]

Oh, yes, that's some impressive stuff right there. Lunch in a Box was featuring that book a couple of weeks ago. Snaps to those parents - on some days it's all I can do to roll out of bed and fry up some ajinomoto gyoza and boil an egg for my husband.

[Jon Savage]

I'd been using those semi disposable glad/ziploc containers for Bento(ish) lunches but inspired by this thread found a couple of these boxes @ Marikai:

Works out well, dishwasher and microwave safe which are nice features to have and a bargain @ $7-.

For myself I packed this today:

For my wife's bento I made Octopus sashimi, rice with a nice assortment of pickled stuff.

Kudos to torakris for the beef\potato dish in her EGCI course - it was great hot but is pretty darned tasty served cold as well.

Edited March 28, 2008 by 6ppc (log)

[nakji]

I make her nikkujyaga recipe two or three times a month, and there's always lots leftover for my bento the next day. I agree, it's fabulous cold as well.

Kudos to torakris for the beef\potato dish in her EGCI course - it was great hot but is pretty darned tasty served cold as well.

Better late than never - I've been working like a dog lately - here are some pics of my hanami bento - the box I picked up at Daiso for 500 yen, which I thought was a steal. I filled it with double-mustard potato salad, some cured meats from Kamakura, cheese, beef-spring onion rolls inspired by smallworld's blog, assorted veg, and some chicken skewers. It was a feast.

[helenjp]

Very pretty! That wouldn't be double mustard from Costco would it? I bought a jar, which is getting a solid workout in bento too.

[nakji]

Very pretty! That wouldn't be double mustard from Costco would it? I bought a jar, which is getting a solid workout in bento too.

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Actually, it's the Mark Bittman recipe from "How to Cook Everything" - I use Maille Dijon and grainy mustards- the Seijo Ishi at my station usually has the large jars for around 300 yen.

I try to stay far, far away from Costco and its wallet-destroying tendencies. On a related note, my husband caved and bought a jar of mesquite and stout mustard from Dean and Deluca on the weekend that will need using - care to share your bento mustard related recipes?

[nakji]

Bump!

It's getting a bit warmer in my area now, and I'm a little worried about the temperatures that my bento is reaching on my way to work. I'm already following general bento safety guidlines - cool everything down first, season heavily, cook everything thoroughly, etc., but I'm wondering if there aren't some things that are well suited for spring/summer bentos? I think salads would be at risk of wilting...any good ideas out there?

[kbjesq]

Bump!

It's getting a bit warmer in my area now, and I'm a little worried about the temperatures that my bento is reaching on my way to work. I'm already following general bento safety guidlines - cool everything down first, season heavily, cook everything thoroughly, etc., but I'm wondering if there aren't some things that are well suited for spring/summer bentos? I think salads would be at risk of wilting...any good ideas out there?

←

I live in FL and it's always hot here, so I also worry about food safety. I'm not sure if these are indeed effective, but I always pack in a few antimicrobial sheets (see examples here at Lunch in a Box). I bought a whole bunch at a Daiso store when I visited California last year. They were very inexpensive. So far, no troubles . . . .

Note that Lunch in a Box also suggests "edible ice packs" for keeping food cool in warm weather!

[MoGa]

Quote by kbjesq:

Bump!

I live in FL and it's always hot here, so I also worry about food safety. I'm not sure if these are indeed effective, but I always pack in a few antimicrobial sheets (see examples here at Lunch in a Box). I bought a whole bunch at a Daiso store when I visited California last year. They were very inexpensive. So far, no troubles . . . .

Note that Lunch in a Box also suggests "edible ice packs" for keeping food cool in warm weather!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I really like the idea of frozen drinks and puddings being used. Anything sealed I can wash thoroughly before popping it in. I'll definitely use this suggestion.

Edited May 10, 2008 by MoGa (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

My son is going to day camp this summer.

I will pack a bento on days he doesnt wanna buy lunch there.

I cant wait to use the soccer ball onigiri kit I bought.

Ill also use the sausage cutters and egg molds.

However I need some veggie suggestions.

And can I safely pack cooked pot stickers/gyozas?

My son is autistic, and usually autistic kids only eat 5 different foods for years (!!!) but I wasnt gonna deal with that. I would chase him around the house with a fork or spoon and bribe him to eat different things. Now hell eat anything but spicy and veggie things. People are amazed that he eats eel sushi and seaweed salad and loves cod roe spaghetti.

I was just about to ask a question but I answered it myself.

TY

[nakji]

I was reading through a site today called Love Food, Hate Waste, which has a lot of great ideas for people like me who are trying to minimize their kitchen budgets. As I was reading, I came across some information about rice safety, which essentially says, never let rice cool for more than an hour out of the refrigerator, chill it under running water, never reheat it more than once, and don't serve rice at room temperature, especially if it's been reheated from frozen.

I routinely break all these rules when I make bento and onigiri for lunch, and now I'm left wondering if I'm dicing with death.

Anyone know what they're talking about? They don't say why these rules are important - am I risking salmonella? e-coli? What?

Edited July 13, 2008 by nakji (log)

[prasantrin]

I was reading through a site today called Love Food, Hate Waste, which has a lot of great ideas for people like me who are trying to minimize their kitchen budgets. As I was reading, I came across some information about rice safety, which essentially says, never let rice cool for more than an hour out of the refrigerator, chill it under running water, never reheat it more than once, and don't serve rice at room temperature, especially if it's been reheated from frozen.

I routinely break all these rules when I make bento and onigiri for lunch, and now I'm left wondering if I'm dicing with death.

Anyone know what they're talking about? They don't say why these rules are important - am I risking salmonella? e-coli? What?

←

From the UK Food Standards Agency:

It's true that you could get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. But it's not actually the reheating that's the problem – it's the way the rice has been stored before reheating.

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat.

It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating.

Remember that when you reheat any food, you should always check that it's piping hot all the way through, and avoid reheating more than once.

I've been eating improperly stored cooked rice all my life (it's an Asian thing, I guess), so ymmv.

[nakji]

Ah, thanks. I googled "bacillus cereus", and the textbook of bacteriology calmed me down. It seems like its not that common a form of food poisoning, and outbreaks in the US seem to be related to rice dishes that had been cooked and held at warm temperatures for long time periods, like fried rice in warming trays at buffets. Not really what I'm doing - although now that it's getting warmer, I'm thinking of stowing the bento box for the summer in favour of a lunch bag with onigiri and some ice packs.

[_john]

this is the old aluminum bento i have been using recently. you may ask yourself "what is the advantage of this type of bento over the plastic, water tight, microwavable bentos?". the answer: vicarious nostalgia. it has a smaller container that is water tight that fits inside. but most of my okazu are not liquidy so i dont use it very often. If I have no leftovers (which is almost every day) my bento is: dashimaki, nukazuke, and white rice. I also have "portable" miso soup which I will talk about on another thread.