[ NIHON BUNKA KENKYUU ] BUNKEN 101: Reviews, comments, and insights on Japanese pop culture.
Bentou is Japanese for a single-portion takeout meal. A traditional bentou consists of rice, fish or meat and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. While bentou are readily available at convenience stores and bentou shops (bentou-ya) throughout Japan, it is still considered an essential skill of a Japanese housewife to be able to prepare an appealing boxed lunch.
The origin of bentou can be traced back to the late Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333), when cooked and dried rice called hoshi-ii (literally "dried meal") was developed. Hoshi-ii can be eaten as is, or can be boiled with water to make cooked rice, and is stored in a small bag. In the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, wooden lacquered boxes like today's were produced and bentou would be eaten during a hanami or a tea party.
A bentou is traditionally made in a 4:3:2:1 ratio: 4 parts of rice, 3 parts of the main dish (either meat or fish), 2 parts of vegetables, and 1 part of a serving of pickled vegetables or a dessert. However, almost anything can be used to make a bentou.
Several precautions should be taken when making a bentou. The most important thing is to avoid food poisoning, especially in summer. Foods should be cooked well and the bentou must be stored in a cool, dry location. If sushi is a part of the bentou, it should be prepared with more wasabi than normal. Foods covered with sauce should be carefully packed, or avoided altogether, as sauce may spill over on to the other foods.
When cooked rice is a part of a bentou, it should be cooled by leaving the bento open first. If a bento is closed before it is sufficiently cooled, the steam from the rice will condense inside the bentou and make the food soggy.
From WIKIPEDIA.
Bento Recipes
ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOM STIRFRY (55 kcal)
Ingredients: Green Asparagus, Mushrooms, Butter, Soy Sauce
Preparation: Remove the bottom, hard part of the asparagus and cut them into 3cm long pieces; cut the mushroom in length, then cut each half in four. Put the veggies in a heat-resistant plate; cut the butter into little pieces and scatter it on the veggies. Pour soy sauce on them, cover the plate with cling film and cook in the microwave oven for 1:30 minutes (Simmer them in a pan at low heat, if you don't have a microwave oven).
Cheese Omelet (147 kcal)
Ingredients: Egg, Cheese, Salt & Pepper
Preparation: Whip the egg; cut the processed cheese into 7mm squares and add them to the egg, then add salt and sugar. Heat the oil in a frying pan, pour the egg mixture in it; stir with a fork the upper surface till the most of the egg is cooked and roll the omelet. Leave it to "roast" for a while. Decorate with parsley.
Chicken Breast with Mentaiko (240 kcal)
Ingredients: Chicken Breast, Shimeji Mushrooms, Green Peas (frozen), Egg, Mentaiko (2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp sake, 1/3 tsp oil), Sake, Salt
Preparation: Cut the chicken breast into 3 or 4 pieces, sprinkle with sake and salt and leave to rest for a bit. Clean the mushrooms and cut them in halves. Whip the egg in a bowl and add the Mentaiko ingredients, then stir well. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken breast pieces. When the colour of the meat starts to change, add the mushrooms and the green peas, and stir-fry. When the mushrooms are tender, pour the egg mix in the pan and mix well: when the egg is cooked halfway, put off the fire, cover with a lid and leave it for a while.
Dry Curry (187 kcal per person)
Ingredients (easy-to-make portions): Mincemeat, Carrot, Onion, Bell Pepper, Curry Powder (mixed with 2 tsp tomato ketchup, 3 tbsp broth, 1/2 cup oil)
Preparation: Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the mincemeat and stir-fry it till its color gets dark, then add the chopped vegetables. When the vegetables become tender add the curry powder mix and, continuously stirring, let the broth evaporate.
Note: You can freeze the extra portion. You may add chopped celery to make it taste richer.
Scotch Eggs (347 kcal)
Ingredients: Mincemeat, Hard Boiled Egg, Onions (mixed with beaten egg, and salt & pepper), Tomato Ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce
Preparation: Put the mincemeat in a bowl with all ingredients except ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, and mix well. Remove the shell from the egg. Cover the egg with the meat mixture, as if it were another shell, then wrap it tightly with heat resistant cling film. Bring water to a boil in a small pan. Put the wrapped egg in the water and let them boil for 12~15 minutes. Let cool, wrapped as it is, then cut it in half and decorate it with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, well mixed.
Shiitake Mushrooms Meatballs (112 kcal)
Ingredients: Shiitake Mushrooms, Ground Pork, Naganegi, Carrot, Dashi Broth (3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp soy sauce), Salt, Flour
Preparation: Mix well the mincemeat with the naganegi and the salt. Make 2 meatballs. Cut the carrot in 4 slices, and each in 2, so you get 8 half moon shaped pieces. Remove the stem from the shiitake mushrooms, cut it in half and wrap each around the bottom part of the meatballs. Roll them lightly in the flour. Put the dashi ingredients in a pan, and when they come to a boil, add the meatballs and the carrots and let them simmer at low heat for 10~12 minutes.
Zucchini with Tomato (86 kcal)
Ingredients: Zucchini, Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper
Preparation: Cut the zucchini in round slices; remove the seeds from the tomato and chop it. Chop the onion. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic till they change color; then add the zucchini and tomato and stir-fry it all together. When the zucchini are tender, add salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook at low heat for about 5 minutes.
Sweet and Sour Tuna (87 kcal per person)
Ingredients: Canned Tuna, Sugar, Soy sauce
Preparation:Remove most of the oil from the tuna can, and put the tuna (with a bit of its oil), the sugar and the soy sauce in a pan; heat at medium fire while mixing well.
Note: You can use 1/3 of it as a white rice topping. Then once the rest has gotten cold, you can keep it in the fridge for 3~4 days, and use it into an omelet or mix it to boiled veggies.
Tiny Cheeseburgers (348 kcal)
Ingredients: Ground Beef, Onion, Beaten Egg, Bread Crumbs, Chili Sauce, Salt & Pepper, Cheese, Cooking Oil, Tomato Ketchup
Preparation: Mix all ingredients except cheese, cooking oil, and tomato ketchup in a bowl well, then form 4 round hamburgers. Heat the oil in the frying pan, then put the hamburgers in it. Cook at medium fire till they become brown, turn them and make the other side turn brown too. Then add one tbsp of water, cover the pan and let cook for one~two minutes. Put a square of cheese on each hamburger and keep cooking until the cheese melts. Decorate with tomato ketchup.
From SAKURA MINAMOTOS' LJ.