Bento Gallery
A kid's bento
This is a boy's bento. It has a picture of Thomas the Tank Engine on the lid. The rice has some spice sprinkled on the top of it. There is also a rice ball (onigiri) made to look like a soccer ball using seaweed. Soccer is very popular among Japanese kids.
Side dishes include fried shrimp, a mini-hamburger steak with ketchup, boiled asparagus, potato salad, green soybeans, fried potatoes, cherries, and other foods. There are even boiled quail eggs made to look like the face of a bird. The face of Pikachu appears in the middle of the kamaboko (fish paste loaf).
Rice balls
Rice balls (onigiri) are made by forming cooked rice into a triangular, round, or cylindrical shape with the hands. The rice ball may be enhanced with any of a variety of ingredients, which are tucked inside the ball. The most traditional addition is a pickled apricot, but other favorites include baked cod roe, grilled salted salmon, vegetables boiled down in sweetened soy sauce, dried bonito fish flakes, and in recent years even Western-style ingredients such as tuna flavored with mayonnaise. one secret to making tasty onigiri is to sprinkle a bit of salt on the hands before scooping up the rice. The onigiri is a uniquely Japanese food that can be thought of as the staple and main dish put together. (226 words)
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