http://www.tjf.or.jp/takarabako/ Japanese Culture Now Our favorite dishes For Healthy and Colorful Bento-making shortcuts Q: What is your favorite okazu? One of the pleasures of eating bento is the excite- for bento Making a nutritionally bal- just as they are in the bento; by lunch hour they are defrosted and ment, upon opening the box, of seeing what is The most popular okazu (main All bento, whether home made or commercially made, are attrac- features on health and nutrition. Not only when making a bento 1st place 2nd placeウィンナー 3rd place 4th place anced and colorful bento with ready to eat. inside. The person who makes the bento, too, en- and additional side dishes) taste tively packed with several kinds of okazu dishes. Their selection but when buying one, most people gauge the nutritional balance Bento: Packaging several kinds of okazu day joys giving thought to the process of creating a good even when cold and go well and arrangement is based on considerations of nutrition, color, of the meal it offers by the color and variety of its okazu. How much time do you with rice. People often have spe- after day is no easy task. Ex- boxed meal that will please the person eating it. and variety. It is also well known that what makes a meal appetizing is spend making bento? 1 hour or more 0.9% cial memories of the taste of such perienced bento makers take Good Food and A bento can be a very eloquent medium of mes- In the importance of eating as great a variety of foods as not only aroma and flavor but appearance. People try to make okazu made by a particular per- advantage of various shortcuts sages between people who care for each other. possible every day and maintaining a nutritionally balanced diet bento with food arrangements that look delicious and arouse the son or the occasion when they ate for preparing okazu quickly. is widely recognized as a result of what people learn in school as appetite. 15.8% 12.6% Less than it in a bento. One very common method 10 minutes Human Warmth kara-age uinna shio-zake well as numerous popular television programs and other media Plan your own bento! (rolled egg) (deep-fried chicken morsels) (wieners) (salted ) What color categories (red, green, yel- is to prepare dishes for the 30-60 minutes low, brown, or white) do the foods you Many types of okazu, prepared in servings This mark indicates that more related information is included on the “Click Japan” website. http//www.tjf.or.jp/clicknippon/ たまごやき からあげ ウィンナー しおざけ evening and morning meals 10-30 minutes How to make a nutritionally How to make a colorful bento are familiar with belong to? easy-to-use sizes for bento, are available Source: From “Chotto shiritai minna no koe: Bento”, Tepore, 2005. http:www.tepore.com/koe in slightly extra amounts and among frozen food products. 70.7% balanced bento Bento Times Food-related magazine and website features often introduce okazu dishes for bento use the leftovers for bento. A nutritionally balanced bento can be cre- by color. All it takes to create a delicious-looking bento is to skillfully combine differ- Convenient frozen foods made especially for bento use are High school At workplaces ated easily following the “3-1-2 bento- ently colored okazu. also available, such as mini hamburger steaks and deep-fried Source: Survey by the OCN O-bento Club, 2011, based on responses from about 12,200 people making method.”* The entire space of the bento Bento are boxed meals packed in an attractive manner in easily portable containers. For everyone living in Japan, from early childhood Few high schools serve school lunches or have Some working people bring Red okazu Green okazu foods that can be defrosted quickly in the microwave. Frozen homemade bento for lunch. should be divided into 6 parts and then three of cherry tomatoes salt-flavored cucumber See data on the types of okazu used in bento. onward, bento are a familiar and ordinary style of eating. cafeterias. Students either bring a homemade ミニトマト きゅうりのしおもみ cooked vegetable dishes prearranged in paper cups can be placed bento or they may buy sandwiches or bento at a Others buy commercially made those parts devoted to the staple food, 1 part to shop near or temporarily open at the school. bento at a nearby convenience the main side dish, and 2 parts to additional side A slice of tamagoyaki can be Day care and kindergarten Elementary and junior high school store, have it warmed up at the dishes. cut on the diagonal, and the Many children have a bento 弁当 set of their own Most elementary and junior high schools in Japan serve Enhancing the enjoyment of eating two pieces pinned with a store, and eat it at the office. mentaiko (roe) toothpick to form the shape * Recommended by Shokuseitaigaku Jissen Forum at for the first time when they enter kindergarten school lunches every day, but several times a year, for special 明太子 of a heart. or day care. school events such as field trips and sports events, the stu- http://www.shokuseitaigaku.com/bentoubako/index.html Brown okazu broccoli dents take bento. ブロッコリー The creative touches incorporated can be greatly enhanced by Cute-shaped sandwiches kinpira gobo (seasoned burdock) © TJF utilizing various cute or attractive bento props, decorative ways can be made by using a The sight and sounds of a parent who has risen early to 2 1 soboro (seasoned minced meet) Lunch time at the office. 3 きんぴらごぼう cookie-cutter to cut the 1 そぼろ of cutting okazu, and artful arrangements, all small contrivances prepare a bento, the good taste of its contents, and the fun bread. 3 2 gratin of sharing bento tidbits with friends are among many people’s グラタン that can be adopted in the midst of a busy daily schedule. happy memories. Home delivery for the elderly boiled eggs ゆめ お dumplings 夢を追いかけてっ！ Junior high students also often have bento made for them Shopping and cooking meals daily can シューマイ ゆでたまご Staple carbohydrates: Rice, bread, pasta when they go to school on weekends or holidays for club ac- be a difficult burden for the elderly, and Main side dishes: Dishes made largely with fish, tivities or for their quick evening meal between school and some make use of services that deliver meat, egg, or soy beans attending juku. bento to their door. They look forward to Additional side dishes: Dishes made largely with vegetables or potatoes, sea- the contact with the person who delivers weed products © Hongo Jin the bento and can request special menus © TJF Eating bento in the high school classroom and cafeteria. simmered kabocha squash かぼちゃ if they have specific needs, such as limited Try packing a bento box in an online game. White okazu Yellow okazu

calorie intake or low-sodium foods. © Watami Takushoku Co. Ltd. Pleasure outings Delivering a bento to an elderly man living alone. A good picnic bento is indispensable when it comes to seasonal outings—a celebration of spring under the cherry blossoms, a trip Time- and energy-saving meal Bento Day: Students take up the challenge (laver) seaweed cut with a special punch gives Octopus-shaped wieners and rabbit-shaped an a lively expression. A drinking straw can apple are some of the decorative ways okazu These paper cups have a message inside, to the beach, or a picnic to enjoy the col- Some people buy bento in the evening on the be used to cut out small circles in a slice of ham. can be fashioned with a regular kitchen-knife. revealed after the contents are eaten. ors of autumn. The bento brought together way home, either for themselves or family Almost all elementary schools and 70 percent of junior high Bento Day Hints for Elementary School Students Photography: Naganuma Atsuko on such occasions, often packed in large, members. When tired out and hungry after schools serve hot lunches.* Bento day was a program that began picnic-style containers for sharing among a long day, some people opt for a bento in- at an elementary school in in 2001 and has The sentiments of several people, augment the pleasures and stead of trying to make a proper homemade since spread throughout Japan. The school sets several days Let‛s Try! “The A-I-U-E-O of Bento Making” excite the conversations when families or meal. Bento contain a variety of foods and throughout the school year when school lunches will not be the bento maker The words below are all bento-related words. What do they groups of friends gather. When traveling, are cheaper than eating out. Bento are sold あ is for anzen 安全: To keep the served and asks all the students to get up early and make their foods from spoiling, be sure to mean? Pick one from a to f. some people enjoy buying locally made at convenience stores and supermarkets, as

Picnic bento for school excursions and field trips. The children spread sheets © TJF wash the bento box carefully and © TJF own bento, without any parental help, on those days. Shopping at a bento store. A child’s first bento set. on the grass to eat their bento. bento (ekiben) at stops along the way. well as stores specializing in bento. cool down cooked foods before People make bento for many reasons—to provide a healthier meal than can 1. 早弁 hayaben 2. 駅弁 ekiben 3. 空弁 soraben The students are expected to take charge of everything—from packing them. あ is also for aijo © TJF be purchased commercially, to save money, to be able to eat or let someone 4. キャラ弁 kyaraben 5. ほか弁 hokaben 6. 塾弁 jukuben purchasing ingredients to cleaning up after their preparations. 愛情: Food that is made with lov- ing care tastes good. else eat foods that suit personal preferences, and even as an expression of Still, the program is highly regarded for not only heightening a. locally made bento sold at airports い is for irodori yoku 彩りよく: Try to love or care for the person the bento is made for. There are many cases of children’s understanding of nutritional balance but fostering include foods of different colors. b. locally made bento sold at train stations う is for ugai うがい and te-arai 手洗 people who get up early every morning year after year, before anyone else self-reliance, raising their awareness and sense of gratitude to- c. bento eaten when going to juku in the evening い: Wash your hands and gargle is awake, to make bento for themselves or another family member. d. eating bento before noon ward the people who prepare their meals, as well as cultivat- before starting to cook. is for eiyo baransu In the past it was generally women who made bento for their husbands e. hot, freshly-made bento purchased at a bento store ing closer ties within the family and in the local community (see え えいようバラ ンス: Choose ingredients for a or children, but in our more recent era of gender equality, the number of f. bento featuring the shapes of anime or other characters “Meeting People”). good nutritional balance. お is for oishii おいしい: Do your best men who make bento for themselves or family members has increased. The answers can be found at * Nationwide average for all schools serving school lunches. “Survey on School to choose healthy ingredients and http://www.tjf.or.jp/takarabako/bi02.htm season them well, so that the Lunch Programs,” Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technol- See data on how often people make bento and for whom. bento will taste as good as it can. Various cute bento! These were made by the first-year students at a junior high school in on “bento day.” ogy, 2009. © Utsunomiya Municipal Nishi Elementary School

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