Our daughter loves the color pink. So, Chi Chi likes to incorporate lots of pink foods in her bento box each week. This week we have pink tarako in her nori maki that turns the rice pink. Its so pretty, but also adds a delicious ocean saltiness to the rice.
Maki are a perfect finger food for lunch boxes
This week’s bento box features two different kinds of Maki. Maki means “roll” in Japanese and can be made with different things. In this bento box, the asparagus maki is wrapped with thin sliced pork and the tarako maki is wrapped with nori seaweed. Chi Chi has made both the perfect size for our five year old daughter’s little fingers.
Bento boxes are a rainbow of color
When planning out his bentos, Chi Chi focuses on incorporating all of the colors of the rainbow. With this strategy he’s sure to include a veggie, fruit, carb and protein for a balanced and delicious lunch. Chi Chi believes that one of the best ways to eat healthy is to incorporate 30 whole-food ingredients in your diet every day. Color and variety is the spice of life, isn’t it? Bento boxes are a perfect expression of this.
Bento boxes are made with dishes we made ahead of time
Bento boxes can appear very elaborate, as if it took hours to make. But, in reality it’s just about putting several small portions of things we already had in our refrigerator into the box. One of the things that is special about Japanese home cooks is that they will make several dishes in advance and then those get shared at the family table in a rotation. For example Chi Chi’s mom would make spinach with sesame (goma-ae), pork wrapped veggie maki (like aspara-maki), and pickled cucumbers (tsukemono) one night and then save the leftovers for bento boxes and meals later in the week which she would incorporate with other things. It’s strategic meal prepping.
What’s in the box? We want to know, what’s in the box!
For this weeks bento box we have tarako nori maki and asparagus maki (aspara-maki):
What’s in the Box? Maki Bento Box
Course: LunchCuisine: Japanese1
servings20
minutes1
hourIngredients
- Tarako Maki
1 tbsp Tarako pollak roe
1/2 cup cooked white short grain rice
1 nori sheet
- Asparagus Maki
1/3 lb thin sliced pork (or bacon)
1 small bunch of asparagus (cut length wise into 2 inch strips)
salt/ pepper to taste
- Meatball Tskune
1 lb ground chicken (use thigh meat ground chicken if possible)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sake
1 tsp fresh ground ginger
salt/ pepper to taste
- Bean Sprout Salad
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 tbsp sesame oil
soy sauce to taste
salt/pepper to taste
- Spinach Gomaae
1 bunch of fresh spinach (washed and trimmed)
3 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- Pre-made ingredients to add to bento:
Directions
- Tarako Maki: to make the tarako nori maki mix tarako with rice in a bowl until rice turns pink. Spread out rice along the short length of a sheet of nori. Roll nori. Cut into 4 maki pieces.
- Asparagus Maki: Make this dish the night before for dinner! First, cut 2 inch strips of asparagus. then parboil asparagus in salt water for 2 minutes, remove from heat and rinse with cold water. Take one 2-inch strip of thin sliced pork (or bacon) and wrap around one piece of asparagus. Repeat until all asparagus are wrapped, then sprinkle with salt and pepper (do not do this step if using bacon though). Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Place asparagus maki in the skillet and turn each piece every 1-2 minutes until cooked through and browned. Remove from skillet and place on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Meatball Tskune: I also recommend making a batch of this before hand to make assembly of the bento box quick. Mix soy sauce, mirin, sake, and ground ginger. Pour 1/2 of mixture into a mixing bowl and set aside the rest. Add ground chicken to sauce and mix well. Add salt/pepper if desired. Form 1 inch balls with the chicken mixture. Heat a large skillet with 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil. Add chicken meatballs. Cook meatballs, turning frequently to avoid burning. Once meatballs are browning and cooked through (about 5-8 minutes), add remaining soy sauce mixture. Gently stir the meatballs to ensure the remaining sauce covers all of the meatballs evenly. Cook for 1-2 more minutes to allow the sauce to caramelize.
- Bean sprout salad: This is super easy, and can be done when assembling the bento box. Simply wash and dry bean sprouts and then mix all ingredients together.
- Spinach Gomaae: This dish can also be made in advance or the day of depending on the amount of time you have. You can also cut a corner here and buy premade sesame dressing (I like Kewpie roasted sesame dressing). To make this from scratch however, here’s what you do: Par boil spinach in salt water for about 2 minutes until the spinach turns bright green then plunge in cold water bath to cool. Grind sesame seeds to a paste in a small Japanese style pestle. Add brown sugar, mirin and soy sauce to sesame paste to make goma-ae sauce. (Since the spinach gomaae dressing has mirin, and mirin has alcohol in it, you can boil the sauce mixture over the stove to ensure that the alcohol evaporates). Mix spinach and goma-ae sauce and add a small portion to your bento box. Save the rest in the refrigerator for another meal. I have more detailed instructions in my post: Spinach Salad With Japanese Salad Dressing (Gomaae).
- Assembly: Use a bento box with multiple sections or use small paper baking cups to separate each ingredient. Add each of the ingredients above in a creative design.
Notes
- Since the spinach gomaae dressing has mirin, and mirin has alcohol in it, you can boil the sauce mixture over the stove to ensure that the alcohol evaporates.
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