Tag Archives: bento

Plan the Perfect Picnic with Zojirushi’s Insulated Food Jars

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Whether it’s a lunch break, family outing, or a picnic in the park with friends, August is the perfect time of year to enjoy the great outdoors. In fact, August is National Picnic Month! If you’re looking to kick off your next outdoor adventure, don’t forget to take a delicious lunch or bento to reenergize yourself throughout your day. Not sure what to pack? We’ve got you covered. Today, we’ll be sharing some healthy, fresh, and fun recipes that you can pack in Stainless Steel Food Jars. Let’s get to it!

Get to Know the Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-EAE35/50

Have you met our Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-EAE35/50? Our compact vacuum insulated food vessels keep foods or beverages hot or cold for hours, and with a tight-fitted lid with gasket which minimizes leaks and maximizes temperature retention. Available in five unique colors and in 12 oz. and 17 oz. sizes, they’re the perfect companions for drinks, snacks, and meals on the go!

With our Zojirushi food jars, you can place food or drink right in the jar, pack it, and forget it until you’re ready to enjoy! The 2-1/2-inch wide opening allows you to eat directly out of the jar, saving the need for extra plate ware, and also makes it easy to clean when you’re finished. As always, all surfaces that come in contact with food are made of BPA-free plastic and stainless steel. Learn more by watching our short product video.

Healthy, Portable Picnic Dishes

Now that you’ve gotten to know our Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-EAE35/50, let’s dive into some seasonal beverages and foods that you can prep for your next outdoor adventure.

Drinks

Did you know that our vacuum-insulated food jars can double as drink holders, too? Yes! We use the same vacuum insulated technology to keep drinks cold for hours, and our non-spill design will make sure that your drinks won’t leak. Win-win.

  • Iced Black Tea: Classic, simple, and packed with caffeine to wake you up when you need a boost. If you want to add some sweetness to this drink, add rock sugar while the tea is hot (before you ice).
  • Iced Green Tea Mocktail: This refreshing medley of green tea, grapefruit, and mint is the perfect drink for summertime. Remember to let the tea steep for 3-4 minutes before adding ice to the drink.
  • Green Tea White Virgin Sangria: Want a fruity drink and snack all in one? Gather your favorite fruits and steep them with tea, grape juice, and cinnamon. We recommend apples, kiwi, cucumber, and lemons.

Noodles

Because our food jars are ideal for both liquids and foods, one of our favorite ways to use our Zojirushi food jars is to pack different noodle dishes. Here are two recipes that will cool you down after a hot summer hike:

  • Chilled Harusame Noodle: Refreshing, cold cellophane noodles with crunchy cucumbers and kimchi. Add in other sliced ingredients like ham to your liking.
  • Chilled Out Ramen Salad: The great thing about our food jars is that they will prevent chilled noodles from going soggy! Dress this ramen salad with Japanese mustard, sugar, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.

Dessert

Yes, you can pack dessert in your food jar too! And what’s better than indulging in a sweet treat after a hearty meal? Here are some ideas for refreshing desserts on the go:

  • Black Tea Panna Cotta: Creamy, indulgent, and chilled to perfection.
  • Mango Gelatin: You can use gelatin and hot water to make a quick chilled dessert, like this tropical medley of milk and mango. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Now that you know what you’ll be packing for your next adventure, where will you plan to go next? Let us know your thoughts by tagging Zojirushi on your photos with #zojirushi on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram!

Japanese Bento – Kyaraben!

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We’ve saved the best for our final post in our Japanese Bento series… kyaraben!

Character bento, or kyaraben, are famous for their style, originality, fun and creativity. Initially created to entice children to eat their lunch, kyaraben focus on the concept of “kawaii”, or cuteness, to present a well-balanced meal in a convenient, portable bento box.

Kyaraben come in an endless variety, all depending on the creativity and wherewithal of the maker. The simplest kyaraben showcase cars, trains, airplanes, stars, hearts and flowers. As the kyaraben artist makes more sophisticated bento, they add cute animal shapes to the bento, including grinning panda bear patties, smiling penguin rice balls, octopus-shaped sausages with flapping arms, porky pigs and small rabbit-eared eggs.

The most popular types of kyaraben, in Japan and internationally, are ones that showcase characters from Japanese anime and manga as well as from Western animated TV shows and movies. Imagine eating a nutritious lunch with Hello Kitty or Gudetama! And how about Doraemon and Pikachu, stacked with fried chicken and sausages! And let’s not forget Totoro and Anpanman on a bed of fried rice surrounded by colorful carrots and edamame! And for kids who love American cartoons, Disney’s Tsum Tsum characters and Winnie the Pooh are big favorites!

Kyaraben artists use both everyday kitchen tools along with special tools made for creating character bento. Plastic wrap is generally used to shape rice balls, but special shapes can also be made using rice molds. Vegetables can be julienned with a sharp knife and also cut into flowers, stars and clouds using miniature veggie cutters. And meats, poultry and seafood are served in bite-sized pieces. Rice and other items are decorated with cutouts of nori seaweed or with designed using powdered seaweed sprinkled through stencils. So elaborate are kyaraben designs that numerous books have been published and popular blogs such as Little Miss Bento are visited by foodies from all over the world!

Ready to try your hand at kyaraben? Check out our ideas for these beautifully-shaped fun bento. And as always, be sure to share your pictures with us!

Japanese Bento – Ekiben!

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One of the most recognizable types of bento are ekiben… and this month, we’re excited to explore these boxed meals that are famously found at railway stations!

Ekiben are special types of bento, or boxed meals, and the name is a compilation of “eki” which means station and “ben” short for bento. They were originally only available at railway stations, to travelers looking for fresh food, and were designed to enhance the adventure of travel. Imagine being able to eat a wholesome, carefully prepared meal while watching the scenery go by!

The advent of ekiben coincides with the advent of the Japanese railway. In 1872, the first train began service in Japan, from Yokohama to Shimbashi in Tokyo. As the rail system grew, travelers’ needs grew, too, and ekiben made their debut in the late 1870’s to the early 1880’s. This first ekiben was essentially a rice ball. Realizing how large of a market there might be for fresh, boxed meals for travelers at railway stations, more and more vendors began selling ekiben, showcasing their wares by holding them in carriers around their necks and selling them to passengers through the open windows of trains. By 1910, ekiben had increased in popularity to such an extent that vendors began creating regional recipes and packaging to reflect the specialties available at their local train stations. One of the most famous specialized ekiben was introduced in 1941 by a local ekiben shop in Hakodate, Hokkaido, during a time when rice was not plentifully available because of World War II. They stuffed a small amount of rice into squid and simmered it in a savory sauce. This rice-stuffed squid is still popular today!

Ekiben design and ingredients were also influenced by popular culture. In the 1970’s, when popular television shows became a mainstream form of entertainment, vendors began selling ekiben that mimicked those found in TV. Travelers always recognized them! But soon after, many Japanese stopped traveling as much by train, as owning vehicles and traveling by plane became easier. Ekiben sales decreased by approximately 50% between 1987 and 2008! To counter this downward trend, ekiben vendors got even more creative and innovative, such that today travelers can find elaborate ekiben at stations.

The Shinkansen E7 Series Bento is a great ekiben to purchase when traveling by bullet train, especially for kids! The container looks like a shinkansen train and it can be used to hold small keepsakes after the food is gone. The Gyu-tan Bento, from the Sendai area, uses a self-heating container that heats the food inside when activated. The Feel Good Meal sold at Matsue Station comes with sake. Rustic ekiben evoke nostalgia, like the Toge No Kamameshi rice bowls. Sometimes the boxes seem ordinary, but the wrappers are works of art, commemorating modern and historical events, samurai, manga and famous people.

Ekiben are made by independent artisans and also in larger factories. Regardless of where the ekiben originate, freshness and quality are of utmost importance. Even department stores have gotten onto the ekiben train! They host multiweek festivals, showcasing ekiben from various regions of Japan and giving buyers a chance to experience the flavor of travel, without leaving home.

When you’re feeling the bug to travel but can’t manage a trip to Japan, try making some popular items found in ekiben. As always, white rice is a key ingredient in bento, and items like mini-hamburgers and aemono are great additions to a balanced bento. Try out these recipes and let us know what your favorite bento items are!

Japanese Bento – Get ‘Em At Your Local Store!

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In case you can’t tell, we love bento! We’re continuing our Japanese Bento series this month with an entertaining look at where to find ready-made bento in Japan!

Bento are quite often made at home to take to school, the office or outdoor events, but delicious bento can easily be purchased at shops, railway stations, convenience stores and department stores across Japan, too.

During the late 19th century when Japan was going through the height of industrialization, travel by rail became commonplace and enterprising vendors began selling prepackaged bento at train stations. These bento were called ekiben, with “eki” standing for station and “ben” for bento. These types of bento made prepackaged, wholesome food available for workers and travelers outside of their homes, and the trend spread to vendors and shops throughout cities. Prepackaged bento became more and more popular, especially after World War II, and began to be sold in supermarkets. In the 1980’s, convenience stores started to sell bento boxes, and with soaring demand, dedicated bento shops opened, offering some of the most tasty and innovative combinations. These shops are sometimes open 24 hours a day!

An ekiben with a vast array of bento combinations in Shin-Osaka Station (photo by bryan…)

So where should you go for bento?

Konbini, or convenience stores, are ubiquitous and serve various combinations of premade bento, including hamburger patties, steak, karaage fried chicken and salmon, at an inexpensive price. In cold weather, tonjiru or miso soup with pork, and other soups are popular additions to a bento set. The nice part of getting bento from konbini is that customers can take the meal home or to the office and warm it up in a microwave.

Customers buy bento at a Hokka Hokka Tei location (photo by 山海风)

Bento shops serve freshly made bento along with prepackaged ones. Some of the most popular shops in Japan are Hotto Motto, Hokka Hokka Tei, Origin Bento and Honke Kamadoya. These dedicated bento shops often allow customers to create their own combinations by selecting mains, sides and salads from the restaurant menu. Nori seaweed sets with grilled salmon, savory breaded tonkatsu pork and fried karaage chicken are often the most popular items. Served with pickles, salad, vegetable sides and rice, these bento from dedicated shops are the best takeout–and can be purchased at around ¥500 (or $5 USD)—in Japan!

Supermarkets are onboard with bento as well. At the end of the aisles, in sozai (prepared side dish) corners, supermarkets in Japan also carry several bento that you can take home to eat. These bento often become easy dinners for many working people in cities.

Vendors selling an array of food in a depachika (photo by ayustety)

When looking for a fancier bento meal, depachika are the best places to go. Depachika are the basement levels of department stores, where groceries, delis, gourmet food stalls, sweet shops, chocolatiers, alcohol and bento vendors are located. The bento found in depachika range from the kinds found at konbini and bento shops to fancier ones with premium items such as Kobe beef or matsutake mushrooms. Depachika vendors are also constantly adding new and flavorful items to create innovative bento. While many customers pick up bento to go, some diners prefer to select their bento and enjoy the public eating areas, like small gardens or the store rooftops, for their meal. Some even call depachika a bento wonderland!

Bento are very popular in Japan and they can be found at train stations or airports. Stay tuned for our post next month where we talk about ekiben and the types of the wonderful items in them!

Product Inspirations – Mr. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar (SL-JAE14)

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Our classic Mr. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar gives you a great way to carry delicious food with you to work, school or wherever you’re on the go!

The Mr. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar comes with a vacuum insulated outer container that holds four inner bowls, which can keep both hot or cold items fresh and ready to eat. The outer container uses double-walled stainless steel construction with Zojirushi’s superior vacuum insulation technology. The soup bowl and the main bowl fit inside the insulated part of the container, and the two side bowls fit above, keeping food at room temperature at the top of the container.

The soup bowl holds up to 9 ounces, the main bowl up to 15 ounces, the large side bowl up to 10 ounces and the small side bowl up to 7 ounces, perfect for a snack! Each of the inner bowls are microwaveable once the lids are removed and BPA-free.

When placed inside the outer container, the inner bowls present several options for storing various types of foods and keeping them hot or cold for hours. The soup bowl can hold liquids, such as broths, stews and soups. The gasket inside the lid creates a tight seal on the bowl, minimizing leaks. The valve on the top of the lid allows you to release pressure that might have built up from hot liquids and foods, making the lid easier to remove. The main bowl’s large interior holds your entree, such as meat, noodles, rice or whatever else you’re craving. It comes with an insulated lid that prevents heat or cold from radiating to the side bowls. The side bowls are perfect for foods kept at room temperature, like fruits, nuts or crackers, making it easy to take food for the entire day!

The vacuum insulated outer container is made of two layers of durable stainless steel. The air between these layers has been removed to create an airtight insulation. And the interior of the container is nonstick coated, making it easy to clean. The inner bowls are easy to clean as well… just use mild dish detergent and warm water. Once all of the bowls are inserted into the outer container, just snap the lid onto the outer container and you have a single unit that’s easy to take to work, school, or… wherever!

The Mr. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar also comes with a covered forked spoon and a stylish carrying bag.

Get creative with cold lunch

The Mr. Bento® lunch jar is perfect for well… bentos! With four inner bowls of varying sizes, the options are limitless, so we construct our bento the way we’d stack the bowls. We start with a Green Pea Soup, garnished with a bright splash of red bell pepper in the soup bowl. White rice fills the main bowl, which stacks on top of the soup bowl in the outer container. In the large sides bowl, we add crudité vegetables topped with a Tofu Hamburger. We cap the entire meal off with some fresh fruits and nuts, the perfect dessert to store in the small side bowl. Creating our bento makes us hungry… and we hope it stimulates your appetite, too!

Try out the Mr. Bento® lunch jar for your next meal, and let us know how you fill it in the comments below.