I didn’t buy this bento set off the supermarket shelf. I swear, I prepared this bento set by myself.
To be very honest, there wasn’t much cooking involved in this recipe. Except for the rice, the rest of the ingredients were actually pre-prepared and bought off the shelf (ok ok) – the kimchi, the unagi, the cherry tomatoes. But you’ve got to cook the rice correctly, because that’s supposed to be the highlight of a bento set, at least for that kiddo at home. He loves sushi rice a lot, so this has got to be one of the most perfect dishes for him. He can easily polish off the whole bento by himself and leave no grains behind. If he can’t finish off the rest of the unagi, I can help.
There are many different types of bento, some with noodles instead of rice, and some elaborately packed to mimic cartoon characters or pictures. Bentos originate from Japan, but the word itself was borrowed from the Chinese ‘便当’ which means a convenient take-out. Mine is a very simple bento, with the basic ingredients which I believe is enough to make for a healthy enough meal, including carbs (rice), veg (cherry tomato) and protein (unagi).
Easy to prepare on any busy days we have. So why not?
Ingredients:
- Sushi rice (short grain rice): 1 cup
- Water: 0.8 cup
- Kombu (dried kelp): 1/2 strip
- Sushi vinegar: 1 tbsp
- Sugar: 1 tbsp
- Unagi: 1 pack, sliced into chunks
- Japanese teriyaki sauce: 2 tbsp
- Kimchi: 4 tbsp
- Cherry tomato: a handful, halved
- Japanese seaweed: 1, shredded
- Japanese chilli powder: a dash
Method:
- Cook sushi rice with water and kombu following the instructions from my sushi post ‘All Sorts of Home-Made Sushi‘ (steps 1 to 2).
- Mix in sushi vinegar and sugar. Transfer to 2 bento or microwavable containers.
- Place unagi onto rice or separate compartment of the container. Dribble teriyaki sauce over unagi.
- Top with kimchi, cherry tomatoes. Garnish rice with Japanese seaweed and chilli powder to serve.
Serving:
2 persons (2 bento sets)
