Just Bento

I’ve noticed that several kyaraben/charaben (cute bento) oriented Japanese bento blogs are scaling back on the intricacy of their bentos recently. It gets very warm and humid in the summer throughout most of Japan, so food safety is a big issue. Complicated charaben require a lot of handling of the food, which should be avoided when the weather is warm.

I have already put together a comprehensive list of bento safety tips, but here are some top summer bento safety tips. continue reading...

Bento contents:

• 1 1/2 US cups (approx. 6 oz / 170g) cooked cold soba noodles, 170 cal
• 1/2 cup dipping sauce (see soba noodles recipe), 15 cal
• Shrimp fritters (with 6 shrimp), 200 cal
• Cherry tomatoes, chopped green onion, 5 cal

Total calories (approx): 390 (how calories are calculated)

Type: Japanese, noodles continue reading...

This is such a simple thing to do, and there’s no better time to do it than in the summer when so many fruits are in season. Cut up any soft ripe fruit, and put them into silicon cupcake liners or wrap in plastic film. Then stash each cup or bundle in a freezer safe plastic container. You can then take out a cup or two and tuck them into your bento box. They act as an edible cooler for your bento. The container here has a cut up nectarine (divided into two silicon liners) and 2 small bananas (divided into 4). continue reading...