Yearly Archives: 2010

Last Bento of 2009

The last two months of 2009 saw a sharp decrease in bento-making. This was due to many meetings and get-togethers at work where food was provided (or I was traveling and it was easier to purchase lunch) and lack of time and food. My boyfriend and I moved to a new apartment in the middle of December and it took us a while to get back onto our feet and into a routine where I feel comfortable with my new commute to make bento.

November and December also saw some weird schedules in terms of trips, holidays, vacation, and snow days. Some of the bento I made were listed in separate posts because they were part of Washoku Warriors or Tour du Monde. Oh, and I was also quite lazy and took my boyfriend up on his offer when he volunteered to make me sandwiches for lunch.

Nov 5th – Leftover hamburger; blueberry jell-o; macaroni and cheese; glazed carrots.

Nov 20th – Onigiri filled with spicy bean sprouts; okara cookies from Kyotofu in New York

Dec 7th – Leftovers from Thanksgiving and other dinners: spaghetti with turkey meatballs; miso glazed roasted sweet potatoes; brown sugar acorn squash and sweet potato; peppermint “bark”

Carte Postale du Brésil


Diana from Bento Concept and her friend KaraChiwie are still traveling around the world with bento.
November was USA and December was Brazil! I researched Brazilian foods a bit and learned about a dish called feijoada. Feijoada stems from the word for bean (feijão), and is seen as the national dish. It is made with beans and salted pork and is often served with rice. Since it is traditionally time consuming, it is consumed only occasionally, and always at lunch time. Perfect for bento, right?

My feijoada consists of rice, salted pork (kaluha from hawai’i!), and a mixture of beans, corn, lime juice, and some edamame. I also added a chocolate cake on one and some crackers and home-made hot hummus to another. Feijaoda is served with hot sauce on the side, so I swirled some more hot sauce into the hummus.

My pork made a lot of portions, so thats why there are three bento made from it. But the bento all share the colors of Brazil!

O-Shougatsu Dishes (お正月料理)

December’s Washoku Warriors challenge was New Years (O-Shougatsu). We were given the option of three recipes: New Year’s Salad (紅白なます), Fiery Parsnips (きんぴら), and “Smashed” Burdock (たたき牛蒡). I chose to do the first two because the process for the gobou seemed a bit time consuming in comparison to the others.

I made the kinpira for my family’s New Year celebration on January 1 (more on this later). Everything seemed to be going really well and looked like it might even taste good, until I added in the soy sauce. Right when the soy sauce hit the pan, it caramelized and made the whole pan give off a burnt smell. The parnips tasted fine themselves, with a nice root-y flavor, but I couldn’t get over that burnt smell.

I just made the namasu and I love it! The recipe is very easy and it’s a dish that most everyone will like. The fruit in this salad mixes with the “dressing” (or pickling sauce) and gives it a nice pleasant sweetness that reminds me more of dessert than an appetizer salad. I will definitely make this again because it doesn’t have many ingredients and it only takes a few minutes to make. This makes a great accompaniment to a meal or a nice, healthy bento-filler.

I’m glad that I finally found a recipe from Washoku that I absolutely love and it has common ingredients and is very easy to make!

Kohaku Namasu (New Year’s Salad)

  • ~3.5 inches of daikon, shredded (yield ~7oz)
  • ~1 inch of carrot, shredded (yield ~2oz)
  • two measurements of 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 c. Sweet and Sour mixture
    • 1/4 c. plum vinegar, 2 tbsp each of sugar, dashi, and water
  • 1 small dried apricot (or fruit of choice), shredded
  • 1/2 tsp. yuzu peel or lemon zest

Peel and slice the vegetables. Put the carrot and daikon in separate bowls, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. of salt each. Allow to sweat for 2-3 minutes and then press between fingers, gradually increasing pressure. Rinse briefly with cold water and drain all liquid. Combine vegetables and fruit and toss to combine. Drizzle the sweet and sour mixture over top, gently toss, and let sit at room temperature for at least an hour.

This salad is full of vitamins and is said to bring good luck because red and white are auspicious colors (red carrots grow in areas of Japan around the time this dish would be made). Kohaku Namasu actually means “red-white” and “(vegetables) pickled in vinegar”. The strands of vegetables also look like ribbons, which connote prosperity, but also longevity!