
There are some dishes that are so basic to make that they barely ever get mentioned in cookbooks. Noriben (the word comes from nori and bento mashed together) is one of them. It’s a really basic bento, consisting of just 3 or 4 ingredients: rice, nori seaweed, soy sauce, and often dried bonito flakes. It’s tasty and inexpensive. It was standby for my mother when there was nothing else in the house except for a few pantry staples, and she had to make bento for two of the kids plus my father.
Whether or not you’d like noriben or not depends on whether you like the sea-taste of nori and soy sauce. It’s one of those things that Japanese people tend to think that only a Japanese person could really love. It makes most Japanese people feel very nostalgic.
For the sake of nutritional balance you might want to have other, not too salty things in your bento box with noriben, such as steamed vegetables, chicken, fried tofu, or a piece of grilled fish.
You will need:
Sprinkle the bonito flakes with a little soy sauce and mix with a fork or chopsticks. Rip up the nori into small pieces.

Fill the bento box about halfway up with rice. Put a layer of bonito flakes on evenly on top. Sprinkle with a little more soy sauce if it looks too dry.

Put a layer o nori seaweed on top evenly. If the nori tends to fly around, press down lightly with moistened fingers.

Repeat with another layer of rice, bonito flakes, and then a final layer of nori.

For an even simpler version, omit the bonito flakes. After topping the first layer of rice with nori, sprinkle with enough soy sauce to moisten the nori but not soak the rice through. Repeat with another layer of rice and nori, and sprinkle with soy sauce again.
Unlike the usual procedure where you let the rice cool down before closing the bento box, you can close up a noriben while it’s still a bit warm. The nori will become rather moist, but that’s all good - it’s quite delicious that way.
One word of warning: be sure to check your front teeth after consuming a noriben - you may be sporting a few black spots on your smile.
The photo at top has a smiley face made of takuan pickles, which is strictly optional.
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oh the memories
There is nothing that says happy food memory for me more than rice + katsuo + nori. It’s like the “taste of childhood” trifecta.
Tried it ~ Love it!
I made this as part of my bento today (and of course some of it made it’s way into my mouth before I closed the box). I loved it! My husband is being a baby though. First he said it smelled funny, then he said he would “try it”. sigh Some people just cannot appriciate good food, OR compliment their wives on making it for them on a daily basis.
Anyway, I love the recipes you post here - they make my bento making and weight loss seem easier and frankly makes it taste better than anything I could come up with!
tried it ^^
I tried it today and it tastes terrific (i love the aroma of soy sauce, katsuo, and nori). However noriben looks more like an onigiri-in-a-box to me. Anyway, it’s delicious! Thanks for your recipes!
looks good!
This recipe looks really yummy. I’m going to make it tonight (sans bonito) for my bento tomorrow!
A lot?
Hi! Could i ask, how much calories would this contain? I’m afraid it’ll be too much but i really think it looks too delicious not to eat.
It just depends on the amount of rice you use
…there are very few calories in nori or katsuobushi, not enough to worry about. So it just depends on the amount of rice you use really. You could make it in a small box and have a few calories, or in a huge box on… you get the idea :)
Tuna Substitution
If you don’t have bonito flakes (or you don’t think you’ll like them), you could substitute canned tuna. I’ve done that in a pinch.
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