These Bento Recipes Make Fantastic Packed Lunches For Work

Try these simple, traditional Japanese meals from chef Noriko Yuga and food blogger Yuko Yagi to give your lunches a healthy and tasty lift

Photography: Anett Velsberg-Tiedemann

In the West, many people have heard the term bento without really knowing what it is – something to do with sushi, maybe? In fact, bento simply refers to a packed meal. Many workers take a single-portion, homemade meal packed in a bento box to the office every day. Bento is also a popular take-out food in Japan, sold everywhere from convenience stores and train stations to high-end delis. Many traditional restaurants serve bento only during lunchtime, often in a wood or lacquered bento box.

Bento culture has a long and diverse history in Japan. Records show that people were eating portable, dried rice as early as the fifth century. When the tea ceremony culture developed around the 12th century, elaborate lacquer wares to hold food – similar to today’s bento boxes – started to appear. By the 1600s, the upper class were eating food brought in lacquer boxes while enjoying cherry blossom viewing parties.

Ever since then, bento has been a part of Japanese culture. People ate makunouchi bento, an upscale mixed bento, at the intermissions of plays in the Edo period (1603–1867). Lower-ranked samurai, who made less money, brought their own bento lunches to work to save money, just like Japanese “salarymen” today.

Below you’ll find a selection of recipes from the recipe book, Simply Bento, that will help you to make quick, tasty and healthy bento meals at home.

Quinoa Salad

Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 18 minutes

Quinoa originated in South America but has become a wildly popular grain around the world because of its health benefits. Quinoa’s mild flavor means it goes well with most other foods, and here it’s mixed with a red wine vinaigrette as well as green beans, pistachios, and dried cranberries, making for a satisfying lunchtime salad.

Ingredients (serves two)

• 1/2 cup dried quinoa
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 10 green beans
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 3 tbsp pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 3 tbsp dried cranberries

Method

Wash the quinoa in a large bowl, changing the water three times. Add the quinoa and broth to a medium saucepan, and heat until boiling. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, blanch the green beans for two minutes and cut into 1.5in pieces. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper to make the vinaigrette. Combine the cooked quinoa, green beans, pistachios and cranberries, along with the vinaigrette. Serve with chicken breast or another protein source of your choice.

Sautéed Asparagus With Lemon And Butter

Prep time 7 minutes Cook time 3 minutes

Ingredients (serves four)

• 24 spears asparagus
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Lemon zest, for garnish

Method

Blanch the asparagus for one minute and drain. Trim the woody part from the bottom of each spear, then cut each spear in half. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring, for one minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Garnish with the lemon zest.

Yakisoba

Prep time 7 minutes Cook time 3 minutes

Yakisoba is stir-fried noodles with meat and vegetables seasoned with yakisoba sauce, which is similar to Worcestershire sauce. It is usually topped with aonori (dried green seaweed flakes) and benishoga (pickled red ginger). Yakisoba noodles are sold at Japanese or Asian markets in the refrigerated section, sometimes with packets of powdered “sauce”. You can use that or bottled yakisoba sauce, also available at Japanese markets.

Ingredients (serves four)

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4oz pork mince
• 3/4 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 3 spring onions, cut into 2in pieces
• 2 5oz packets yakisoba noodles
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup yakisoba sauce
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Aonori and benishoga, for topping

Method

Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the ground pork and cook for one minute, stirring a couple of times. Add the carrot, bean sprouts, and green onions, and stir for a few seconds. Add the noodles and water, cover and steam for one minute. Loosen the noodles, season them with a little salt and pepper, and stir in the yakisoba sauce. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, or until any remaining liquid is gone. Remove from the heat. Top with the aonori and benishoga.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Prep time 7 minutes Cook time 8 minutes

Cauliflower fried rice is just like fried rice, except the rice is replaced with crumbled cauliflower florets. This is a great dish if you’re limiting your carbohydrate intake.

Ingredients (serves two)

• Around 2.5 cups cauliflower florets, crumbled
• 1tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5oz pork mince
• 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• ¼ tsp salt
• Pinch white pepper
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 spring onions
• Thinly sliced Benishoga (pickled red ginger), for garnish

Method

Chop the cauliflower into very small pieces. Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pork and cook until browned. Add the cauliflower and stir-fry for a couple minutes, until tender. Add the mixed vegetables and cook for one minute, then add the beaten eggs. Keep stir-frying until the eggs are cooked. Season with the salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Finally add the green onions and stir for a few seconds. Top with the benishoga.

Extracted from Simply Bento: Delicious Box Lunch Ideas For Healthy Portions To Go by Yuko and Noriko (Race Point Publishing)

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