What S In A Japanese Bento Box
To get some tips on how to prepare a tasty and good looking box lunch turn to preparing and packing bento.
What s in a japanese bento box. But it wasn t until the azuchi momoyama period between 1568 1600 that bento as we know it came to being. A bento 弁当 bentō is a single portion take out or home packed meal of japanese origin. A bento is a single portion boxed meal that is usually composed of staple carbs rice or noodles meat or fish and an assortment of pickled or cooked vegetables. The first verified historical record of a bento style lunch in japan was during the kamakura period from 1185 to 1333.
Packing a japanese style bento lunch box is easier than you might think. A traditional bento may contain rice or noodles with fish or meat often with pickled and cooked vegetables in a box. The first bento dates back to the 5th century when bamboo was used as boxes to contain food to carry out to the fields for hunting or to the battlefield. Simply plan ahead and make an extra portion of your dinner to include in your bento box the next day.
Outside japan it is common in chinese including taiwanese and korean cuisines as well as in southeast asian cuisines where rice is the main staple food. Bento written 弁当 or obento お弁当 to use the honorific term is the japanese word for a meal served in a box. The world is derived from the chinese southern song slang term biandang which means convenient since the 13th century it has become a symbol of japanese culture and ideals. A bento 弁当 or obento is more than just a lunch box in japan it s its own category of food that you can eat at any time of day.
Bento boxes is where you can read about the variety of containers used for box lunches. Bentos can be purchased at supermarkets department stores convenience stores train kiosks and bento shops throughout japan and are sold in. Types ingredients put simply a bento or bento box is a japanese lunchbox. The bento tradition can be traced back to 16th century japan when people packed their lunch in a lacquered wooden box for picnics and today bento has become an integral part of japanese culture.
Bento in everyday japanese life discusses the place of different types of box lunches in the lives of the japanese. What separates it from the ham sandwich and soda many of us carried in a spiderman lunchbox in elementary school is the attention to detail and the balance of the ingredients. This article includes a list of bento items that can easily be made a day ahead and enjoyed for both dinner or lunch the next day. The bento box has a long history in japan and although modern times have encouraged some weird and wonderful bento inventions and designs the bento box as a concept has been around for centuries.
