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
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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

Bento #22: Mochi tofu nuggets (04.30.09)

Bento for Thursday, April 30, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Mochi tofu nuggets (recipe courtesy Just Bento, here)
* Steamed rice with umeboshi and black sesame seeds
* Oven fries with rosemary, with ketchup provided for dipping (and for the tofu nuggets)
* Spicy miso marinated green asparagus (Just Bento recipe, here)
* Strawberry and pineapple

Bento #21: Salmon patties and asparagus rice (04.29.09)

Bento for Wednesday, April 29, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Salmon patties
* Chicken karaage (or, for J.K., a hard boiled egg)
* Asparagus rice, recipe courtesy Just Bento, here
* Corn and lima beans in rice vinegar dressing
* "instant" miso soup ball (recipe/idea courtesy Just Bento)
* Strawberry

Bento Menus for May 5-7, 2009

As usual, only the main dish is definite. All side dishes subject to last minute change based on availability and price of ingredients.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009:
* Sanshoku soboro bento - exact components TBD
* Some kind of dessert/extra TBD

Wednesday, May 6, 2009:
* California handroll bento – vinegared imitation crab salad, avocado, rice, pickles
* Other sides TBD

Thursday, May 7, 2009:
* Frittata – eggs, potatoes, veggies, cheese – one large slice
* Biscuits or a roll, TBD
* Green salad

Bento #20: Chicken karaage (04.28.09)

Bento for Tuesday, April 28, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Chicken karaage with yuzu shichimi togarashi for sprinkling
* Steamed rice
* Asparagus and carrots
* Japanese pickles - umeboshi and takuan

Bento Menus for April 28-30, 2009

Here are the current menus for this coming week, Tuesday through Thursday. I posted a menu late on Friday, so I'm going to bring the sign-up sheet in to work again tomorrow (Monday) to see if there are any people willing to make a last-minute addition to the list.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009:
* Chicken karaage
* Steamed rice
* Asparagus and carrots
* Japanese pickles

Wednesday, April 29, 2009:
* Salmon patties
* Asparagus rice
* Other side(s) TBD

Thursday, April 30, 2009:
* Mochi tofu nuggets (Just Bento recipe, here)
* Steamed rice
* Other sides TBD

Bento #19: Indian curry with cauliflower pakora and chapathi (04.23.09)

Bento for Thursday, April 23, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Indian vegetable curry
* Homemade chapathi, recipe from the cookbook "Mangoes and Curry Leaves" by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
* Cauliflower pakora, recipe here