Just Bento

Fried polenta cakes are surprisingly good cold, so they make a nice change-of-pace carb in a bento, especially if you just happen to have some leftover polenta from dinner. continue reading...

Here’s a super-easy tsukemono or Japanese style pickle that only takes about 10 minutes to prep. It makes a great bento vegetable or salad substitute. continue reading...

[While I’m still getting back up to speed, please enjoy this recipe for ‘instant’ pickled radishes, great in any bento or in a salad. Originally published in May 2009. It’s kind of funny to re-read this post and realize we were still waffling about buying a house in France or not. I guess we did, after all!]

While radishes are available year-round, spring seems to be the perfect time to enjoy their crisp, peppery crunchiness. They are also really pretty. I love them just as-is, perhaps with a little salt, or sliced up in salads, but I’ve also been playing around with various formulas to make instant pickles or ichiyazuke (一夜漬け, or ‘overnight pickles’) with them. Here’s one result that’s sweet, salty, sour and peppery - a great bento box side dish. continue reading...

Bento contents:

• 1 cup (240ml) green peas rice (mame gohan), approx. 230 cal
• 3 1 1/2 oz (50g) bean sprout burgers (moyashi hambaagu) with Worcestershire sauce (using lean ground beef), approx. 300 cal
• 1/4 cup Japanese potato salad (using Kewpie mayonnaise), approx. 90 cal
• 1/4 cup spinach with soy sauce, 10 cal

Total calories (approx): 630 cal (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 5-10 minutes to assemble in the morning from pre-made components

Type: Japanese, a perennial favorite continue reading...

Bento contents:

• 1 small regular or bánh mi baguette (150cal)
• 1 1/2 cups All-season shredded vegetable pickle salad (30 cal)
• 1/2 cup, approx. 2 oz / 60 g Rafute rillettes (320 cal)
• a few Instant radish pickles (10 cal)
• Parsley for garnish

Total calories (approx): 510 cal (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 5-10 minutes in the morning from pre-made components

Type: Sort-of-Vietnamese (Asian), bread based continue reading...

An article that really gets what this site, and the book, are all about. continue reading...

Here’s a super-easy recipe for a pretty healthy and versatile salad, using one of my favorite should-be-more-popular ingredients, okara. continue reading...

Bento contents:

• Meatballs with lettuce in tomato sauce - 5 meatballs plus sauce, 270 calories
• Zucchini and white bean pods sautéed in olive oil, 100 calories
• 1/2 cup (120ml) brown rice with zakkokumai mix, 120 calories

Total calories (approx): 490 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 5 to 10 minutes to pack in the morning

Type: Not really Japanese, made from stash and leftovers continue reading...