My lovely wooden bento box just showed up yesterday so I was super excited about packing lunch today. I had a nice wooden one when I used to pack bento lunches back when I lived in Seattle, but it disappeared when we moved recently. I found this wooden bento box by KOSOX on Amazon. It’s made in China and has a finish on it. My original box was unfinished. I prefer the finish because it makes it less susceptible to staining. In any case, I use a sheet of parchment paper in my wooden bento boxes. I prefer wood because the bento stays moist but it can still breathe and the steam tends to absorb into the wood. I also think there’s something aesthetic and romantic about it.
My husband is a pickier eater than me, so I am working on things for him that are simple. The base formula for his bento are a meat, a vegetable, a starch, and a fruit. In contrast, the base formula for mine are a protein, 2 vegetables, 1 salad or pickle, and a starch.
When I was in Tokyo, I picked up a few Onigiri for the airplane. They had these clever plastic wrappers around the nori such that you pulled the corners in a certain order and voila, crispy nori on your Onigiri! I was so shocked to find these on Amazon, I just had to order them to try them out. They turned out to be really easy to use and super handy. I highly recommend these if you like making Onigiri for your lunch.