BENTOBOX. page | 70 Japanese Recipes, Plus Stories | Easy, Healthy, Sustainable‪!‬

70 delicious and easy authentic bento recipes with photos and video links!



What does bento mean to you?



For anyone looking for simple, healthy, tasty eating with a homemade flair, Chikako Tada’s “BENTOBOX.page – 70 Recipes, Plus Stories'' is ideal.

It shows how to build beautiful, nourishing lunch boxes for kids and grownups alike.



Filled with recipes featured on Tada’s “Japanese Cooking by Pen & Spoon” YouTube channel (and including video links), the book is chock full of tips and tricks.



Tada gleaned many from her mom in Okayama, Japan, on how to put together real Japanese bento boxes — like the gorgeous Tricolor Rice Delight Bento.



After traveling the world and living in India for seven years, Tada mastered the art of packing yummy lunches for her young son using locally sourced ingredients. That experience ultimately resulted in this uniquely adapted recipe book that shows step by step how to make traditional Japanese favorites, as well as options for your own menus, wherever you happen to be. No worries if you don’t recognize the unusual ingredients —Tada offers alternatives that work just as well.



The book features 70 recipes to fill your bento box in imaginative ways. Follow the 31 sample bento menus (such as Favorite Bento Classics like Karaage Fried Chicken Bento), or create your own combos. With 380 color pictures and a recipe index, this cookbook outshines all those other bento books with its ease of use.



And bento stories add to the excitement!



Kagawa-based contributor Haruko Hosokawa guides us on umami in describing traditional soy sauce masters and fermented nukazuke pickles. Miho Tachikawa, in Hokkaido, offers homestyle recipes from Japan’s northern island where scallops and salmon are local delicacies. And Yasuko Malhotra, who is based in India, brings an international flair with curry and other unusual options in her bentos.



All in all, this is a wonderful resource for both experienced cooks and newbie bento fans. Every recipe is explained step by step, with pictures to make assembly simple.



■Table of Contents■



Legal Notice

Introduction

A Few Things to Note Before Getting Started





Bento Story I: My Bento and IChapter 1: Favorite Bento Classic

1. Karaage (Fried Chicken) Bento

2. Onigiri (Rice Balls) Bento

3. Fried Prawn Bento

4. Chirashi Sushi (Scattered Sushi) Bento

5. Tricolor Rice Delight Bento

6. Grilled Salted Salmon Bento

7. Hamburger Bento

8. Chicken Teriyaki Bento

9. Ham Cutlet Sandwich Bento

10. Stuffed Green Pepper Bento

11. Scotch Egg Bento



How to Cook Rice

Umami Guide 1: Soy Sauce Island

Bento Story II: Miho Tachikawa, in Hokkaido

Bento Story III: Yasuko Malhotra, in India

Chapter 2: Easy Everyday Bento Lunches





12. Omu-Soba (Fried Noodles with Omelet-Style Eggs) Bento

13. Inari Sushi (Tofu Pouch Sushi) Bento

14. Tokachi Butadon (Pork Bowl) Bento

15. Corn Fried Rice Bento

16. Curry-Flavored Omu-Rice Bento

17. Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice Balls) Bento

18. Okonomiyaki (Savory Japanese Pancake) Bento

19. Spaghetti Napolitan (Ketchup Pasta) Bento

20. Soba Inari (Soba Noodle in Tofu Pouch) Bento

21. Fruit Salad with Shiratama Dumplings Bento





Umami Guide 2: Nukazuke Pickles

Bento Story IV: Sakura-Papa, in Iran

Chapter 3: Bento for Special Occasions





22. Chicken Tender Cutlet Bento

23. Mosaic Sushi Bento

24. Gameni (Chicken and Vegetable Stew) Bento

25. Sushi Rolls (Maki Sushi) Bento

26. Chicken Nanban (Fried Chicken with Tartar Sauce) Bento

27. Gunkan Sushi Bento

28. Gomoku Mixed Rice with Scallop Bento

29. Miso-Glazed Fish Bento

30. Japanese Croquette Bento

31. Taiyaki (Fish-Shaped Cake) Bento



Umami Guide 3: Katsuobushi Dashi

Afterword

Recipe Index



■Contributors■



Cover photo by Airi Matsuo



Cover design by Yasuyo Nakano



Edited by Mariko Suwa



Proofread by Cheryl Meyers



Special Thanks to our Contributors

Haruko Hosokawa



Miho Tachikawa



Yasuko Malhotra



Sakura Papa



Tomoko Shiosaki



Naomi Ashley Shiosaki Sullivan



Converted into digital format by Y’znet