Thursday, September 04, 2008

September 4th Bento Lunch

BF was pretty grumpy this morning, so I decided to break out the big guns for his bento today - unagi nigiri sushi.

Unagi is Japanese for eel. You can buy it from the freezer section of your Asian grocer already barbecued with kabayaki sauce (similar to teriyaki sauce. I'm not actually sure what the difference is). It just needs to be toasted in the oven to reheat it and then cut into slices. And it's BF's favorite food.

Unagi is one of the few traditional types of sushi I'm comfortable putting in a bento lunch because the meat is cooked. Other types include tamago (egg), avocado and any fruit or veggie roll. I'm not comfortable using raw fish in a meal that sits at room temperature all morning (and BF has been known to get too busy to eat until even later in the day) both for health reasons and because raw fish should be served fresh, anything else doesn't do it justice.

I tucked a foil cup of pickled ginger in the top left corner and a restaurant pack of soy sauce on the side (this bento box doesn't have a little shelf on the top to hide things like that). I couldn't think of a way to include wasabi that didn't take up much space or make a mess. Does anyone have any ideas?

Below the sushi there are three gyoza and some steamed sugar snaps. I like to include dumplings with sushi because both contain a combination of carbs and protein. I like to either have one main carb and one main protein, or two items that have both, and sushi and dumplings are a perfect combination!

Above the sushi there is some steamed gai lon with dried cranberries, as well as some carrot flowers that I boiled for two minutes, just enough to soften the outside.

Beneath the sushi there are a few piece of steamed asparagus and three thin slices of kumquat to add a bit of bite. For fruit there was only room for berries today, strawberries and blueberries.

10 comments:

Taylor said...

Hi! I really like the food on your blog. im in nova scotia aswell, and Im a huge japanese fashion/food freak!

Jacki said...

Hi Triopstay! That's really cool to meet someone local! I'm happy to hear you like my blog, do you make Japanese food / bentos?

I don't know much about Japanese fashion, but their makeup brands are amazing. If I could get my hands on a Jill Stuart eyeshadow quad, I'd be in heaven!

Robyn A. said...

Wasabi ideas:

*Hollowed-out cherry tomato

*Packed inside a half of a sugar snap pea


:)

Jacki said...

Robyn, your a genius! I'll definitely use a cherry tomato next time

Everything cute said...

Hi, sorry, that was my very old blogspot account.. Im Triopstay.. xD

Yes, I make bentos.
I am a vegitarian, so I don't eat alot of japanese food due to so much meat!

Do you know where to get bubble tea here in NS? I wanna try it!!
My attempt to make it did NOT go well.

So you make bento for lunch everyday?

Jacki said...

You can get bubble tea at Gingergrass restaurant on Barrington, down towards Superstore and Henry House. It's a great restaurant and that's the only place I've seen it.

What happened when you tried to make it? Maybe I can help?I posted a recipe for it here and you can get all of the ingredients at the small Asian grocer on Queen St (not Ca Hoa, the other one)

Jacki said...

I forgot to answer your other question :)

I make bento lunches anywhere from 3 to 5 days a week, depending on how much energy I have to wake up early! I don't post the plain/boring ones though, just the ones where I try something new or they turn out pretty.

Everything cute said...

That kit looks awesome, and the recipe helps alot. How much water do you put in?

Ok, so I was following a recipe..
I put in 1 cup of tapioca pearls and 4 cups of water.. Haha. Big mistake. and a VERY big recipe. I was trying to make 2 cups of bubble tea.. lol!
So all I got in the end was a huge bowl of clear goop. :P

Jacki said...

omg, that sounds like a disaster! lol

I use 2 Tbsp tapioca in a pot that holds about 3 cups of water.

I think I might make some bubble tea since we've been talking about it...

Nate @ House of Annie said...

That's a pretty bento. I like the little kumquats you added.