Sarah Otagawa - Easy Bento Cookbook: 365 Days of Traditional Japanese Lunchbox Recipes

Japanese cuisine is recognized for its seasonal celebrations, notably in the form of seasonal ingredients. Washoku, Japan's officially designated national cuisine, is known for its use of locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

Aside from the fact that the food in Japanese meals is delicious, it is frequently remarked that they are also a visual treat; since each dish is designed to highlight the cuisine, it contains and is sometimes adorned with a seasonal flower or leaf. As the diner eats, their eyes feast momentarily on the food, leaving just the recollection of what it looked like & the sensual delight of having eaten it.

To a Japaneses eye westerners tend to over-confuse the components in their food, going often overboard by mashing all kinds of different tastes in their different cuisines. This cannot be said of Japanese food. The Washoku is founded instead on a belief that simplification is the most important ingredient in their food. Using only fresh & seasonal ingredients, Japanese cuisine creates a reverence for the food. Because they are working with these fresh ingredients, chefs try to do as small as necessary to alter the food's appearance or flavor.

There is no doubt that the quality of the components is a big part of the solution. Small, elegantly presented meals and the modest approach to the products used & simple cooking methods wherever feasible contribute to a compelling gastronomic voyage, not to mention the restriction of overbearing flavors. Even if Japanese cuisine is very complex, one thing is certain: there are reasons that people from all over the globe visit exquisite Japanese restaurants daily. Japanese cuisine has a unique ability to satisfy our senses, leave a lasting impression, and keep us going back for more!

The r easons to be enamored with Japanese cuisine are plenty. First, its good for you! Healthy vitamins aren't destroyed when food is prepared healthily by steaming, stewing, simmering, boiling, or frying with little or no oil. Many components are beneficial to one's health, such as natto, which aids digestion, and shiitake mushrooms, which help fight cancer. Buckwheat-based soba noodles & sashimi (finely diced raw fish served over rice) are two further examples of foods good for protein, cholesterol, and omega-3 fatty acids.

To counterbalance the yin & yang energies, you may find sweeter meals alongside saltier ones or hot dishes that are both sour and salty. Everything here revolves on deceiving your sense of taste! It's a great way to keep things fresh while still getting the greatest health advantages.

Those interested in Japanese cuisine may find this series of books useful. In this book we will focus on one of the most traditional and socially important way (philosophy?) of eating: the Bento box lunch.

Traditionally, a bento is a compact, flat box with dividers filled with a classic box lunch. It consists of meat, fish, rice, and vegetables in modest servings. Take-out bento boxes are available at convenience stores, and some include Western-style foods like sausages and pasta. This Japanese rice ball dish is popular among teenagers and adults.

Lett take a look right away of four of the most frequent kind of traditional food you can find inside a bento box:

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of Japanese uncooked short-grain rice (available at the majority of supermarkets & Asian food retailers)

1. 1 & cups of water

Procedure

1. Set aside around 30 mins to soak the rice before draining it.

1. Bring the rice and water back to a boil in the same pot and remove them from the heat.

1. Reduce the heat, cover, & simmer for another 15 mins or more, unless the rice has absorbed all of the water, then remove from the fire.

1. Keep the lid on and let the rice steam for approximately 15 mins on medium heat.

1. Chopsticks are required for serving (optional).

Rice is traditionally eaten with the left hand, near to the lips, serving four people. Rice is pushed into the mouth with chopsticks as the bowl is gently turned in the hands.

Rice Ball (Onigiri)

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of rice cooked

1. Salt

1. Pickled plums, sliced into tiny, bite-sized slices

1. Cooked salmon, sliced into tiny, bite-sized slices

1. sheets (nori) Dry seaweed, chopped into slices

Procedure

1. Rice should be cooked according to the package's instructions. Allow to cool down a little.

1. The water should be at room temperature.

1. Sprinkle salt over wet hands after dipping them in clean water.

1. Put a tiny pile of rice (approximately 2 Tbsp).

1. Cooked salmon or a pickled plum may be inserted into the mound.

1. To produce a triangle mound, twirl your mound back & forth among wet, salty palms.

1. Wrap the mound with a piece of dried seaweed.

Serves 10-12.

Ingredients

1. cup of soy sauce (Japanese style)

1. 3 tbsp sugar

1. 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root

1. 3 tbsp seeds sesame

1. 1 & - 2 lb chicken breast skinless, boneless, sliced into tiny serving pieces

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. Combine the sugar, ginger, soy sauce, & sesame seeds.

1. Pour the sauce over the chicken before roasting it.

1. Cook 45 mins of baking time. As you rotate the chicken, slather it with sauce as you go along.

Make 6 servings.

Rice cakes are a traditional New Year's Eve and Children's Day dessert option. Asian markets and specialty grocery shops may sometimes carry these items.