leggo my obento! the bento blog

his bento

ginger pork over rice, seafood tamagoyaki w/ canned clam, simmered baby carrots, soy steeped asparagus with bonito flakes, and belgian cream puffs for dessert

my bento

ginger pork over rice, hard boiled egg, baby carrots (raw), soy steeped asparagus with bonito flakes
not shown: dried apricots for dessert

those little totoro snack containers are one of the best investments i ever made.

simmered carrots - 1/4c water, 1T soy sauce, 1T mirin (add more or less to taste), bring to a boil, add baby carrots and simmer until carrots are super soft. great for someone who loves cooked carrots (personally i hate them but this is for my boyfriend)

ginger pork - you don’t have to get the fancy thin sliced pork from the japanese market, you can just get a sharp knife and slice some pork loin on your own (lower fat content too). it will slice easier if it’s still slightly frozen. slice pork and marinate in 1 1/2T soy sauce and 1t finely grated ginger (and juice). i marinate it while i’m preparing the other things. once its marinated, stir fry until done!

seafood tamagoyaki - using canned seafood like crab, salmon, or clams. beat 1 egg with 1t dashi broth and 1t soy sauce, add 1 or 2 T canned seafood. make an omelette in a japanese omelette pan, and slice into thirds.

both of our bentos were packed in green boxes!  purely coincidentally (it’s all that was clean heh heh).  maybe it will bring us a little extra prosperity!?

his bento

steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots; pork gyoza with sauce bottle; salmon rice with nori
dessert: cherry cheesecake

my bento

clam donburi, stir fried mixed vegetables, pork gyoza with sauce

easiest gyoza sauce: 1 T soy sauce, 1 T rice vinegar, 2-3 drops of sesame oil

clam donburi is pretty easy. donburi is dishes where egg is cooked in a sweet watery sauce and served over rice.  this is a variation of naomi kijima’s clam donburi.  in my variation i used canned clam and green onions.  she also has a bbq eel donburi that i’d love to try with bbq pork!  japanese cooking is actually very affordable but you have to make substitutions for items that are cheap and readily available where you live.

salmon rice - also adapted from one of naomi kijima’s recipes (salmon cucumber rice).  saute canned salmon and ginger in a frying pan, add hot cooked rice, remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.  top with nori.  he doesn’t like cucumber (except in cucumber salad) so i didn’t want to make the rice as per her recipe.  the nori is my “green” substitution to ensure he gets his vitamins.

his bento

curry, rice, hot dogs, dried apricots and crystallized ginger

my bento

belgian cream puffs, dried apricots, cherry tomatos, hot dogs, curry rice

S&B makes a good mild curry if you are sensitive to spicy things (like my boyfriend is).  there’s an instant pouch version of the curry that is perfect for packing bentos.  just place the pouch in boiling water for 5 minutes then pour over rice.  if you can grill meat or shrimp, it makes a nice addition to the curry.  for my bento, i just took some of the curry sauce and put it on my rice, and mixed it up when i ate lunch.

hot dogs can be very bland.  i get the hebrew national hot dogs and cut them into thirds.  i stir fry them in oil with yakisoba sauce.

if you are out of fresh fruit and if your main dish already has ample veggies, dried fruit is a good alternative treat.  dried apricots in particular go with curry well, as do dates.

probably in this bento the thing that took the longest to cook was the rice.  this is a VERY fast bento.

i’ve been out of town for the past week. i went to las vegas for RollerCon, the Roller Derby Convention!! here’s todays bento and some old ones..

first, here’s the new bento box i finally got to use:

and here’s what i put in it:

top: vegetable egg rolls (from trader joes) with plum sauce, cherry tomato, stir fried “soycutash” (from trader joe’s)
bottom: onigiri with albacore tuna in soy and ginger flavor (comes in a little pouch already seasoned.. it’s really good!)
not shown for dessert: belgian puffs with chocolate sauce