Bento Boxes

[PrincessFiona60]

I think I will do up some udon, salmon, nori, green onion into a cold salad. Cup of Miso...okay, lunch is planned!

 

[GB]

Yesterday, before I ever looked at this thread, I ordered a Mr. Bento. I just figured it would make a great lunch box. I then opened this thread and started reading. Now I am hooked on the idea of bento lunches.

I loved the idea so much that I fired up my rice cooker last night at 10pm so that I could start experimenting with onigiri. I was munching on rice triangles last night at 11. One had some pickled peppers in it. Another had an olive in it. The last two had both sides smeared with miso and lightly toasted in a cast iron pan. This is going to be a lot of fun.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Yesterday, before I ever looked at this thread, I ordered a Mr. Bento. I just figured it would make a great lunch box. I then opened this thread and started reading. Now I am hooked on the idea of bento lunches.

I loved the idea so much that I fired up my rice cooker last night at 10pm so that I could start experimenting with onigiri. I was munching on rice triangles last night at 11. One had some pickled peppers in it. Another had an olive in it. The last two had both sides smeared with miso and lightly toasted in a cast iron pan. This is going to be a lot of fun.

Another Convert...

 

[FrankZ]

Yesterday, before I ever looked at this thread, I ordered a Mr. Bento. I just figured it would make a great lunch box. I then opened this thread and started reading. Now I am hooked on the idea of bento lunches.

I loved the idea so much that I fired up my rice cooker last night at 10pm so that I could start experimenting with onigiri. I was munching on rice triangles last night at 11. One had some pickled peppers in it. Another had an olive in it. The last two had both sides smeared with miso and lightly toasted in a cast iron pan. This is going to be a lot of fun.

There's still time.. come back from the dark side... come back...

 

[GB]

Too late Frank. I hit the Asian market today and stocked up on goodies.

 

[spork]

Looking forward to learning some new Mr. Bento tricks, GeeBee!

For everyone's entertainment, the story of my first Mr. Bento...

My parents asked a family friend to hire my brother and I for the summer. It was illegal, I was underage according to labor laws. It was a moving company, almost exclusively contracted to ship boxes of military personnel's belongings overseas. Our job was to locate all the scattered boxes belonging to a single name within a gigantic warehouse, carry them to a loading dock, palletize them, and ask for a new name, to repeat. There's a simple trick for two people to carrying a two hundred pound box. My mother prepared our lunches, piping hot, each morning into Mr. Bento boxes, which my brother and I ate outside sitting on boxed wooden crates.

We had just finished our lunch, and I was re-assembling my empty Mr. Bento. I heard the incessant beeping, but it was a constant noise... and then I felt heat against the back of my legs... a forklift ran over me, and then smashed into the wooden crate I had been sitting on.

Broke my left leg just above the ankle. Turns out the driver did not have a forklift operator's license. He came by our house the next week to apologize, bringing me two gifts: a new Mr. Bento (he ran over it, too) and two parakeets (to keep "the cripple" company).

Could've been worse. I spent the summer practicing my guitar chops.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

There's still time.. come back from the dark side... come back...

I'm going to go look for a Hello Kitty Bento box for Frank...or Hello Kitty shaped nori.

 

[Kathleen]

LP, yay! The boxes are fun to assemble, aren't they? Damien, good to see you back from a crazy summer. That Los Alamos fire gave everyone a scare. Kath, I still can't believe that a fireman would come to your house and condemn your stove. I hope you're back up and running soon. Fi, yasuku=cheaply? Here's a pic of one of my favorite summertime bento -- cold buckwheat noodles.

1. tsuyu dipping sauce, chilled
2. cold zaru soba, buckwheat noodles, shredded nori
3. shrimp and vegggie tempura, condiments for tsuyu
4. senbei, rice crackers
5. mugi cha, iced roasted barley tea

I know! They red-tagged it like a "cone of shame" for stoves. I used the red tag to rest my peach jam on when it came out of the canner tonight.

Can you share the recipe for the buckwheat noodles?

I'm going to go look for a Hello Kitty Bento box for Frank...or Hello Kitty shaped nori.

You are a brave woman. You know I would make him a rice ball with it.

Broke my left leg just above the ankle. Turns out the driver did not have a forklift operator's license. He came by our house the next week to apologize, bringing me two gifts: a new Mr. Bento (he ran over it, too) and two parakeets (to keep "the cripple" company).

Could've been worse. I spent the summer practicing my guitar chops.

I'm almost afraid to ask....so...are those REALLY quail eggs I see?

 

[spork]

No recipe. If your local market has an Asian section, I'm willing to bet you'd find a sleeve of dried buckwheat noodles. It probably won't be 100% buckwheat which is hard to find and expensive. Buckwheat + wheat flour + coloring. Still tasty, and the gluten in wheat helps the noodles keep their shape. Boil per instructions. Be watchful, it will froth and boil over. Drain and shock with running water and ice cubes. Serve a mound of it topped with shredded nori. For bento, I toss it with a splash of canola oil to prevent it from sticking together into a tangled ball.

The dipping sauce for zaru soba is just a bit darker than what you'd get for tempura at a restaurant. Basic tsuyu is about 1 cup dashi, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and 2 Tbsp mirin. Once it comes to a boil, an optional extra 1/3 cup of dried bonito flakes is added to steep and rest. Filter and refrigerate. Tsuyu is used to flavor stocks. It's also diluted with water for specific dishes, such as tempura dipping sauce. For zaru soba, I highly recommend the condiments I mentioned. Served cold, it's a hearty yet very refreshing dish for summers.

 

[Damien]

Thanks for the welcome back, everyone.. Fifichan, I'm sorry, All I understood was "please.." Gomen.. If you need more, I'm sure a shipment can be arranged..

Spork.. I haven't had Zaru Soba in a long while.. I have all the stuff needed.. I may end up making it today for lunch.. Yours looks great!

Stopped in the asian market today in the search for some peeled and deveined raw shrimp to make smoked shrimp.. Ended up walking out of there with 80+ dollars worth of stuff.. a Case of Aloe juice, Gyoza skins (Guess who's making Gyoza soon..) shrimp, a new Thai quick and easy cookbook, some fresh veggies for the gyoza and a few other small odds and ends.. This cooking thing is going to be the end of my bank account..

Hope you are all well..

-Damien

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks for the welcome back, everyone.. Fifichan, I'm sorry, All I understood was "please.." Gomen.. If you need more, I'm sure a shipment can be arranged..

Spork.. I haven't had Zaru Soba in a long while.. I have all the stuff needed.. I may end up making it today for lunch.. Yours looks great!

Stopped in the asian market today in the search for some peeled and deveined raw shrimp to make smoked shrimp.. Ended up walking out of there with 80+ dollars worth of stuff.. a Case of Aloe juice, Gyoza skins (Guess who's making Gyoza soon..) shrimp, a new Thai quick and easy cookbook, some fresh veggies for the gyoza and a few other small odds and ends.. This cooking thing is going to be the end of my bank account..

Hope you are all well..

-Damien

I was asking for a translation, please/thankyou of Mo Fish Sauce ga arimasuka? I am learning slowly, not many people in Montana to talk with.

And I do have plenty of fish sauce, it's only me using it and I have to watch sodium content.

 

[Kathleen]

I'm getting fairly comfortable with my lunches. Does anyone have some good, fun, or interesting Bento breakfast ideas?

 

[spork]

I'm getting fairly comfortable with my lunches. Does anyone have some good, fun, or interesting Bento breakfast ideas?

Good question. All I can think of is the expected frittata. I'll give it some more thought, Kathleen... in the meantime, here's another recent lunch of mine.

1. FiFi-chan no Wasabi-Ginger Napa Slaw with shrimp
2. fluffy potatoes
3. apple in lemon slices and dried apricots
4. oven-toasted sugar ‘n cinnamon butter brioche
5. ice coffee

I took Laurie’s suggestion and made some childhood favorite fried egg bullseye with slices of brioche bread for breakfast, and realized that the cutout rounds would fit my bento box perfectly, so I toasted them in the oven into another childhood favorite sugar fix. I don’t pack apples often because they’re unappetizing to me when oxidized. But, a new variety from New Zealand appeared at market this summer, so I gave it a go. It’s called “Envy.” It’s crispy, very sweet, and I like it. The lemons slices worked pretty well as preservative, but the apples soaked up quite a bit of its sourness. The fluffy potatoes (tosa fuumi) are one of my simplest go-to starches, good at any temperature. The slaw is from the elves in Princess Fiona’s royal kitchen. I felt pretty sure that small cocktail shrimp would be a good addition, and I was right. I don’t have the DC link off-hand, but thanks, PF!!

 

[Kathleen]

That looks awesome, spork! YUM!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

That looks most excellent! I like the idea of the shrimp in the slaw...

I had to ship Dad some wasabi powder a few weeks ago, he had run out of the last can I sent. He says he eats the slaw about once a week.

Here's the recipe: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f11/napa-cabbage-slaw-with-wasabi-ginger-dressing-67475.html

 

[LPBeier]

Spork that is amazing!
I had to go into Vancouver today so I packed my first "out of the house" bento - some vegetarian sushi (asparagus, avocado and cucumber rolls), some of last night's chicken stir fry and a clementine.

Pictures of the box will be forth coming. I haven't finished the bedroom and I know the camera is in there somewhere.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I had miso with udon noodles, chicken and green onions. I love the instant miso, I can wait to add the hot water. Pineapple with lychee nuts, roasted red pepper and onion slaw. Tea!

 

[spork]

Omurice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kath, that's a wiki link to "rice omelet," a brunch dish that may give you some ideas. A football shaped mound of ketchup fried rice covered by a skin of egg.

 

[Damien]

Omurice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kath, that's a wiki link to "rice omelet," a brunch dish that may give you some ideas. A football shaped mound of ketchup fried rice covered by a skin of egg.

There was a chinese food place that used to serve something like this.. but instead of ketchup fried rice, they did crab fried rice , covered with the egg, covered in sweet and sour sauce... Sooooo good...

-Damien

 

[spork]

1. pork in red chile
2. trash of tortilla and smoked gouda
3. tears of salad greens, tomato in dressing
4. plain greek yogurt and raspberry jam
5. lemon ice tea

My neighbors somehow acquired the chile sauce from a restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico called Tomasita’s. It’s really good. I portion it, and horde it in the freezer. Target stores in my town began stocking fresh groceries. They’ve been sending coupons in the mail for free food, like eggs and tortillas. I wasn’t impressed and doubt I’ll ever shop there. Salad greens in a bento box will keep a bit better if dry and this is my usual way to separate a dressing. The jam is from my neighbor, too, a canner and baker, both of which I am not. A lunchbox cobbled together with whatever is in the frig.