August 2009

All the content on this site by month.

Opposing cut or chigai-giri: The easiest ever decorative cutting technique for bananas, cucumbers and more

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A couple of people asked about the twist-cut banana slices that were tucked into a corner of the scotch egg bento. This is actually a very simple decorative cutting technique that can be done in a couple of minutes, even if you are a beginner. I learned how to do this cut back in my first year of middle school (7th grade in U.S. school terms, or when I was 12-13) in home economics class. It's usually called chigai giri (違い切り) or 'opposing cut' in Japanese. I also call it the 'twist cut', since the business end of the cut looks twisted to me.

There's more than one way to do this cut, but here's the way I learned how to do it. It still works best for me.

Japanese Scotch Egg

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First off, I haven't actually uploaded a complete bento here in ages, so here is one! It features Japanese Scotch eggs, which you see in the near-most box. (The rest of the bento consists of cucumber slices with sea salt; a carrot and celeriac salad; onigiri with umeboshi filling; banana and mini-cupcakes. The whole bento is about 1100 calories - I intended it to be for 2, but ended up eating the whole thing by myself!)

The original Scotch egg is a British pub snack, made by wrapping a hardboiled egg in sausage meat and deep frying it. The Japanese version uses a ground beef/pork meat mix, and is either deep fried, panfried or baked in the oven. I usually bake them or panfry them, though deep frying is best if you want perfectly round Scotch eggs.

Japanese style Scotch egg is considered to be rather retro in Japan these days. They are typical of yohshoku or youshoku, Japanese-style Western cooking, where foods from the West have been adapted (mostly in the post-WWII period up to the 1970s or so) to suit Japanese tastes and available ingredients. (More about yohshoku.)

I rather hesitated to post this recipe since it doesn't quite fit the usual criteria for recipes here. It takes some time and effort to make, so it's not practical for a busy morning. It's not very low in calories. And, it doesn't really freeze well, because frozen hard boiled egg turns rubbery and hard, so it's not even a good make-ahead staple item! Other than that though, it is quite delicious at room temperature, so very well suited for bentos. You can make a few and keep them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Or make them for dinner and leave one for next day's bento! That bright yellow and white egg against the brown of the meat is very cheery.

The ever popular Weekly Bento Planner and Weekly Menu Planner forms are now available in more languages, thanks to our great international community. In addition to German, Portuguese and the original English, we now have French, Norwegian and Hungarian versions. Go to either page to download them. Many thanks to Ren for the Hungarian and Norwegian translations, Céline for the French version, and Antje for putting the forms together!

With so many great ideas, it was really hard to pick a winner! But it finally came down to the great ideas from one busy lady: vesper h, who is a mom of 2, and works full time at a university. Here's part of her winning entry:

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blockquote> we make and freeze our bento staples on the weekends, which makes it easier for me to pull together a lunch in the painfully-early morning.

Where (and how) to buy bento boxes and accessories

(Originally published in April 2008, and updated continuously since. Last updated March 2011.)

A very frequently asked question is where and how to buy the bento items and boxes mentioned here, especially in the Bento Item Spotlight (formerly Bento Item of the Week) feature, as well as on other bento blogs and sites. I've listed you several options, which I hope will be useful.

Look locally first

As much as I love online shopping, I believe in shopping at your local stores first. You're supporting your area's businesses, and you don't have to pay shipping costs. Besides, it's arguably a bit better for the environment (especially if you take public transportation!) since the goods have already travelled to your area.

You might argue, "but I don't have any stores near me that sell bento stuff!" I don't either. But it's always possible to find alternatives for lunch boxes, dividers, picks and other accessories. As I wrote in one of the earliest articles on this site, it's not necessary to buy a box that is labeled as a Bento Box in order to bring bento lunches. You can use cupcake cups, paper or silicon, as bento dividers, picnic utensils, and so on. Check out the Bento Gear Flickr pool for a lot of creative ideas from fellow bento enthusiasts.

Bento box spotlight: The Goodbyn lunchbox

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When I saw this unusual looking lunchbox via the delicious bento tag stream, my first thought was, "Wow, that looks so cool". The Goodbyn™ Lunchbox is a one-piece, molded plastic container with fitted lid, that looks like an odd/cute (or in anime parlance, kimo kawaii) space alien or animal.

Share your back-to-school bento strategies!

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While we are still in the dog days of summer (at least here in the northern hemisphere), it's already time for many of us to start thinking about Back to School!

Whether it's for yourself, your spouse/partner or kids, you may be thinking about incorporating healthy bento lunches into your everyday routine in the fall/autumn. What's your plan? What about bentos appeal to you (I'm guessing they must, since you're here!)? Share your tips, ideas, strategies for great bento-ing, right here in the comments. And, there's a prize!

Bento Basics

  • Posted on: 6 August 2009
  • By: anon.
One week until I return to school as a teacher. Today I recieved my blog assignment and I feel so highly technical. I just finished working on our school website and now my own bento blog spot. Thanks Maki!
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Bento Basics

  • Posted on: 6 August 2009
  • By: anon.
One week until I return to school as a teacher. Today I recieved my blog assignment and I feel so highly technical. I just finished working on our school website and now my own bento blog spot. Thanks Maki!
Taxonomy upgrade extras: 

Can't wait! :D

  • Posted on: 4 August 2009
  • By: anon.
Well, I placed my orders in a few days ago. I can't wait till they get here! :D Some of the supplies like the molds, pics, etc will get here first. Along with a second bento. I'm so exited! :D lol Ok, so here's what I've ordered.... http://www.jbox.com/IMAGE/mAJvJ http://bentocrazy.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=4612160 http://www.jbox.com/IMAGE/fXbxZ http://bentocrazy.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=2168247 http://bentocrazy.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=2168027 http://bentocrazy.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=2926672