Bento - An Introduction (Part 1 of 2)

Bento ( 弁当 bentō ) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal that is still a common part of Japanese food culture. A traditional bento usually has compartments for foods like rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, and sometimes fruit. The bento is usually a box-shaped container. These containers come in all shapes, sizes, and qualities, from cheap disposable trays to expensive handcrafted lacquer ware. You can find bento, sometimes called "o-bento" or a "bento box", in many places around Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋 bentō-ya), train stations, and department stores. But in my view, some of the most creative bento I have seen are made by hand at home. Even today, it is still common for a Japanese parent or spouse to spend time and energy producing a carefully prepared homemade lunch box.

Bento can be very elaborately arranged in a style called kyaraben or "character bento". Kyaraben is typically decorated to look like popular Japanese cartoon (anime) characters, characters from comic books (manga), or video game characters. Another popular bento style is "oekakiben" or "picture bento", which is decorated to look like people, animals, buildings and monuments, or items such as flowers and plants. In Japan, contests are often held where bento artists compete for the most aesthetically pleasing bento creations.

A bento box can be created to delight a child and make their lunch experience that much better. It's as if they can taste the care and attention that went into creating this artisan lunch. I like to call it art you can eat. Some of the most adorable examples you'll find are in the Flickr category called Kawaii Bento (Cute Bento).

But bento are not just for kids. When I lived in Japan years ago, the salarymen I worked with would bring a bento to the office. Every day at twelve noon, all company members would go upstairs to the company cafeteria with a lunch bag or bento box. (It wasn't allowed to eat by yourself at your desk!) Some of the younger married men had stay at home wives who felt it was their duty to create a charming, healthy bento for their husband. We would sometimes smile or laugh when they opened their bento boxes, which often featured a compartment with white rice adorned with a romantic heart shape!

Types of Bento

Shōkadō bentō (松花堂弁当) is a traditional black lacquer bento box. This is a very traditional Japanese style of bento container. As a side note, this box was the inspiration for IBM's Thinkpad laptop design.

Chūka bentō (中華弁当) are filled with Chinese food. While Chinese do have cold plates, it is more for appetizers or midnight "snack". The food that is associated with Chūka bentō was invented in Japan.

Kamameshi bentō (釜飯弁当) are sold at train stations in Nagano prefecture. It is cooked and served in a clay pot. The pot is a souvenir item.

Hokaben (ホカ弁) is any kind of bento bought at a take-out bento shops. Freshly cooked hot (hokahoka) rice is usually served with freshly prepared side dishes. The name was popularized after a pioneering take-out bento franchise in the field, Hokka Hokka Tei.

Ekiben a bento sold at railway stations (eki) or onboard trains. There are many kinds of ekiben. Ekiben and other specialty bento will be covered in more detail in Part 2.

Bento, especially those originating from Japan, I've noticed, are arranged with healthy foods, and usually feature fruit for a dessert and never chips! They tend to be smaller portions too. In contrast, I have noticed American versions to be different somewhat, more adapted to US tastes -- fresh veggies might replace the pickled vegetables and dessert might include cookies or chocolate. Wherever they are from, one thing is common to all: the meals are fun, creative and appetizing.

To see lots of photos of bento lunches and read the blogs of bento fans, take a look at any of these links:

http://cookinggallery.blogspot.com/

http://bebento-kids.blogspot.com/

http://bentobliss.blogspot.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/bentobird

http://www.cutebento.com/

Navigate to: Flickr website.

Do a search for any of these groups to find many examples of bento box creations.

Kawaii Bento

Bento, Obento

Just Bento

Iron Bento

Bento Swap

Some these these food artists are from Japan, but many others are also joining in, from the United States, Canada, the UK, Italy and other origins. OBento fans can be found around the world!

Want to give creating o bento a try yourself? I like the Jbox online store. It’s fun to browse and check out authentic merchandisefrom Japan that is available for purchase. Their “Bento & Kitchen” category is a great place to start your search for bento boxes and supplies. Jbox writes this about the Kapibarasan Bento Box:

“Welcome to the Kapibarasan Cafe, where the coffee is always hot and the staff is always furry. This cute bento box features the adorable capybara characters that have become so popular in Japan recently. Create your own cute lunch-time bento with this adorable box that has a lid that clasps closed for extra security. The compartment holds 260ml (8.75oz). Completely machine washable and microwavable (with the cute character lid taken off). An official Japanese product that is made in Japan.”

Since you or someone you love will be eating from the container, I would recommend purchasing a bento box from Japan or another source that takes the manufacture of foodsafe merchandise as seriously as Japan does.

Some great items are also available on Etsy as well, such as bento bags, boxes, accessories and interesting bento- inspired items.

Mitsuwa Marketplace Check out Mitsuwa stores for bento supplies. This is a chain of supermarkets with locations in Chicago, Illinois, New Jersey and California.

By searching online you should be able to find all kinds of advice offered by people willing to teach you the art of bento. Even food companies can be helpful. Take a look at an interesting webpage by Nippon Ham Group, a Japan-based meat products company. They have an entire section devoted to instructing bento artists how to turn Nippon Ham Group ham and sausage products into lions, sharks, flowers and other decorations. The website is in Japanese, but the illustrations might give you some creative ideas.