Tag Archives: Lunch Box

レシピ, Beef, Bento, 美食, Ekiben, 静岡県, 静岡美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomic Photography, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Culture, Japanese Gastronomy, Photography, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Shizuoka Ekiben/Railway Station Bento: Hamamatsu Mikkabi Beef in Kakegawa JR Railway Station!

February 4, 2014 dragonlife Leave a comment

Mikabi in Hamamatsu City is not only famous all over Japan for its oranges but also for its beef!
Yesterday I had to stop in Kakegawa City and had a look at the ekiben/railway station bento they had on on offer when I discovered this new one among he more than half-dozen displayed.
I didn’t hesitate!

As it is sold in its box and cover!
Note the oranges harvester between the oxen!
And also the three little guys with their drinks including Japanese sake!

Everything is clearly indicated as dictated by the Japanese law!

Jishotei Bento Company in Hamamatsu City must be one of the oldest in Japan as it was founded in 1824!

The food inside is protected by a rigid transparent vinyl lid!

One more sheet of soft transparent vinyl further protects the meat inside!

Now, what do we have here?

Grated wasabi dressing for the beef!

Pickled cucumber!

Two layers of succulent braised beef thin slices!

The rice was steamed with Mikkabi ornage pulp for great taste balance!

Red ginger pickles!

A bit expensive but really tasty and lighter than expected!
Perfect on a train trip!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Ichi For The Michi by Rebekah Wilson-Lye in Tokyo, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

レシピ, Beef, Bento, 牛肉, 美食, Ekiben, 静岡市, 観光, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Shizuoka Ekiben/Railway Station Bento: Shizuoka Charcoal-grilled Beef in Shizuoka JR Railway Station

September 29, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

Although I already sampled all the ekiben/railway lunch boxes on sale at Shizuoka JR Station I always keep an eye in case a new one or seasonal one appears.
I did well to do last Friday before taking the train to Kikugawa City as I discovered this new one put on sale beginning of September!

The whole as sold with chopsticks and toothpick!

It is advertised as “Sumi Yaki Fuu Gyuuniku Bento”!
“Suni/炭” stands for “char coal”, “Yaki/焼き” for “grilled”, “Fuu/風” for “manner/way/method”, “Gyuuniku/牛肉” for “beef” and “Bento/弁当” for “lunch box/box lunch/boxed lunch”!

As usual Tokaiken Co. clearly sates the contents, price and consumption date limit as required by the law!

The food inside is efficiently protected by a rigid transparent cellophane lid.

Now, what do we have?

Very simple, but elegant and tasty!
The charcoal-grilled beef slices with additional seasoning provided with golden sesame seeds.
The lettuce is very fresh!

You can enjoy the beef, lettuce and rice separately, but if you are clever with chopsticks pick the beef and lettuce together!
Very tasty but comparatively light.
For the pleasure of both genders!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Shop with Intent by Debbie
BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Bento, 美食, 野菜, 駅弁, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/32): Curry Rice and “Ebi-mayo” Bento!

July 26, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

The Missus was in a bit of a quandary this morning as she had plenty of steamed rice leftovers!
Not to worry, let’s make a Japanese-style curry out of it!

She first fried all kinds of vegetables cut small in olive oil, salt and pepper: red, yellow and green pimentos, baby corn, and even sliced black olives and French cornichons and let it cool down a little.
During that time she re-heated the rice in its pot and added plenty of curry powder mixture.
Once the rice had been properly been cooked/fried with its spices she added the fried vegetables and mixed the lot!

She put the curry rice aside and prepared the “ebi-mayo”. “Ebi” stands for (large) shrimps and “mayo” stands for mayonnaise.
Over a low fire she first fried the shrimps in a non-stick pan with olive oil and a little salt and pepper. When the shrimps were half-cooked she added mayonnaise and kept stirring the whole until it was ready.
She filled the main box with the curry rice and topped it with the shrimps and some lemon cuts for extra taste.

She combined vegetables and fruit in the side box: baby leaves and ice-plant, cheese, mango and blueberries!

Great combination and plenty of nutrients sorely needed during this very hot summer!
And delicious!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beef, Bento, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/31): Wagyu Beef Bento!

July 24, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

There are no less than 12 varieties of wagyu beef in Shizuoka Prefecture!
The Missus fund some (very thin) slices of Shizuoka-bred black hair wagyu beef/kuroge wagyu/黒毛和牛 at a discount price!

She prepared o-nigiri/rice balls for a copious and easy to eat bento!
Can you guess how they were made?

She first made nigiri with freshly steamed rice mixed with hijiki sweet seaweed and golden sesame seeds, the whole enveloped in shiso/perilla leaves.
As for the other kind of nigiri, she first mixed the rice with home-pickled wasabi stem and Kyoto-style pickled cucumber. She then wrapped them in wagyu beef sliced and pan-fried them in sauce!
Absolutely delicious!
And extravagant!
She gave the finishing touch with home-pickled gourd.

The side dish was composed of a salad and dessert:
The salad contained pan-fried mini corn kobs, goya, carrots and sesame seeds and fresh cut tomato.
The dessert included blueberries from Shizmizu Ku, Shizuoka City and mango from Ishigaki Island, Okinawa!

A single word for this bento: a treat!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Beef, Bento, 美食, Ekiben, 観光, 農業, Food, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, 和牛, 弁当

Shizuoka Ekiben/Railway Station Bento:　Ashitaka Beef in Numazu JR Railway Station

July 10, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

People often forget that Shizuoka Prefecture is not only celebrated nationally for cultivating the largest number of vegetables varieties as well as catching the largest number of seafood varieties, but that it also boasts no less than 12 recognized varieties of wagyu beef!

Numazu JR Station is comparatively a smaller railway station in Shizuoka Prefecture as the Shinkansen bullet train does not stop there but it has too many products to be proud of not to have a substantial ekiben booth at its entrance!

It sells no less than 7 regular ekiben on top of seasonal offerings!

As I had to attend a function there the other day I just couldn’t let pass the opportunity to sample their local wagyu beef ekiben!

Ashitaka/愛鷹 beef is raised on the slopes of Ashitaka Mountains north of Izu Peninsula and doesn’t come too often on the local tables as most of it is gobbled in Tokyo!

This particular ekiben has received national recognition!

Tounakaken Co in Numazu City advertises precisely all the contents.

The contents are well protected by a rigid transparent lid. Naturally chopsticks, separate spices and toothpick are provided together with the package!

Now, what do we have?

Boiled egg marinated in beef juices and boiled string beans.

Boiled kabocha and shirataki/Konyaku-konjac noodles.

Ashitaka beef cooked in two manners:
-Gyuu Sukini: beef slices simmered with onion and leeks.
-Gyuu Soboroni: minced beef simmered as above.

It actually proved more satisfying and well-balanced than expected. The beef taste would please anybody, be they Asian or Westerners!
A rare treat! And a collector’s item!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/30): Smoked Salmon Sushi Rolls Bento!

July 4, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

It’s been some time since the Missus had created a bento with sushi, especially sushi rolls!

Those sushi rolls are a bit a classic for the Missus and she concocted two kinds with one common ingredient!

Having prepared the sushi rice she rolled some around smoked salmon and processed cheese and some more around smoked salmon and French cornichons, all of them wrapped in large fresh leaves of lettuce instead of dry seaweed. A Western-style sushi roll? Definitely! LOL

She completed the sushi box with pickled wasabi stems on a bed of lettuce and boiled black beans and chestnut compote for my dessert.

As for the side box:
Salad consisting of yellow and violet potatoes from the Missus’ family garden and black olives on a bed of lettuce, carrot tagliatelle (raw), walnut and plum tomato salad!

As usual, plenty of colors and very satifying food!
Certainly needs it in these rainy season days!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/29): Karaage and Burdock Bento!

July 4, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

This is another leftovers bento of the Missus!
At least it is so with the karaage which she “adapted” (according to her own words) from the leftovers of a big batch she had made the night before!

For once the rice came under the form and shape of three musubi/triangular (they can also be round!) balls of steamed rice!

She made two kinds of them, one containing sweet umeboshi/pickled Japanese plum pickled again in honey and wrapped in egoma/large shiso/perilla variety leaves. These are softer in taste and have more flavor than the usual shiso.
The other variety of musubi was rice mixed with nori/dry seaweed and hijiki/sweet seaweed furikake and partly wrapped in dry seaweed.
Both varieties of musubi were sprinkled with golden and black sesame seeds for more crunch.
Pickled cucumber and ginger roots in one corner and pickled carrot and wasabi stem in the other corner completed the main box.

This is the so-called leftovers box!

The Missus first stir-fried large chunks of burdock root and then dropped the leftover karaage in the pan at the last moment adding Thai sweet and hot sauce and black sesame seeds.
Once ready she let them cool down together before placing inside the side box.

The other third of the box contained fried goya and red pimento salad with an onsen-style boiled egg and Ameera Rubbins Pearl Tomatoes for dessert!

Great balance, beautiful and delicious!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/28): Scotch Quail Eggs Bento!

July 3, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Normal eggs would be a bit too big for Scotch Eggs in a bento, so the Missus used quail eggs which are available anytime of the year here!
They are certainly daintier and more attractive!

While the rice was steaming she wrapped ready-boiled quail eggs in pork and beef minced meat seasoned with a little salt and pepper and made more cosnsistent with some breadcrumbs. She then fried the Scotch eggs slowly in olive oil and finished them in a teriyaki sauce of her own before letting them cool down.
Once the rice was properly steamed she just filled a box with it and topped it with plenty of freshly chopped parsley.

For better design she placed two Scotch Eggs cut in halves beside a whole one to also show the teriyaki sauce coating and completed the lot with Kyoto-style red cucumber pickles.

The side dish was conceived to complement the main box both in design and colors and a good supply of vitamins and fibers:
Salad consisting of lettuce, boiled carrot and broccoli, plum tomatoes, avocado, walnut, thin burdock root and pickled mini melons.
And for dessert, American cherries!

Once again plentiful, colorful and succulent!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Food Health, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/27): Canned Mussles Bento!

June 27, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Any time we travel to France or New Caledonia, our two main foreign destinations on long holidays, we acquire as much canned food as possible as it is invariably cheap and so easy to accommodate back home in Japan!

The Missus has a special fondness for Spanish recipe escabeche-style mussles. It is difficult to find the small variety in Japan and she buys them always with a thought for “mazegohan/mixed rice”!

The rice box is no great difficulty and the idea can be expanded at will:
After steaming the rice she adds the whole contents of the can/tin, oil included, and mixes the lot while the rice is hot.
She adds the finishing touch with finely chopped thin leeks for more color and vitamins!

A closer look will prove it is very appetizing indeed!

But eating all these vegetables in Japan back from some heavy food in France is certainly a blessing!

Salad consisting of red, violet and yellow potatoes from the Missus family’s garden, black olive, corn and ice plant on a bed of lettuce and cherries for dessert. Plenty of colors there!

Two more salads to help me recover from the beautiful terrines and pies back in France:
-Chicken breast fillets (leftovers), tomatoes, sesame seeds and cucumber.
-Lightly stir-fried pimentoes of three different colors.

I could have called this bento, “The Link Between France and Japan Bento”! LOL

In any case very colorful, tasty and satisfying!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/26): After the Rain Leftovers Bento!

May 31, 2012 dragonlife 8 Comments

After two days of extraordinarily foul weather with torrential rain and hail, thunderbolts striking everywhere and flash floods, farmers and fishermen had to stay home as most housewives did.
So, the bento had to be made with whatever could be found in the fridge and pantry!

The Missus first steamed rice and served it with all kinds of leftovers!

She mixed the rice with “Chikaka/mixture of wet bonito flakes and cheese” and put some on top as well with thinly chopped dry seaweed. Very tasty rice!
She also included pickled ginger made by her mother for extra zip.

She then boiled some stringbeans and carrots and seasoned them with ground black sesame before adding them to the rice.
She baked some salmon and then fried it in soy sauce. She let it cool before placing it atop the rice.
Finally she decorated the lot with her special half-boiled marinated egg sprinkled with black sesame seeds!

As for the salad and dessert box the Missus arranged together fresh lettuce, pickled mini melon wedges, pitted prunes, cherries and orange wedges!

A bento to perk you up in bad weather!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/25): Teriyaki Vegetable Chicken Rolls and Tamagoyaki Bento!

May 29, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

I called this bento “Teriyaki Vegetable Chicken and Tamagoyaki Bento”, but I could also have called it “Oyako/Parent and Child” Bento as they call any combination of chicken and eggs here in Japan!

The Missus prepared an interesting mame mazegohan/rice mixed with various beans by adding salad beans, and boiled green peas and broad beans leftovers with freshly steamed rice.
Great colors and very satisfying!

The side box was also very satisfying and for once I took my time to savor it instead of wolfing it down!

The Missus concocted two types of rolls with chicken breast fillets/sasami:
One containing mini green asparaguses,
the other containing carrots and pickled wasabi stems and leaves.
She fried them whole first before cutting them to size.
As for the teriyaki sauce I’m afraid this was a secret I’m not privy to!

She added some plain tamagoyaki (for dessert?) and plenty of vegetable with fresh lettuce and some sauteed green and red pimentos.

Very satisfying as I said above, yummy and so colorful!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/24): Color Orange Bento?

May 24, 2012 dragonlife 8 Comments

Now, why did I call this bento “Color Orange” (nothing to do with “Agent”!)?
Well, the color was obviously present not only in the picture but also in the ingredients! Just remember that one way to translate “orange” in Japanese is “daidai/橙”!
Incidentally, orange is the official color of Shizuoka Prefecture!

The Missus (did I tell you her nickname is “Dragon”?) introduced the color in the “mazegohan/mixed rice” which included finely chopped carrot. She just filled one box with the lot sowing plenty of boiled (from her family’s garden) green peas for added taste and design.

Can you guess the element “orange” in the side box?
Actually one is invisible as an ingredient?

The orange color is obvious in the Missus’ half-boiled egg atop a salad consisting of potatoes, red onion, black olives and pink pepper flanked with lettuce grown at home.
I always try to entice the Dragon to include as much of her potato salad as possible! LOL

Beside the delicious plum tomato lies an interesting concept for a salad: thinly sliced cucumber, sesame seeds, natsu mikan orange wedges and boiled prawns, the lot seasoned with Daidai Koshio pepper, the invisible “orange” element!

If the Missus continues in the same vein, her bentos will not only be great to eat, they might become a photograph essay of its own!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/23): Egg Ribbons and Beef Chirashi Sushi Bento!

May 23, 2012 dragonlife 10 Comments

The Missus loves to make Chirashi Sushi for my bentos (and her own lunch!) but this might be the last for some time as “she is running out of ideas”!
Well, this particular one was a good idea!

The chirashi Sushi was designed in a two-color concept with a neat third coloration provided with violet daikon sprouts!

The Missus did prepare egg ribbons first while steaming the rice. They are not so difficult to make although they are very spectacular!

She stir-fried fine beef ribbons in ha sauce of hers (she wouldn’t disclose the ingredients!) and let them cool down.
Once the rice was steamed she added vinegar and a little sugar to turn it into sushi rice and finally mixed it with some fried beef and boiled green peas for more impact.
She then filled the box with the sushi rice mixture and topped half with egg ribbons, the other half with stir-fried beef and boiled green peas and drew a separation with fresh violet daikon sprouts!

A spring time side box with vegetable and fruit salad!

Boiled broccoli and marinated mushrooms lined with fresh lettuce and topped with plum tomato!

For dessert “Natsu Mikan” orange and yellow kiwi fruit with imported cherries!

Very satisfying, pleasant to the eyes and so yummy!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/22): Cherry Shrimps & Broccoli Tamagoyaki and Karaage Bento!

May 16, 2012 dragonlife 8 Comments

Today’s bento was a double hit with the Missus’ specialties, what with tamagoyaki and karaage, not mentioning the great majority of local ingredients again!

Again, after steaming plain local rice she seasoned it with her own pickled Japanese pepper seeds/sanshyo!

She completed the box with stir-fried local green peppers and aubergines/eggplants.
As for the home-pickled radishes they come from her family’s garden!

Now, what did the Missus place inside the side box?
Plenty of colors to start with! LOL

First, her special karaage/deep-fried chicken (shallow-fried actually). I definitely tasted some garlic there!
Plenty of lemon for added zip and vitamins and lettuce from the family’s garden!

I very much doubt you could find such a tamagoyaki outside our Prefecture as the Missus made it Yui Harbor Cherry Shrimps and local broccoli! A real delicacy!
She completed the whole with boiled mini corn and snap green peas and more lettuce!
For dessert, imported cherries! Hey, this might be the first time that the word “cherry” has two different meanings in one of my bentos!

Do I need say it was another beauty? LOL

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/22): “Ton Toro Ten” Bento!

May 16, 2012 dragonlife 9 Comments

The Missus holds a special fondness for pork, and “ton toro” in particular!
Ton toro means “pork toro” like “toro/belly” for tuna!
It is bought already cut into thin slices.
As for “ten”, it stands for “tempura”!

Now, the rice box is a proof that you can concoct a bento almost exclusively with local products!

In this box the plain steamed rice is grown in Shizuoka Prefecture.
The thin vegetable marinade are carrot, wasabi stems and leaves from Shizuoka, and the pickles mini melons are also local!
Only the konbu/seaweed (I’m not sure actually!) and the chili pepper aren’t!

Even most ingredients inside the side dish are local!

Salad consisting of local carrot and walnut (not local!) flanked with cress (local).
The Missus then placed the fine slices of ton toro tempura (local) in between shishito green chili pepper and lemon (all local)。