bento box, lunch and laziness

[drdawn]

I got a bento box for xmas (Yippie! Even has silly English on it as well). I've been trying to concoct easy peasy lunches for it (or for anything else really-it's not too watertight): The only time I have to make them is inevitably when I'm tired. By the time i've cooked dinner I can't bear to think about doing something again. There is no microwave at work, nor are we allowed to get one (if it blows, the landlord doesn't want to get sued). I have been known to office heat, (i.e., boil the kettle, put the water in a bigger bowl in which my food-filled smaller bowl is suspended), however this makes leftovers just as much of a pain as anything else.

I can deal with making some things ahead, like on a weekend, but when it gets closer to the end of the week, cooking while tired is unavoidable. I can't get good lunchmeat where I live, but most other things are fairly easily had.

Now, I have of late taken to making sushi and it suits my lazy tendencies--make one lot of rice, and roll it up as needed. I use smoked salmon b/c getting sushi grade fish is also impossible. Inauthentic, I know but tastes good. But alas, a girl can only eat so much sushi w/ yuppie salad (i.e., the kind that comes in bags).

If anyone can come up with lunch ideas, I'd be very happy (as well as impressed!).

Dawn

[anko]

I usually bring bento at my work and I know sometime it's so hard to come up with what to put in a bento box. I have a microwave at a work place, so I usually use lefover dinner for my bento.

What I suggest to you is to make something tasty when it is eaten as cold. Meaning, salad is usually a good place to start. Noodle salad, rice salad, pasta salad, tofu salad. Sandwich is always good for lunch -- regular bread, tortilla wrap, nan, flat bread. Brittos are good even when it is cold.

I will email you recipes.

anko

[Sharuf]

Stuffed eggs. Fritatta. Dolmas. Pate. Eggplant dip, spinach dip, and hummus (and dippers for them). Cold roast chicken. Cold soba noodles with peanut sauce. Cheese and fruit and crackers.

[applehome]

Rice balls (nigiri) are good - I use umeboshi or katsuo-bushi or beni-shoga in the middle. I sprinkle shiogoma or furikake on the outside sometimes, and take the nori separately. This is a lot easier than sushi as you don't bother making sushi rice. A few pickles (maybe some takuwan or just my home-made tsukemono) and I'm good to go.

I bought a plastic form for the nigiri - makes nice triangular nigiri. But you don't really need to do that.

If you can boil water there are decent instant soups to eat with lunch - the osuimono is good, and there are even a couple of edible brands of misoshiru. You can always put a package of the instant salmon ochazuke on your rice and pour on the hot water. There are different dried items you can put in your soup - lots of types of croutons. You can bring some slices of different fish cakes - kamaboko, chikuwa - these are good in the soup or even alone with the rice.

Everything's available at the Japanese food stores.

[dawnie2u]

Here is a recipe that I got from a friend of mine, it's called Mixing Sushi. Easy to keep on hand and make rolls or handrolls with it. Very tasty and a nice change from the regular maki sushi. What about some nice hot miso soup in a thermos to go with it?

* Exported from MasterCook *

MIXING SUSHI

Recipe By : Ritsuko Gima/adapted by Dawn
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Appetizers

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup sushi vinegar
3 cups cooked short grain rice
5 ounces salmon -- sauteed and crumbled
2 eggs -- scrambled
1 carrot -- grated
pea pods -- slivered
shitake mushrooms -- soaked and then chopped

You want all the ingredients to be in small pieces. Mix all ingredients together and store in a bowl. Use it in maki rolls as desired.

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