vegetables

Yuzu scented winter vegetable tsukemono (pickles)

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Here's a super-easy tsukemono or Japanese style pickle that only takes about 10 minutes to prep. It makes a great bento vegetable or salad substitute.

Sweet, sour and salty 'instant' radish pickles

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[While I'm still getting back up to speed, please enjoy this recipe for 'instant' pickled radishes, great in any bento or in a salad. Originally published in May 2009. It's kind of funny to re-read this post and realize we were still waffling about buying a house in France or not. I guess we did, after all!]

While radishes are available year-round, spring seems to be the perfect time to enjoy their crisp, peppery crunchiness. They are also really pretty. I love them just as-is, perhaps with a little salt, or sliced up in salads, but I've also been playing around with various formulas to make instant pickles or ichiyazuke (一夜漬け, or 'overnight pickles') with them. Here's one result that's sweet, salty, sour and peppery - a great bento box side dish.

Bento filler: Parsnip kinpira

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A classic Japanese vegetable side dish made with a very European vegetable.

Two-color namasu, a make-ahead daikon radish and carrot salad

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Here's a recipe for a classic vegetable dish that is served at New Year's in Japan. It actually gets better after some time in the refrigerator, and is a great bento side dish that may even bring you some luck!

Bento filler staple: Walnut miso paste for cooked vegetables

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A delicious fall-like walnut-miso paste that makes any bland cooked vegetables taste great. It's easy to make and stash in your refrigerator.

Great Bento Ideas: Colorful Vegetarian and Gluten-Free Bentos by Cocyte

Bento Petits Farcis

This week's Great Bento Ideas are by Cocyte, who makes beautiful bentos in Bordeaux, France - a country that could be considered the mecca of bento-ing in Europe.

Sweet pepper and carrot confetti

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I am calling this colorful dish confetti, because it's not quite assertively flavored enough to call it furikake. It is sort of a no-sugar (low-carb) and much lower calorie variation of Cooked to Death Hot and Sweet Peppers, though I have made the hot peppers optional. Even with no added sugar or sweetener, I think the natural sweetness of the vegetables comes through nicely. It's a really useful vegetable side dish, to just pack on the side or sprinkle on top of rice or other things. You could also fold in a spoonful into tamagoyaki to make it really colorful. It can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days, or frozen.

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Bento contents:

Total calories (approx): 490 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 5 to 10 minutes to pack in the morning

Type: Not really Japanese, made from stash and leftovers

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