Just Bento

I’m addicted to furikake. I have 4-5 kinds I think (can’t check since i’m at schoo now!)

I didn’t know hummus can be frozen. Doesn’t it get grainy?

I am just starting out with bento too but I always have some Boca Burgers in the freezer. I cut them frozen into wedges and pan fry them, then add some ketchup. They aren’t as nice as your black bean fritters but they’re much less work for me!

Frozen vegetables. Always. Indespensible. Also canned isn’t bad.

Whatever Pasta I Made. Now pretty much make a whole box (I use Barilla pasta that’s derived from legumes as its more protein less carbs) when I cook it, often in sauces. That gives us 7 dishes right there.

Fruit. Fruit is often forgotten as easy, quick, portable, wrapped by itself, and nutritious. Oranges and apples.

I keep most of my bento throw-ins in the freezer:



Meatballs,

Onigiri and over leftover rice (these keep so beautifully and reheat in under a minute),

Homemade waffles,

Tonkatsu,

Tenpura,

Croquettes (One day a month, I make a bunch of fried foods, then freeze them. Tenpura freezes very well. Tonkatsu, not so much - comes out too dry/crewy when reheated.),

Inari (already rice-filled),

Pork buns (not a fan of the way these taste reheated in microwave ;p)



I've become a big fan of reheating some rice and throwing some canned tuna on top with Bulldog sauce on it, along with a bit of mayo mixed into the tuna. I'll put some leftover veggies in with it (sliced cucumber and avocado) with a few shredded up sheets of seasoned snack nori.



I just made my first good homemade miso soup the other day and I can't wait to implement your ball-o-miso-in-cellophane technique. :D

Staples for my bento (and my son’s) include carrots, cucumbers, edemame, rice with furikake, various pastas with sauce, sausage, rice crackers, mini jellies and pocky. I try not to pack a lot of sweets but three or four pocky in the top compartment of my bento is just enough to satisfy a sweet tooth and it’s pretty easy on the calorie count. In the spring and summer I pack a lot of berries.

Every week I buy fresh veggies, usually broccoli, asparagus, snow peas, carrot, spring onions & ginger and fruit that’s in season (right now it’s stone fruit & berries). I also have homemade ponzu and miso dressings (I usually mix these with only one of my veggies to add interest), Kewpie mayo, sesame seeds, eggs and occasionally cheese or similar. I usually have a batch of simmered kabocha too.

In the freezer, I have edamame, corn, peas, shu mai, gyoza, aburage, crumbed prawns, meatballs, Chinese sausage, salted salmon, 1/2 cup portions of leftovers, rice and chicken fillets pre-cut into bento-size portions.

In the pantry, I have ramen, soba & udon noodles, jasmine & sushi rice, umeboshi, several kinds of furikake, including black sesame (my favourite), canned tuna, noodle sauce, and Pocky or mochi.

Sunday night is usually my prep night for the week. I cook a batch of rice, form some into onigiri and put into the freezer. I top up any sauces and make simmered kabocha.

All this and somehow it still takes me 45 mins to make a bento!!! :)

our popular local bentos are a mix of island foods and Japanese. Some of the things I like are shiso furikake to coat musubis, corned beef hash, shoyu hotdog, kinpira gobo, and tempura.

I’ve had to stay at home due to back problems - which also means we’ve had to economise. As a result I usually make bento for my husband who likes a classic rice, topping and a little something on the side rather than an assortment of onigiris.

So our bento staples are rice, mugi soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, ponzu, sesame oil, chilli oil, worcestershire sauce, sake, beer, corn-flour miso, gochujang/kochujan, chilli flakes, garlic, ginger, honey, lemon, sesame seeds, shiso flavoured furikake, shaved bonito flakes Frozen Quorn (minced or in pieces) canned tuna, mackerel, eggs onions, pepper, spring onions, cucumber, cabbage, mushrooms, courgettes/zuchini, tomatoes, potatoes, spinach, buckwheat greens Selection of Tsukemono (half home made - half store bought), dried shitake mushrooms

Soy sauce and beer make a great sauce base for stir fried vegetables

If you soak 20 shitake mushrooms overnight, stir fry those shitake for 5 minutes on a high flame and then cook those mushrooms under a very, very low one with 120mls of the soaking liquid, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and just under a tablespoon of caster sugar until all the liquid has been absorbed, sliced, these mushrooms are a gorgeous addition to a bento (drizzle over a little sesame oil). They last for a week in the fridge.

Buckwheat can be grown from scratch in a week - they require only water (and get by with very little sunlight) and make a delectably tender salad. It’s ridiculously easy - so we always have 3 pots growing at a time. (There are health concerns with over eating these, but I believe you’d have to juice them in order to ingest enough for this. I’m sure they are no more dangerous than potatoes for anyone eating them normally)

fridge:
crepes, french toast, or pancakes that I make ahead when I make weekend breakfasts
fresh fruit
boiled eggs
fresh veggies - peas, cucumber, zucchini pre-cut
cheese
deli meats (in case I am really feeling lazy)

freezer:
gyoza
shu mai
cooked diced chicken
slices of meatloaf
edamame

cupboard:
tiny cookies
individually wrapped candies
dried fruit - from the bulk food aisle at the grocery, adds a nice sweet and a bit of color
sealed single-serve applesauce and salsa for the kiddo, who can't be trusted not to slam his bento around in his bag
tiny bottles of honey and tobasco
tostadas
cans of inari zushi skins
cans of tuna