What is Bento?
Bento is a well-balanced, compact and visually appealing lunch that is packed in a box. This method comes from Japan where it is very common where mothers see making bento as an expression of love for their children (and husbands too!). Children share and even enter their bento into cafeteria competitions. Bento is also becoming increasingly popular for workers to take each morning and is increasing in popularity in North America. Japan has the highest longevity and lowest obesity rates in the world, so it wouldn’t hurt to take a page out of their book!
Bento is yummy, healthy and interesting. A great perk about bento is that they are very eco-friendly! It helps reduce waste and most bento parts and accessories are highly reusable. Bento allow for easy portion control, saving money and for one to pack a wider variety of food for lunch. It is important to realize that a bento does not need to be filled with Japanese food. You can fill it with whatever food you like! You can make the food from scratch, or it makes great use of leftovers. The foods used can be premade, or prepared in advance. You can use a rainbow of assorted foods to keep things interesting! Despite the beautiful images we all see online or in books, there is no pressure to have a bento look like an image, landscape or character. Just aim to make it visually appealing and thoughtfully arranged. Once you get the hang of that, if you feel like it you can aim for some more complicated arrangements, but in reality, that's not really necessary. The important thing is that it appeals to you and is arranged in a way to be highly portable, and well organized.
Bento is a great way to motivate yourself to pack a lunch, eat healthy and also to diminish picky eaters. Lets make packed meals fun again with bento!
Bento Supplies & Tools
There are a lot of different tools and supplies one can use to make a bento but they are not all necessary at first. The main tools one needs are a bento box (even just Tupperware will do the trick), some utensils (whatever you feel comfortable with), and some cupcake paper cups. In the following descriptions I will explain the basic tools/supplies one can use for bento in further detail, and you can decide for yourself what you want to use!
Bento boxes: Come in a wide variety of types, styles and designs.
Lacquer: heavy, long-lasting, but not microwave safe
Plastic: usually microwave safe (but not the lid) affordable, modern
Metal: not microwavable, uncommon, may not have a tight seal
Bamboo: good for sandwiches or onigiri (rice balls) because it allows for
breathing, but must be lined.
Wooden: Traditional, not microwave safe, expensive, require plastic lining
Donburi: has 2 layers, one for rice and the other for the rice topping (stew, chili, etc.)
Onigiri: for one or multiple onigiri, is or has a compartment specifically shaped for onigiri (triangular)
Chopsticks: useful for eating and cooking
Utensil sets: come in cases with forks, spoons, chopsticks, etc. Very useful for transporting utensils.
Toothpicks/Decorative Picks: useful for eating, decorating and packing
Baran: food dividers, such as grass (often seen with sushi), keeps food separated
Little Sauce Containers/Bottles: a mess-free way to store and transport sauces]
Plastic, Paper, or Silicone Cups: good for keeping foods, particularly moist foods, separated
Oshibori: small, wet, reusable towel in a case, used to wash hands before and after a meal
Rice Paddle: Typically plastic, is a small paddle used in the making of rice
Freezer Packs: to keep food cool and safe
Straps: used to keep containers safely closed
Bag: one can use either a cloth wrapper or a bento bag with a zipper or drawstring
Gadgets: can make lunch a little extra fun, or make being creative with food a little easier.
Condiment Pencils: allow for drawing or writing with sauces
Weiner Shapers: make tulips, crabs, octopuses, penguins, etc out of wieners
Nori Punches/Hole Punches: for making faces and such on food
Egg Molds: for shaping hard-boiled eggs
Plastic Cutters/Cookie Cutters: for cutting veggies, bread, etc, multi-use
Onigiri Shapers: help shape rice balls
Sandwich Cutters: cut sandwiches into cute, fun shapes
Packing Bento:
The key here is balance. That balance applies not only to the nutritional content, but also visually by using a variety of colours and textures and with arrangement.
One should keep in mind a general guideline for food ratios: (There are many different ones, but I picked this one)
1/3 – ½ : Carbs (Bread/Rice/Pasta) (when mixed with other foods, can be as much as 2/3)
1/3 +: Veggies (Can include fruit/jelly)
1/3 : Protein
Try to avoid junk foods, oily food, or candy, but occasional treats can be included.
Please vary this approximation to your personal need!
Remember to use variety of flavour, colour and cooking methods, and to keep in mind: ease of eating, drain moist/wet foods and divide them, season well (cooled food requires more seasoning than hot), safe packing, and cute and interesting arrangement. Feel free to experiment with different methods and foods. If you are using leftovers, try to give them a makeover to stave off boredom. Another important factor to keep in mind is: do not leave empty spaces! Make your bento look full and attractive by using garnishes and fillers. Some examples of fillers are: dried fruit, nuts, cooked beans, mini jellies, veggies, fruit, wrapped cheese, etc.
Packing Method
Step 1: Set the rice: Spread the rice across the bottom of the container to allow cooling and avoid condensation. Next, pack the rice, push it against one side of the container until it is even and full on that side.
Step 2: Put in Fixed-Shape Foods: place food that has a shape that cannot be modified
Step 3: Place moist foods: Place moist food that has been drained and separated in dividers/cups
Step 4: Place Shapeable Foods: place food that can be shaped/ is flexible
Step 5: Place Space Fillers: use the fillers to make your bento nice and full
Step 6: Enhance: visually enhance the box by adding picks or seasoning like nori or furikake
Step 7: Cool: allow your bento to cool completely before replacing the lid to avoid condensation and sogginess and to ensure food safety.
This concludes my bento tutorial. I hope I haven’t left out anything important, if you have any comments and questions feel free to let me know!
