Formerly "bento," now "dosirak"

Update: The creator of Aidan Bento Society has moved overseas. I now live in Seoul, South Korea.

Since I am no longer at Aidan, this blog cannot continue in its previous form. I'm not sure how or whether I will continue to update this blog, but I wanted to update in case there's anyone who still checks this blog periodically.

Bento menus for May 13-14, 2009

Note: There is no bento scheduled for Tuesday, May 12.

Menu for Wednesday, May 13, 2009:
* Temaki (handroll) bento - due to the popularity of last week's temaki bento, this week will feature another one with a different combination of ingredients (I'm leaning towards smoked salmon).
* Miso soup ball
* Other sides TBD (if there is room to fit other sides!)

Menu for Thursday, May 14, 2009:
* Cheese enchiladas – in either red chile sauce or green tomatillo sauce, TBD
* Beans and rice
* Other sides TBD

Bento #25: Vegetable frittata (05.07.09)

Bento for Thursday, May 7, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Slice of stovetop vegetable frittata (Just Bento recipe; I followed the recipe except I cooked vegetables fresh for the recipe instead of using leftovers): the vegetables are carrots and oyster root, aka salsify (from our CSA), and it's seasoned with rosemary and a little Parmesan cheese.
* Roasted red potatoes
* Pickled red cabbage
* Raw broccoli trees
* Cheese cubes
* Olives and grape tomatoes

Imitation crab salad "recipe"

Here are some guidelines for making the crab salad in today's rainbow handroll bento (the crab salad being the only thing I really made, in contrast to prepared raw ingredients):

Amounts are approximate, for 8 (1/3-1/2 cup) servings (good for handroll in bento)

-About 12 ounces of imitation crab pieces, flaked
-2-3 scallions, finely sliced
-About 1-2 teaspoons ginger root, minced
-Rice vinegar, to taste (several splashes)
-salt and black pepper to taste
-Toasted sesame seeds, to taste
-Sesame oil, to taste (a few drizzles; you don't want it to be too oily).

Mix everything together and chill. It's mayonnaise-free, and therefore good for bento.

Bento #24: Rainbow temaki (handroll) (05.06.09)

Bento for Wednesday, May 6, 2009:

Bento contents:
* California roll in rainbow colors, temaki (handroll) style: imitation crab salad, raw carrot slivers, avocado slices, pickled red cabbage, served with rice (with umeboshi and black sesame seeds for garnish). Squares of nori for wrapping. Soy sauce and wasabi for dipping (not pictured).
* Grape tomatoes
* Takuan and umeboshi
* "instant" Miso soup ball, from Just Bento

Soboro

I thought I'd post a few links for different versions of soboro, the seasoned ground meat "stripe" of today's sanshoku donburi. It can be made with beef, chicken, pork, egg, canned tuna or salmon, probably even tofu - basically any protein. It's really quick and easy to make.

Aside from using it in sanshoku donburi or as a rice topping on its own, it can be used as an onigiri (rice ball) filling, or as a filling for tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet), among other things. It keeps in the refrigerator for about a week, and freezes well. (All of this information, and more, can also be found on Maki's Just Bento page, as linked below).

Here are two recipes that I have successfully used:

Basic Meat Soboro from Just Bento

AnnaTheRed's tuna soboro - she also has a recipe for meat soboro elsewhere on her page.

Here's a recipe for chicken soboro; I have made chicken soboro before using Elizabeth Andoh's recipe from Washoku instead.

Finally, I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I'm sure it's good, because it's a Maki recipe:

Just Bento's iri tamago - scrambled eggs for donburi

Bento #23: Sanshoku Donburi (05.05.09)

Bento for Tuesday, May 5, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Sanshoku donburi (3-color rice bowl): Rice topped with (from left to right): corn, beef soboro (a bento staple which there are many recipes for; the recipe that I based it on can be found by clicking here), and spinach seasoned with soy sauce and sesame seeds
***
Today's bento is a simple Japanese classic. Sanshoku donburi is colorful, versatile, and nutritious. It is a bento lunch staple in Japan, particularly for childrens' school lunches. If you're curious, here are a few links to photos of other sanshoku donburi combinations and recipes to try (FYI, I have not tried any of these recipes):

stir-fried gochujang bento from Just Bento Flickr pool

Maki's Bento #18 on Just Bento

photo by Flickr user Blue Lotus

Taste of Zen recipe (chicken, egg, and snowpeas version)

Kitchen Cow's version

Lunchbox #475 from "My Lunch Can Beat Up Your Lunch!"

A sushi version, on Flickr