summer

Some news from the great bento suppliers who help to keep this site going, plus a reminder to keep your food safe during the summer months.

A sushi roll bento, plus how to make sushi rolls without a sushi mat

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Here is something that I had in my archives - a sushi roll bento, made with ingredients that you might not have thought belong in a sushi. Plus, how to make a fat sushi roll without a sushi mat!

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Bento contents:

  • 3 Karaage Chicken Lollipops, each about 40g of dark chicken meat, 180 cal
  • 2 onigiri with mixed in furikake, containing about 1 1/2 cups total white rice, 360 cal
  • Boiled asparagus, 10 cal
  • Cherries, 30 cal

Total calories (approx): 580 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 10 minutes the night before; 15 minutes in the morning

Type: Japanese picnic

Summer bento safety

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Food safety is especially important in the summer. Many charaben (cute bento) oriented Japanese bento bloggers note that they scale back the intricacy of their bento creations at this time of the year. Complicated charaben require a lot of handling of the food, which should be avoided when the weather is warm.

I have already posted a comprehensive list of bento safety tips, but here are some top summer bento safety tips.

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Bento contents:

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

Type: Japanese, noodles

Quick tip: Frozen fruit cups

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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).