japanese

A beautiful Mother's Day bento

Mother's Day bento

My mother sent me photos of a gorgeous Mother's Day bento my stepfather got for her (and for himself too of course!) yesterday. It's from Hikagejaya, a restaurant in Hayama, a town near Kamakura in Kanagawa prefecture (where Yokohama, where my mom lives, is too). I've written about Hikagejaya previously; it's one of my favorite restaurants in Japan, and their bentos are just wonderful.

Spinach Tamagoyaki (Spinach-packed omelette)

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This is a very easy to make tamagoyaki (Japanese style omelette) that is chock full of spinach. Even spinach doubters may like this, since the egg, onion and garlic neutralize the iron-rich quality which some people have problems with. It is basically a whole load of spinach that is held together with egg. It does not use the rolling/folding technique used for plain tamagoyaki or the one-egg version, so you may find it a lot easier to make.

Bento staple: All-purpose winter vegetable mix for rice and more

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This is a very versatile vegetable-only or vegetable and chicken mix that can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, or for a month in the freezer. As long as you use a vegetarian/vegan protein it will be vegan/vegetarian, but if you are an omnivore you can use chicken. Let me give you the recipe first, and then show you a couple of ways to use it.

Classic cold-weather mixed vegetable rice bento

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A classic Japanese style bento using winter vegetables (since it's still pretty cold here) made by my mom from bento stash ingredients.

Smoked salmon chirashizushi plus sushi rice how-to on JustHungry

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Learn how to make sushi rice, plus tips for sushi as bento.

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.

The Guy's Two-Step Nikujaga (Japanese meat and potatoes)

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Well hello there JustBento readers. Here's a recipe for you!

Guy Does Bento no. 7: Chicken karaage bento

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The Guy Does Bento is back, with a bento featuring his favorite way of eating chicken.

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