Lately, I've been cruising the blogdom of bento boxes. So many fabulous pictures...all are zero calories and zero fat to consume! I just can't get enough of the stuff!
According to justbento.com (my favorite bento blog, EVAH!):
Bento (written 弁当), or obento (お弁当) to use the honorific term, is the Japanese word for a meal served in a box. Beyond that basic definition though, just about anything goes as to what kind of box or container is used, as well as what is put inside that box.
Different types of bento
(See also: Types of homemade bento.)
There are several different kinds of bento, with different purposes. Makunouchi bento are elaborate bento meals presented at formal meals, meant to be eaten at table. This is the type you will see served in restaurants, arranged in elegant lacquered boxes. Kouraku bento are picnic bento, to be shared by a group of people enjoying themselves outdoors - the most popular settings is while enjoying the cherry blossoms in spring ((o)hahanami). Ekiben (a shortened form of eki bento) are boxed meals sold at train stations for travellers (though nowadays you can buy ekiben at many other places, such as department store food halls or convenience stores).
The kind of bento that have garnered the most attention recently, especially outside of Japan are what are called ‘cute bento’ ‘art bento’ or ‘entertaining bento’ (entertain-bento), extremely elaborately decorated small works of art, as exemplified by the work presented on sites like e-obento (Japanese). These are usually made by mothers for their small children. There can be a high level of competitiveness in this arena, which I’ll talk about sometime.
Finally, there’s the plain simple bento that most people bring to work or school for lunch. It’s important to note that most Japanese people do not spend their time making elaborate ‘cute bento’ - that’s more in the realm of a hobby rather than practical everyday living. The type of bento you will see here will be in the category of practical, everyday bento. This is the type of bento that Just Bento concentrates on.
Another bento blog I like is bento zen .
This BBC website has a great blurb about the history of bento. Check it out!
What Thing 2 and I have been looking at is all the "cute bento" stuff online, but am thinking that will try for the everyday type of bento, with a bit of the cute stuff thrown in for good measure...or when the feeling strikes me.
There is A LOT of stuff out there to make bento meals more fun. Nothing like another bad "habit" to fuel.
A couple of cookbooks I own:
Kawaii Bento Boxes: Cute and Convenient Japanese Meals on the Go, by Joie Staff that has bunches of recipes and beautiful full-color pictures, along with an index of bento favorites classified by color. Although it has the word "cute" in the title, there are many ideas in the book that would fit right into a basic bento.
Hawai'i's Bento Box Cookbook: Fun Lunches for Kids, by Susan Yuen. This is definitely a "cute" bento cookbook! A great book for lunches for little ones in your house. Although, there is a large section of 'ono recipes in the 2nd half of the book that not only has the ingredients and directions for the recipe, but a picture of the finished product.
On my bento cookbook wishlist:
Hawai'i's Bento Box Cookbook: 2nd Course, also by Susan Yuen
501 Bento Box Lunches: 501 Unique Recipes for Brilliant Bento, by Korero Books
Someday, maybe, I'll post a picture of my bento attempts. Maybe not. For now, I'll concentrate on making lunches healthy and more appetizing/appealing.
