Make A Bento Box Lunch!

... a traditional Japanese lunch box container

... a multi-item mid-day meal, offering a mix of flavors, colors and temperatures.

Bento boxes are fast becoming popular as a modern Western lunchtime option. These small meals offer lots of variety and can be created from very healthy ingredients. If you are making them yourself, the recipes are fantastic for using up odds and ends of dinnertime leftovers in creative ways. They can run the gamut from totally traditional to post-modern inspiration, so be sure to check to find out just what you're getting if you are ordering them from a restaurant or food service. Tired of the sandwich routine and brown paper bags? Try a Bento Box!

Onigiri are literally the foundation of a bento box lunch. At their most simple, they are a deliberately-shaped ball of seasoned white rice. Many variations include a strip of nori, toasted seaweed, or a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Frequently, the shaped balls are stuffed with something savory, both meat and vegetables. A tangy option is an umeboshi plum.

• 1 lb white rice, medium grain (rinse and drain rice until the water runs clear)
• sea salt
• water
• nori (dried seaweed sheets)
• sesame seeds, toasted (optional)
• fillings - see below for suggestions

1. Cook the rice and let it cool to the point where you can touch it without burning your hands.
2. Wash your hands, leaving them wet, then rub your hands with salt. This keeps the rice from sticking to your hands too much.
3. Take a palmful of rice (anywhere from 1/4 C to 1/2 C) and shape it into a ball, a triangular ball or a cylinder (see instructions below).
4. To fill - press a hole into the ball with your fingers, fill with desired stuffing and press closed again.
5. Finish by wrapping witha narrow strip of nori (trim down full sheets), or sprinkling on toasted seeds.

Flavorings/Stuffings

• Onigiri can be flavored by mixing spices with the rice before it's shaped or by sprinkling it with vinegar. Once shaped, it can be sprinkeld with or rolled in sesame seeds (light or dark) afterwards
• Fill with grilled and flaked fish, cooked beef or pork shreds, umeboshi (pickled plums), bonito flakes, cod roe, chopped vegetables and just about anything you like.

As people with non-Asian culinary sensibilities explore the idea of the bento box lunch, you're going to find all sorts of variations and experimentation as traditional and non-traditional bento box foods are utilized and explored. Go as traditional or non-traditional as your tastebuds desire.

The traditional ratio of contents in a bento box follows a 4-3-2-1 pattern. Four parts will contain rice, three parts have meat or fish ingredients, two parts will contain vegetables and the last part will be either something pickled or a dessert. Japanese desserts are not as sweet as what you'd find in Europe or the US.

1. Rice - traditionally every (or nearly every) course in a bento box lunch contains either steamed or fried rice.
2. Noodles - consider swapping out a portion of rice for something with noodles instead. Thin rice or buckwheat noodles are perfect for lunch.
3. Meat or fish - a bento box is a great way to use up dinner entree leftovers such as beef, chicken or fish.
4. Fruit - whatever fruit is fresh and in season is perfect for a bento box.
5. Baked goods - steamed buns or rice crackers are good additions to your bento.
6. Sauce - A little bit of hoisin, mustard, sweet and sour sauce or soy sauce can be nice.

Remember that heat rises and cold falls, so if you have a bento box that stacks, you want to put the cool items on the bottom and the hot ones on top!