Just Bento

Yasai no nikumaki, or vegetables wrapped in thinly sliced meat, (niku means meat and maki means wrap or roll) is a colorful and delicious standby item for bentos in Japan. This recipe uses a typical American cut of beef, very thinly sliced sirloin or ‘cheesesteak beef’. continue reading...

The Guy makes his first foray into the world of bento making. continue reading...

Here’s a very Japanese, vegetable based spring bento from a few weeks ago. continue reading...

Healthy and filling, this brown rice kayu or rice porridge is perfect for thermal lunch jars. continue reading...

Here’s a recipe for a classic vegetable dish that is served at New Year’s in Japan. It actually gets better after some time in the refrigerator, and is a great bento side dish that may even bring you some luck! continue reading...

A delicious fall-like walnut-miso paste that makes any bland cooked vegetables taste great. It’s easy to make and stash in your refrigerator. continue reading...

Here is a bento assembled mainly with leftovers and stocked items from my mother’s Japanese kitchen. continue reading...

Sakura denbu （桜田麩) is a sweet-salty, fluffy pink flaked fish condiment - a sort of fish furikake - that is used in sushi rolls as well as to decorate various rice dishes. It’s used quite often in spring, because of its dainty appearance and cherry-blossom pink color. (Sakura means cherry blossom or tree.) You can buy it in little packets at any Japanese grocery store, but commercial sakura denbu usually has MSG and various preservatives in it. Plus, it’s rather expensive at my local Japanese grocery store. So, here’s a homemade sakura denbu recipe to use in your springtime bentos.

It’s not that difficult to make, but there are some key points to pay attention to to produce the desired fluffy texture, so I’ve included a lot of procedural photos. Make sure to choose a fairly low-fat white fish for this; a high fat fish like salmon will clump up and not produce the fine flakes that are characteristic of denbu. continue reading...