Just Bento

Hi madame kira,

You may find this useful as a starting point: Time-tested vegan proteins (also lists lacto-ovo proteins too).

I'm not a vegetarian, but I am always looking for interesting vegetarian or vegan meals. I think that the best course really is to think beyond the idea of finding meat substitutions, and instead look for whole-vegetarian meals where you get protein from more than one ingredient. So for instance, you might make a bento with brown rice, beans, and some sesame seeds, or quinoa salad with edamame, and so on. Here's a bento that takes that kind of approach as an example. Or try things like these muffins with protein rich ingredients. You can look at the cuisines with a lot of traditionally vegetarian or vegan meals (Indian, some Japanese, SE Asian, Mediterranean etc.) for inspiration . Take a look through the vegetarian and vegan categories here too.

Thanks for making this post, Madame Kira! 2 days of the challenge down, and I'm already keen to find out what I can pop in my bento for protein other than tofu, soya mince or eggs... I like all of those things, but I think I need some specific recipies to vary things a bit. Maki's vegan proteins list is very helpful, but if any fellow veggies out there come up with any veggie protein bento dishes they would like to share, it would be much appreciated. If I do have any brainwaves I'll share them in this thread, too!

This is always a problem for me too and I have found so many great recipes on http://www.everydaydish.tv/
they have many videos so you can see how to make the mock meats from scratch (which is much cheaper than buying expensive brand names). I hope these help!

This is a massive helps, thanks to everyone who posted, I am eagerly checking out everything. XD

If you can find Braised Tofu (it comes in a tin), try a not-tuna salad by draining it, flaking it, mixing with mayonaise (or vegan mayonaise) and some nori seaweed sprinkle. It's nice as a sandwich filling, or to fill cellery sticks. I don't know how well this lasts, as I never have left-overs.

Another protein we like is fried chickpeas. Drain a tin of chickpeas, and fry in a bit of oil on medium heat. When they start getting light spots, take them off the heat, add spices (cumin, or harissa) if you want. I like them in pasta salads, but also good with sandwiches and salads.

Both these suggestions are high in grease, so they may not be to your taste.

I follow a mainly vegan diet, and something else I do is replace meat with vegetables- use spinach or brocolli instead of minced meat, or potatoes or aubergines instead of fish. If you feel your diet needs more protein, consider a nutty dessert, like peanut butter cookies or baklava.

Try marinated then fried or baked tempeh. It has a much chewier texture and stronger taste than tofu which I think holds up better to room or cold temperatures.

I sometimes shred tempeh on a grater and then treat it like hamburger (though you will need to add a little oil) for, say, tacos or chili.

It's by far my favorite soy product. I do not understand why tofu is so popular and tempeh...not.

How about cold bean salads? I like to mix canned black beans with corn, diced red pepper, avocado if I have it, and lime juice, salt and pepper. You could also do white beans with vinaigrette, etc.

Not vegan, but I sometimes make little things that would be quiches if they had pastry. Beat up some egg and mix in a bit of feta and some cooked spinach, salt and pepper and whatever else you like, then cook it in those little silicon cupcake cases. You can then either pop the whole thing, case and all, into your box, or peel the case off first. You could use whatever tasty vege and cheese you like - asparagus bits, or tomato, for instance. Your protein dish doesn't have to be all protein.

Freezing tofu changes the texture. When it thaws, squeeze out the water (discard) and crumble the tofu into a bowl. The texture will be very spongy. This is an excellent substitute for ground beef or pork in almost any recipe. It soaks up sauce flavors a lot more readily than non-frozen tofu.

Not in the slightest bit Japanese, but I make little chickpea bhajis by frying a small finely chopped onion and mixing with a couple of boiled potatoes, a tin of drained chickpeas and some curry powder in the food processor. then I stir a beaten egg into it and form into little balls. Bake in a hot oven for 20 mins and serve with a yoghurt, mint and cucumber dip. I manage to fit more than I should in my bento box!

I also make the same kind of bhajis but out of red lentils and cous cous instead of chickpeas and potato. They are ones I adapted from the hungry tiger blog snacks.

I haven't found good Japanese ones yet as I really only like tofu hot. I can stomach a cold hard boiled egg, but that's about it!

Avenna

sometimes my husband goes crazy when i make japanese style bentos as im still practicing. But when i do make our cultural foods ( we're both Persian) i make chickpea chaat. I get the chickpea masala seasoning from indian stores which looks like this: http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Shan-Chaat-Masala-Big.gif

1 Large can of chickpeas (29 oz) or two small cans
1 onion finely chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons of Chaat masala (more or less of your choice as its spicy)
1 tomato chopped into cubes
1 teaspoon of dried mint (optional)
2 medium sized potatoes
Juice of 1 lemon

Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Put potatoes into a pot and cover with 1 inch of water above the potatoes. Add salt (1 quart of water = 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 to 20 mins until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, drain the chickpeas and put into a large bowl. Add all the ingredients. Once the potatoes are done, cool and cut into cubes, and add to the chickpea mixture. Done!

Now i do this the night before and refrigerate it. The next morning i put it into the bento box and done! Hopefully i helped!

Lentil-kashi fritters are always a good option as well. Cook the kashi as directed, adding a handful of dried lentils when the kashi has about 10 minutes to go. I use a packet of instant oatmeal to bind the ingredients and shape into patties, then use the tiniest bit of olive or sesame oil to fry. These are great because you can also add nuts or seeds as well as any lingering vegetable leftovers into them as well (squash, broccoli stalks, carrots, mushrooms) to make them tastier and add a bit of variety.

i use seitan, tempeh, dry tofu strips (the ones that resemble beef jerky, and the chinese noodlelike ones), tvp (ie, in curries), farinata (italian dish with chickpea flour), all kind of beans (combined with cereals), quiches made using silken tofu instead of eggs/ricotta cheese...

there are plenty of possibilities :-)
you can see a few of them in action on my flickr, it's in italia, but i always add a brief english translation :-)