Bento Boxes: Lunch Boxes for the Fashion Forward
By: Keith
Bento Boxes are nothing more than Japanese lunch boxes. Bento itself is the art of making the meals. The difference between Japanese (and Korean and Taiwanese for that matter) boxed lunches and ours is that we don’t take our food quite as seriously as they do. Thus our meals and boxes are a little on the primitive side. I went through lunch box phases when I was a kid. I had a Dukes of Hazard lunch box with an accompanying thermos. Then I experimented with brown bags and Tupperware. In the end the results were always the same, a squished sandwich, leaky thermos and popped bag of potato chips. If I had grown up Japanese I probably would never have had those problems because I’d be using a cute little box with convenient dividers and stackable compartments. I would have treated my food with a little bit of reverence. Our disgraceful treatment of lunch is a cultural thing; we just don’t take the time to do it right. You’d think, with similar working hours to us Americans, that the Japanese would similarly rush their meals. They don’t. Like I said, it’s all cultural. If lunch held any importance for us we’d probably spend more time designing a better lunch box. But it doesn’t and we don’t.
Overwhelming Cuteness:
Children’s bento boxes are notoriously cute (as the Japanese have fashioned a major part of their economy on making things cute). Traditionally though the boxes were austere and made of wood. They can be ornate and minor works of art unto themselves. The styles of the boxes are as representative as the people carrying them. Essentially, if you want a bento box, you can get a bright orange one shaped like Naruto or you could get a plain wooden one with no ornaments. Bento boxes, unlike American lunch boxes, are for everybody, not just kids.
Rice:
Rice is pretty much the foundation of most meals in Japan. It’s no surprise that many of the cute little dividers in bento boxes are designed for onigiri (balled rice with seaweed) or sushi. Rice is super convenient and nutritious, packs nicely and doesn’t misbehave with other foods in the box. Advantage Japanese diet.
Soup:
You wouldn’t think soup would be an option in a lunch box. As usual the Japanese have that covered. Many boxes have special stackable containers especially designed for soup, condiments and noodles. Yes, that’s right, you can keep your noodles separated from the broth right up to the last second. Pretty cool, huh?
Bento Equipment:
It’s not enough to simply boil an egg if you’re into bento. No, it has to be boiled then molded into a Hello Kitty shape or a fish or something. Likewise, an apple has to look like a bird, a hot dog needs to be formed into an octopus and a strawberry should be cut to look like a rose. It’s not always like that, but bento has become something of an art form for a lot of people. Thus there is special equipment like molds for rice and eggs that you can buy along with your box. I’m not sure I really care to make my food into sculpture, but it’s an option. Zojirushi has a product called Classic Bento which I really like and wouldn’t mind sending my kids to school with (if they went to school). Check their other lunch jars and products and you’ll see that not all bento needs to be a gimmick.
If you want to send your spouse off to work with a nice healthy meal, use a bento box. If you want to send your kids to school with a nutritious alternative to school lunches that isn’t going to get ruined in a paper bag, send them away with a bento box (food included of course). Rice is super easy to make with a good rice machine and sushi is not difficult to learn to make. If the Japanese can find time to take food seriously and still work like crazies, then so can we. Considering the Japanese have the lowest obesity rate of any industrialized country in the world (14 times lower than the United States), maybe it would be a good idea to take note and learn something from them.
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While I probably wouldn’t go so far as to mold eggs into different shapes, I agree that there is a lot we should be able to take away from Bento boxes and Japanese culture in terms of the time and care they put into preparing food. It’s funny, I have somewhat of a rant on ‘cooking being too hard’ today over on my blog.
.-= PJ Mullen´s last blog ..Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner =-.
PJ: Yeah, I thought the whole egg molding thing was taking it a bit too far. The food itself though is a good combination. Wonder why they have to be so cute about it though
I think a lot of obesity is due to our irreverence to food. Even for myself, it’s hard to sit down and eat slowly and consciously. Although I’m convinced if I did more often, I would eat much healthier.
.-= Debbie Lattuga´s last blog ..Marathon Training In 100 Days =-.
Debbie: Thanks for visiting again! You’re right. We just don’t take food seriously enough. I don’t either. I watch the care that goes into some of these boxed lunches and I’m almost embarrassed for my PBJ and cheese stick
My wife has been packing Bento boxes for our kids’ lunches. They really like them.
.-= Mocha Dad´s last blog ..Demi Lovato and The Jonas Brothers: A Concert Review From a Dad’s Perspective =-.
MochaDad: The item that I’d be really interested in trying is the Onigiri. Looks so tasty and simple. I’ve made sushi before and that’s just so easy and nutritious. The molded eggs, as PJ says, seem a little over the top (albeit cute)
I don´t thik like that… naruto it´s the best in the world!
well for my kids i am molding the egg …its funny to then and more importantly they are eatting it!!!! an for me it doesnt matter if its over doing it…. they are even eatting the vegies!!!
I adore the bento boxes and I have to say I am so going to have to use them! Especially making the cute characters and stuff