I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
Potsticker lunch with quick cucumber salad
Morning prep time: 10 minutes (12 min. for 2 lunches, but the potstickers take 9 minutes). I didn’t have any leftovers to incorporate into this meal, so it was all made in the morning: gyoza, cucumber salad, and mango. The timeline for today’s lunch was actually very straightforward: get the store-bought frozen potstickers going in the frying pan (quick fry, then add warm water and cover), slice the cucumber with the quick cutter and salt (let rest), cut & pack the mango, and nuke the cream cheese to soften, rinse/wring out the cucumbers. Finish up the potsticker cooking and put on a plate to cool. Mix the cucumber with the cream cheese and pepper, pack that in the lunch, then pack the potstickers. The dipping sauce was already in the little containers, stored in the refrigerator, so those were just grab and go. Wrapped cheese and grape tomatoes fill the gaps and provide color. Ta da!
I adapted a recipe for 3-minute cucumber and cream cheese salad from Japanese cookbook Oishii Obento (published by Seitosha). Very few ingredients (cucumber, cream cheese, salt and pepper), and prep flies by with the use of a cheap mandoline-type slicer. Recipe below.
I picked up this slicing multi-tool for a few dollars at an Asian kitchenware store a few years ago to replace another I broke. It’s a quick slicer, wavy cutter, vegetable peeler, daikon grater and ginger grater — all in one. It’s what I reach for when I want a small amount of thinly cut vegetables, but don’t need the adjustability (or hassle) of my mandoline. Click on the photo for a larger view with notes. More tricked-out products would include the Japanese Benriner and the V-slicer, but a quick Amazon search turns up a few cheap alternatives: a green Kuhn Rikon Quick Slice Mandoline, a red Kyocera Adjustable Handheld Ceramic Slicer, and a white Norpro Mandoline. (Full disclosure: I just signed up with Amazon, so using these links when shopping with Amazon anyway helps support Lunch in a Box.)
Quick Cucumber and Cream Cheese Salad Recipe
- 4-5 inches of cucumber (I used English/Japanese cucumber with few seeds, but you could scoop the seeds out of a regular cucumber for the same effect)
- 1 ounce of cream cheese (or less, to taste)
- black pepper to taste (I like freshly ground, but use what’s handy)
1. Thinly slice cucumber, and put it in a colander in a bowl or sink. Lightly salt and mix up.
2. Let the salted cucumber rest for at least one minute, then rinse off excess salt if necessary and wring out the moisture with your hands and a paper towel. This keeps the cucumber from shedding water into your lunch after you’ve packed it.
3. Microwave the cream cheese until soft (20 seconds in a 500W microwave, 10 seconds in a 1100W microwave)
4. Mix the cucumbers with the softened cream cheese and pepper to taste.
Bug’s lunch is similar. He attacked the potstickers first with his hands, then moved on to the rest. He used the little fork for the mango, but I had to help him with the cucumber (his first bites were way too big). If I were sending him off to eat this lunch on his own, I’d cut the cucumber a little thicker so that it’d be easier for him to get little bites.
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
April 6th, 2007 | Categories: bento, dumplings or buns, equipment, for kids, recipe, tutorial or how to | 
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April 6th, 2007 at 9:31 am
What type/company of pot stickers do you use? You make such yummy looking bento. ^^
April 6th, 2007 at 9:36 am
I am pleased to report that a visit to Daiso has yielded a pink double-tiered polka-dotted bento (I think the first picture might be the same model?) and although so far I love using it, I must ask: how do you keep the fruit juice from the mango in its cup and not seeping over everywhere? I had some peaches in mine the other day, and it ended up leaking juice into my mini pizza. Which wasn’t really as awful-tasting as it sounds. *g*
It could just be that my bento get jostled a lot in my bag, but I figured asking if you had any tips couldn’t hurt!
April 6th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Oh, good point– I forgot to add that. After I doused the mango with lime juice for flavor, I then dumped all of it onto paper towels and dried it as best I could to avoid just the problem you described.
April 6th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Thanks leilani! I use a variety of pot stickers — whatever looks interesting at the Asian markets, or (funny enough) LingLing pot stickers from Costco.
April 6th, 2007 at 10:06 am
ah! Thank you — I’ll try that next time. Plus that cucumber salad, which looks wonderful.
April 6th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I make a similar salad with either a 50/50 mix of sour cream and plain yogurt OR thick Greek-style yogurt. Add a pinch of cumin next time. Very delicious!
April 6th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
This is defidently something my 5yr old will eat, his nickname is Toad :o)
I was wondering, my hubby is going to Okinawa this summer for the military. I was going to wait and give him a list for some Bento gear to bring home from Daiso….or should I go ahead a splurge, it is quite disturbing that you say your gear cost $1.50 at Daiso in SF and I see on Ebay the stuff selling for $25!
I have my own little “Fit n Fresh” box that I use but my son will be going to kindergarten and I want to pack his lunches. You have inspired me Biggie! So should I wait? Will it save me that much $$?
April 6th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Sounds yummy!
April 6th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I think I have cucumbers in my bento every day since they are pretty cheap and I like them. Most of the time I just do plain slices but this looks yummy too. Thanks for taking the time to write out the recipe!
We’ve been in the vacation period at school recently so I’ve been spending an hour or two each day in the school library looking up different recipes and bento advice.
Do you have any favorite bento related books?
April 6th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Seriously, check out any bento books that Shufu no Tomo (主婦ã®å‹ï¼‰puts out. As the book publishing arm of one of Japan’s oldest home-related magazines, they really know their stuff and present it well (finger on the pulse and all that). I’m also rediscovering some books I’ve had for a while, like ãŠã¹ã‚“ã¨ã†å¤§äº‹å…¸ by インデックスマガジンズ with 748 recipes — they have a little bit of everything, from kids’ to adults’ bentos, speed bentos, volume/hearty bentos, diet bentos, cheap (under 100 yen) bentos, and multi-person picnics for events. Getting one comprehensive volume like that and working through it is educational (and much cheaper than buying a bunch of themed books).
April 7th, 2007 at 12:20 am
Meadow, which country/area do you live in? If you’re in North America, I’d recommend getting a Lock & Lock or Snapware container for your son in the meantime — then sending your husband to Oki with a dollar store bento supply list. If you take a look at the bento box size guidelines I translated (link under “Top Tips” in the left-hand column), your son should be using a box between 400 - 500ml in volume (240ml = 1 cup American) for dense food. At two cups, the small rectangle boxes in the Snapware set would be about perfect (sold at Costco, Amazon.com, etc.), and I’ve seen small Lock & Lock-type containers of about the right size at both Target and Walmart before. Seriously, I’d think twice about giving a five-year-old an overpriced $25 box when even adults have a hard time remembering to bring lunch containers home. I’ll start putting together a list of links to cheap bento box alternatives that are widely available.
April 7th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Here’s a link to the Snapware set I saw at Costco: Snapware 26 Piece Plastic Storage Set with Lids
. Full disclosure: I just signed up with Amazon, so using these links when shopping with Amazon anyway helps support Lunch in a Box.
April 8th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Thanks Biggie! I live in Texas in the DFW area, I was totally happy when we got an IKEA a couple of years ago. There are a couple of Hong Kong Markets, I will check them out. The $25 Bento I was talking about would be for me :o) Toad has a square soft sided Spiderman Lunch tote that I will probably use for his lunch. I will send hubby with a list for the small stuff like picks and cute gear. I am going to go to the Commissary soon and am going to see if they have gear.I appreciate ya!
April 8th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Good luck!
April 9th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I made the cucumbers, but used plain yogurt instead (to fit my diet) and added a little chopped mint (to counter not having any salt.) It was delish! Not sure the kids will like it as much as the cream cheese, but it worked for me, and my 15 year old took some to school today in her bento.
April 9th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Heya, I wandered over from bentolunch. I keep meaning to ask you, where in SF is Daiso? I love over in Hayward, but sadly I don’t know SF all that well, despite being a born native. For shame!
Also, your lunches all look scrumptious, so I’m adding you to my friends list
April 9th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Man, I really need to put together an SF shopping guide for everyone. Will get on it. In the meantime, Daiso is located in Daly City at the Serramonte Mall where Good Guys used to be (across the parking lot from the Target store anchoring Serramonte Mall). Lots of parking, definitely a must-go. Enjoy!
April 9th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Sounds delicious!
April 9th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
P.S. I’ve added you back as you have a dedicated lunch blog — looks great!
April 10th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Found this today at Tokyo Fish Market gift shop next to the fish market, 1220 San Pablo, Berkeley, about 2 miles from Ichiban Kan in El Cerrito, under $3.00. Am looking forward to trying it out!
April 22nd, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Good sourcing tip; thanks!
August 13th, 2007 at 8:48 am
[…] prendono abbastanza tempo ma se li volete carini e vi adattate potete anche fare cose come questa, (le specifiche di Biggie le vedete a questo link) ^^ Per fare un bentino cosi, Biggie dice, ci potete riuscire in 10 minuti avendo tutto già […]
March 6th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Hi, Biggie!
I blundered over here while looking for good lunchbox recipes, and think yours are just amazing!!
I am almost certainly celiac (as are 2 of our 3 kids), and am married to a Japanese-American who grew up in San Jose, so I feel like we are practically neighbors (though we live in Pittsburgh. Oh, well.)!
Wondering about the celiac “undiagnosis,” of your hubby, though. Seems like a lot of doctors retest someone after they’ve been on a gluten-free diet, and–surprise!–they test negative for it! But testing negative after being gluten-free doesn’t mean you don’t have celiac, because you don’t produce antibodies to gluten if you haven’t been ingesting it; and also because most damage does resolve after being on a gluten-free diet. However, it usually comes back within months of resuming a gluten-filled diet, especially if other autoimmune disorders are an issue.
Hopefully, your hubby really doesn’t have celiac after all. But you might keep a watchful eye out for returning symptoms just in case!
Sorry if that was un-necessary and un-asked-for info. I know a lot more about celiac than I EVER wanted to know (like you guys, I bet), and figured better safe than sorry!
Anyway, thank you so much for posting all the wonderful lunchbox ideas. It’s such great timing for me–I was really in a lunch rut, and your ideas are so inspiring. I can’t wait to try that cucumber salad. Does it work if you don’t salt and drain the cucumber? (I know, I’m SO lazy!)
Thanks again,
Alison