BENTO - Anyone else interested?

Gold Member Joined: Dec 25 2008 Posts: 2062

It all started with sushi in hamantashen shape----and moved on to duck peking balls of rice. I think I am obsessedwith japans favourite comfort food! Anyone else?

Active Poster Joined: Aug 03 2011 Posts: 84

not really it takes effort to learn how to cook something new and I am not such a restaurant goer, I do like sushi and I am ok if I get it only ones in a while

Gold Member Joined: Jan 03 2011 Posts: 1503

What's bento??
_________________
Smile there, aint you glad your living:)

Posted: Sun, Mar 11 2012, 9:46 am Post subject:

What is that?

bento is a lunchbox of various bits and pieces of japanese food.

I make my own sushi. It is really easy, just rice prep takes a long time, dh thought he didn't like it but then after we went to a sushi party he made some he likes and now he's happy to dine japanese.

Gold Member Joined: Dec 25 2008 Posts: 2062

If anyone is intererested, here is the basic 'rice ball' called 'onigiri' which is carried around for people's lunches like a sandwich in Japan. Keys are not making the filling go to the sides (unless you are making it like a sandwich, and then you wrap it in nori to hold it together.)

Clean hands important here because bacteria can grow in rice if not handled properly. Plastic gloves keep your hands from getting sticky and the wrap in the bowl helps you handle it as well.

RICE MAKER
2cups short grained (Cal Rose, Japonica) rice
2.25 cups water
1.5 tsp salt

Rinse rice well as it is covered with talc to keep it from sticking.

Place in Rice Maker and set it to go.

OR

STOVE TOP

Put in pot on stove covered and WATCH it for when it boils, then turn it to minimum until the water is absorbed.

In both cases, if you let it sit and steam after it comes off the heat, it will be better.

THEN

If you were going to make sushi, you would add vinegar right after you took it off the heat. Don't for Onigiri

FOR ONIGIRI

While rice is warm
Line a small cup or bowl with plastic wrap.
Plop some rice in and then gently pack it in. I like to make an indentation for the filling.
Make sure the filling is not spilling to the sides or the rice won't stick
top with more rice, tamp it down and then gather plastic wrap and make a ball shape with your rice and filling.

Some people sprinkle salt on the outside.

Also roasted sesame seeds.

Fillings can be pretty much anything, just make sure it is not too greasy or the balls will fall apart.

ideas:

leftover chicken mixed with hoisin sauce
leftover salmon
tuna with mayo (not too much mayo) and optional spicy sauce
pickles (well drained
olives (well drained)
Umeboshi plum (very traditional)
roasted/grilled meat or fish

Enjoy!

Diamond Member Joined: May 10 2010 Posts: 3097

chanamiriam, that sounds really interesting but how do you eat it?

Gold Member Joined: Dec 25 2008 Posts: 2062

http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics

People cut veggies into cute little shapes and use silicone cups to divide the foods. Its a hobby for some people. It's often good for picky children because it is cute and little and they can help make it. They also have little molds for taking whole boiled eggs, and while they are warm, you press them into the thing and it comes out in a cute shape.

I am not so into the boxes, but the recipes tend to be simple and delish.

I wish I could figure out how to upload my hamantashen sushi pics.

Gold Member Joined: Dec 25 2008 Posts: 2062

You just pick up the ball and eat it. IF you put something inside that does not need to be refrigerated, it is best to leave it out of refrigeration. Even if refrigerated, you can zap it for a minute in a microwave.

Gold Member Joined: Dec 25 2008 Posts: 2062

Some people cover in nori to keep their hands directly off the rice. some people who like crisp nori add the nori when they are just about to eat it.

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 18 2005 Posts: 3039

I did the bento thing a few years ago. not japanese food but I got my ds a cute bento box with little silicone cups to keep the food separate. we'd do themes sometimes, like pasta flowers with cheddar cheese cut into bunny shapes and things like that. it was fun to prepare and fun to eat but the playgroup morahs werent so amused...more work for them and parts of the bento box kept getting lost.

Gold Member Joined: Dec 25 2008 Posts: 2062

Why is it more work for the morah?

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 18 2005 Posts: 3039

more work for the morah because instead of a ziploc bagged sandwich and box drink which is a no-brainer and gets tossed in the trash afterwards, she had to help ds open the box (it was actually a double decker box strapped together with an elastic band) and try not to lose any of the pieces and pack them back up (you had to pay a little bit of attention to get it together again) and put it back in his backpack. this was 3 yo playgroup so the kids really werent very independent. after replacing the elastic band twice and about 4 silicone cups, the lid went missing and I gave up and went back to pb&j in a ziploc.