I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
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Speed Bento: microwave mixed rice
Today both my son and I have bentos that took about 10 minutes to make. I used a shortcut to make cheater’s 5-minute “fried rice” in the microwave that I adapted from Japanese bento cookbook 園å…ã®ãŠã¹ã‚“ã¨ã†ã€€(”Kindergartner Bentos” published by Kodansha). I’ve also got tangerine, grape tomatoes and a mini pudding; my son has tangerine wedges that have been almost fully peeled to make it easier for him to eat by himself.
I’ve had a stack of Japanese bento cookbooks for a while, but had been resisting their speed recipes as I thought they looked too simple to be good. When I serve fried rice for a family dinner, for example, I definitely take the time to do it right with more ingredients in a pan. But I’ve got to say that this speed recipe worked well and tasted fine — this way I can serve “fried” rice for lunch even if I don’t have any already made up.
I took some leftover white rice, roast pork and a green onion from the refrigerator, and frozen green peas from the freezer. First I chopped up a handful each of pork and green onion. (This is all the chopping I did for the whole dish!)
Then I put the leftover cold white rice in a microwave-safe bowl, and topped it with the pork, green onions, and frozen peas right out of the bag. Covered it with plastic wrap and put it in my 1100W microwave for one minute (times will vary depending upon how much food you’re nuking and the power of your microwave). If you have fresh rice made up, just nuke the meat and veggies on their own, and mix them together with the hot rice afterwards.
When it was hot, I added a teaspoon or so of soy sauce, a dash of salt and a splash of sesame oil, and mixed it all up. Done! Speed “fried rice”. I wound up mixing in a tablespoon of chogojujang (Korean spicy sauce) to mine to give it some spice. Next time I may add some kimchi, maybe substitute some leftover roast chicken or beef for the pork, try different veggies, etc. — there’s no reason it needs to be exactly this combo (but I do like using the green onion, one protein and one fast veggie option to reduce prep time). Whatever’s on hand.
And here’s my son’s little meal:
READ MORE:
- Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto
- Food safety for packed lunches
- How to pack a bento lunch and use “gap fillersâ€
- Choosing the right size bento box
- Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews
February 23rd, 2007 | Categories: bento, for kids, meat, recipe, rice, tips, tutorial or how to | 
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December 31st, 1969 at 5:00 pm
February 22nd, 2007 at 7:38 pm
oh yum!!! this is cool
thanks for sharing!
February 22nd, 2007 at 7:58 pm
the quickie fried rice is BRILLIANT!
your ideas are fabulous!
February 22nd, 2007 at 8:11 pm
I agree…the quickie fried rice is great!! This is going to be a great addtion to my lunch menu — and dinner, too,as well. Thank you for posting this!
February 22nd, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Thank you, outofthisplace! I do want to be sure to attribute the original ideas to the Japanese cookbooks where appropriate, though. They’re full of good ideas, and I’m fortunate to be in a position to convey them.
February 22nd, 2007 at 9:59 pm
You know, it didn’t taste half bad! Not my usual, mind you (I tend to go crazy with many ingredients), but very acceptable for a fast-prep meal.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:00 pm
No worries, puppy52! Thank you!
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:22 am
That is an awesome idea!
February 23rd, 2007 at 7:03 am
The five minute fried rice looks amazing~!!!
February 23rd, 2007 at 7:15 am
So awesome, thanks for sharing!
Do you mind sharing the titles of the other bento cookbooks that you have on hand? I’d like recommendations on cookbooks for ideas, tips and recipes. =)
Also, I hope you don’t mind that I’ve added you to my friends-list, I like reading your posts concerning food! =D
Thanks!
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:50 am
Thanks, and I’m really flattered that you added me to your friends list! I’ve got a lot of kid’s bento cookbooks — there’s a list of recommended cookbooks here that includes a number I have: http://www.youchien.net/useful/book_toy/ryouri.html Pretty much any Japanese bento cookbook will have helpful ideas, tips and recipes — they rock.
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:54 am
Thanks, xiue!
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:55 am
I thought it was good flavor payoff from minimal work — hooray!
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Thank you Super-Mommy-Martha-Stewart-of-Bentos.
February 23rd, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Ha hah! I hope that my tips actually SAVE time and money, though — I get the feeling that Martha Stewart projects are a huge time suck.
February 24th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
That’s really great! Thanks! =D
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I’ve seen these mini-puddings in several bento boxes, but I’ve never spotted them in our local asian market. What do they taste like, and do you know of a site that sells them online?
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:51 pm
They’re like a little bite of flan or creme caramel. I don’t actually know of a site that sells them online to individuals, but here’s a link to what I was able to find on them (Kiku Co. Ltd.’s “Petit Pudding”): http://confectionery.jp/ekasi.php?code=4901358013017
August 26th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
August 28th, 2007 at 12:13 am
@19 from Sage: Excellent! Glad the “fried” rice worked out for you, and thanks for reading!
November 11th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I’m trying this recipe tomorrow; it sounds a lot tastier and healthier than the fried rice many restaurants sell. (I swear, many restaurants sell their own version of cheater’s fried rice by somehow deep frying it, there is so much oil in the mixture as well as puddled around it.
And my own fried rice doesn’t come out so great anyway, so this will be an improvement.
Thanks for all the info, Biggie.
November 12th, 2007 at 9:40 am
@21 from Kate Schultz: Let us know how it comes out, Kate! There are infinite variations — I made another with chopped crispy Japanese plums that was unusual and pretty tasty. Super-fast, especially if you’ve got premade rice in the freezer.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Wow! Great idea! I’m going to try it out!
March 13th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I was really ecstatic about this recipe, seeing as how I am currently a senior in high school and am forced to endure whatever processed food the government supplies my school, but I ran into a slight problem with the mechanics of this.
The rice I used was simply generic long grain white rice (which was probably my first and biggest mistake) that had been cooked the day before. When I microwaved it the first time, the rice still clumped together in an unattractive fashion and did not want to cooperate without becoming this paste-like concoction. However, when I stir fried the rice, microwaved it for several minutes, then stir fried it again, it came out picture perfect.
Is there any reasoning behind this outcome and would it be best to invest in a more suitable type of rice? (I live in downstate Illinois, so procuring decent bento foods and products is rather laborious.)
May 7th, 2008 at 3:58 am
Quik question. Do you pack the food hot? It would seem so from the preparation Instructions. How do you deal wiht condensation?
October 16th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Cool Idea to try! Do you keep leftover rice in the freezer? How would that work to have portioned sized frozen rice ready to reheat? What type of rice do you use? Usually I try to stick to brown/wild, that doesn’t seem like what is used in *regular* fried rice though. Lastly, is this meal meant to be heated up? My son has no access to a microwave at school, so I’m always on the lookout for dishes that are good cold.
October 17th, 2008 at 9:55 am
@25 from timo: I try to cool foods before packing them in regular bento boxes to prevent condensation; more info here at my post on Hot vs. Cold Packing Considerations.
October 17th, 2008 at 9:57 am
@26 from Michelle731: I absolutely keep leftover cooked rice in the freezer, usually plain white rice although I’ve frozen brown rice before as well. You’ll want to wrap it tightly soon after it finishes cooking to trap in as much moisture as possible (i.e. don’t let it sit for hours in the rice cooker before wrapping it for freezing).
This particular meal isn’t meant to be heated up as there’s no microwave at my son’s preschool. You might want to check out my post on Hot vs. Cold Packing Considerations for additional info.
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