Multi-tasking bento lunch
Posted By Biggie On January 24, 2008 @ 6:16 am In bento, fish or seafood, for kids, lactose free, meat, onigiri or sushi, phyllo or pancake or other, rice, tips | 16 Comments
Faced with no leftovers to throw into my son’s packed lunch, I took two different approaches. With one lunch I drew from my freezer stash, and with the other I used multi-sauteeing, a speed cooking technique [1] described here where you cook multiple foods at once in the same frying pan. This is a commonly featured technique in Japanese speed bento cookbooks as a way to cut morning prep time when you’re cooking from scratch. Similarly, you can also [2] boil, [3] grill, [4] broil or microwave different foods together to save time, just be sure to check everything separately for doneness and don’t assume all foods will be done at the same time.
[5] 
Contents of preschooler lunch: Cocktail sausages and ketchup for dipping, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed cabbage with Korean barbecue sauce, rice balls mixed with salmon-flavored furikake rice seasoning, blueberries and raspberries.
[6] 
Morning prep time: 15 minutes, using frozen rice and the [1] multi-sauteeing technique for the cabbage, mushrooms and sausages. In the morning I microwaved the [7] frozen rice, mixed in the furikake, and shaped them into balls using plastic wrap (similar to making [8] scrambled egg purses). I cut the mushrooms with a knife, but could have sped up the process by using an [9] egg slicer to cut them instead. After sauteeing the sausages and vegetables, I sauced the cabbage with bottled Korean barbecue sauce and let everything cool on a [10] mini cooling rack. This minimized condensation inside the box for optimum [11] bento food safety and ease of opening the box itself. If I’d been feeling more ambitious I could have cut the little sausages into animal shapes like an [12] octopus, [13] crab or rabbit.
[14] 
Packing: The delicate raspberries went into a hard plastic food cup in the side dish container to protect them from bruising in transit. The lunch is packed in a [15] 350ml Power Rangers (”Geki Rangers”) box with both sub-containers removed, and a 100ml side dish container from Daiso (Japanese dollar store with [16] branches internationally). Ketchup went into a small condiment cup for easy dipping. A [17] silicone baking cup holds the cabbage, and a [18] reusable plastic food cup shaped like a dog’s head holds the mushroom.
Verdict: Pretty good. Bug ate everything at preschool except the cabbage and raspberries, telling me he doesn’t like cabbage. That said, I know he wolfs down [19] okonomiyaki (recipe here), so it’s just a presentation issue. Bug’s been eating more than usual lately, so I packed extra, but in retrospect he ate just about what the [20] bento box size guidelines set out for a three-year-old. [21] (Click here for the full post with an additional lunch…)
[22] 
* * * * *
Contents of preschooler lunch: Mini crab cakes (Handy brand from Costco, [23] initial review here), mini cornbread muffins (made from a [24] cornbread mix, info here), steamed bell pepper, blueberries and an orange wedge.
Morning prep time: 7 minutes, using crab cakes and mini muffins from my freezer stash. In the morning I just microwaved these, sliced and microwaved the bell pepper, and sliced the orange.
Packing: I used lettuce as an edible food divider between the mini muffins and the crab cakes. After microwaving, I blotted the bell pepper dry with a paper towel, and let it cool briefly before packing in a coated paper baking cup. I sliced most of the orange away from the peel to make it easy for little hands to eat. Packed in a [25] 360ml Disney Cars bento box with one sub-container removed to fit the muffins.
Verdict: Thumbs up over time. But left two muffins and the orange, but ate those as a snack at gym class after preschool. He didn’t eat the lettuce divider, but I didn’t really expect him to. I must confess I got a kick out of his choosing to eat his vegetables over the muffins and orange!
FURTHER READING:
- [2] Multi-boiling
- [4] Multi-broiling
- [3] Multi-grilling
- [26] How to care for your bento gear
- [27] Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews
- [28]
- [29]
- [30]
- [31]
- [32]
Article printed from Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento: http://lunchinabox.net
URL to article: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/01/24/multi-tasking-bento-lunch/
URLs in this post:
[1] described here: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/02/27/speed-bento-stovetop-mini-frittata/
[2] boil: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/03/31/curried-quail-egg-lunches-multi-boiling/
[3] grill: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/05/14/leftover-remake-pasta-frittata-multi-grilling/
[4] broil: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/04/04/speed-cooking-technique-multi-broiling/
[5] Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/2215405781/
[6] Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/2215405707/
[7] frozen rice: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/11/30/frozen-rice-bento-lunch/
[8] scrambled egg purses: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/03/08/speed-bento-scrambled-egg-purses/
[9] egg slicer: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/04/26/lamb-and-hummus-wrap-lunches/
[10] mini cooling rack: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/06/06/fried-shrimp-lunches-mini-cooling-rack/
[11] bento food safety: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/05/08/food-safety-for-packed-lunches-updated/
[12] octopus: http://lunchinabox.net/2006/07/25/octodog-toddler-lunch/
[13] crab or rabbit: http://lunchinabox.net/2006/08/21/sausage-animals-mini-chikuwa-x-3/
[14] Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/2209473783/
[15] 350ml Power Rangers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/1145947180/
[16] branches internationally: http://www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/english/storeinfo/
[17] silicone baking cup: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/09/08/silicone-baking-cups-salmon-box-lunches/
[18] reusable plastic food cup : http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/353163297/in/set-72157594150632817/
[19] okonomiyaki (recipe here): http://lunchinabox.net/2007/11/19/making-okonomiyaki/
[20] bento box size guidelines: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/03/07/guide-to-choosing-the-right-size-bento-box/
[21] (Click here for the full post with an additional lunch…): http://lunchinabox.net/2008/01/24/multi-tasking-bento-lunch/#more-351
[22] Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/2216197570/
[23] initial review here: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/01/09/side-dish-containers-in-action/
[24] cornbread mix, info here: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/10/21/salmon-cake-lunches-mini-mandoline/
[25] 360ml Disney Cars bento box: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/10/10/carnitas-lunch-in-disney-cars-gear/
[26] How to care for your bento gear: http://lunchinabox.net/2008/01/22/bento-gear-care-and-maintenance/
[27] Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews: http://lunchinabox.net/top-tips/
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unch%2F
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