A bento box is a varied, healthy, tasty lunch on-the-go. And if you fill it with leftovers, a Japanese lunch box suddenly becomes very sustainable. If you want something more than the average cheese sandwich, be surprised by the recipes in ' Ultimate Bento '.
Why is the book 'Ultimate Bento' so nice?
Because Marc Matsumoto and Maki Ogawa introduce you to all the ins-and-outs of the Japanese bento box in this book. Which bento box suits you, what useful tools are available (including home garden and kitchen hacks), how to fill a bento, what great basic dishes are and how to keep your lunch food safe. In short, a lot of valuable information for beginners and advanced users.
A delicious recipe for you
In addition to this wealth of information, the book is filled with 85 healthy, delicious recipes. Meat, fish, vegetables, eggs and rice are all covered and to give you a taste, I am sharing one of those recipes with you here: the Yakitori Chicken Bento. I made a slight variation, the original recipe uses shishito peppers. You rarely find them here, so I replaced them with green peppers.
Ingredients
For 3 bento
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100 grams of sugar
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120 ml soy sauce
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120 ml sake
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200 g chicken thighs
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a pinch of salt
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3 spring onions
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1 green pepper
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1 tsp honey
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optional: shichimi tougarshi, 7-spice pepper
Preparation method:
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Place the sugar, soy sauce and sake in a saucepan, bring to the boil and let the sugar dissolve. Let the sauce cool, anything you don't use can be stored in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator.
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Cut the chicken into 10-12 pieces (not too small). Sprinkle a pinch of salt over them and let them sit for 10 minutes.
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Cut the white part of the onions into 3 cm pieces and cut the pepper into not too thin strips.
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Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel, place the pieces in a frying pan and heat over medium heat.
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When some fat is released from the chicken, add the onions and peppers. Stir-fry the vegetables until done and the chicken golden brown.
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Place the chicken and vegetables on a plate and wipe the pan clean.
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Add 2-3 tablespoons of the sauce from 1. to the pan, mix in the honey and bring to the boil. When the sauce thickens, add the chicken and vegetables and make sure everything has a nice glossy layer of sauce.
Side dish: sesame asparagus
Ingredients
For 3 bento
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3 green asparagus cut into 3 cm pieces
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1 tsp sesame oil
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salt and pepper to taste
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½ tsp sesame seeds
Preparation method:
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Blanch the asparagus for 1-2 minutes, drain and drain.
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Mix the asparagus well with the oil, pepper, salt and sesame seeds.
How do you fill the bento?
In this case I used this two-layer bento box . Fill a container with a layer of cooked rice and divide the chicken and onion pieces over it. Add the pepper and sprinkle with some shichimi 7-spice pepper . The second container is filled with tomatoes, grapes and sesame asparagus.
Itadakimasu!
Got hungry?
In this book you will find many more tasty Japanese dishes. You can also prepare this as an evening meal or a dinner for family and/or friends!
This book contains:
- 85 recipes,
- 25 complete bento with packing instructions,
- simple, healthy recipes,
- tips about purchasing, planning, ingredients, useful tools, bento boxes
The author: Ingrid Beyer
Ingrid from Happlify crew member Roppongi is a far too modest Japan expert who can tell you all the ins and outs. Roppongi is the webshop for lovers of Japan, design, good food, tea and DIY. Visit Roppongi and the blog regularly for the quickest trip to Japan. Ingrid's blog posts >
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