My mother sent me photos of a gorgeous Mother’s Day bento my stepfather got for her (and for himself too of course!) yesterday. It’s from Hikagejaya, a restaurant in Hayama, a town near Kamakura in Kanagawa prefecture (where Yokohama, where my mom lives, is too). I’ve written about Hikagejaya previously; it’s one of my favorite restaurants in Japan, and their bentos are just wonderful.

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A little technical note for people who read this site via Google Reader or another RSS reader, or subscribe to post updates via email:

I’ve switched over from Feedburner to another service called URI.LV. The reason I switched over is that Feedburner has kind of been neglected by Google (who owns the service) for a while now, and with their announcement that Google Reader is being shut down soon, it’s kind of logical to assume that Feedburner will fade away too.

• If you are an email subscriber: You shouldn’t see much of a change at all, but there is a chance you may need to re-add the sender of the mail (thechef [at] justhungry [dot] com) to your address book if the emails end up in your spam folder.
• If you are an RSS reader subscriber: You should not see any change at all. If you want to be doubly sure you’ll continue to receive updates, subscribe to this link and delete your Feedburner subscription.

(Incidentally, if you’re looking for a replacement for Google Reader and are Mac or iOS based, I’ve been using NetNewsWire for ever, even before there was a Google Reader. I highly recommend it. Otherwise if you’re looking for a web based solution Feedly looks pretty nice.)

This notice applies to both JustBento and JustHungry - it’s posted on both since not everyone subscribes to both. (AND WHY NOT??? (just kidding))

So that’s it for the techincal stuff. Going back to talking about food next time. ^_^

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If you are on a Japan Airlines (JAL) international flight this month, I have a feature article in the May issue of Skyward, their in-flight magazine. It’s called Bento Love and is about the growing popularity of homemade bentos outside of Japan…a subject I have a bit of familiarity with ^_^ They don’t have an online readable version unfortunately, but if you do get to read it I’d love to hear from you. Here’s the link to their table on contents.

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We moved the site to a new server...and for some reason Feedburner (the service that sends emails of new posts) decided to send out the last 10 posts again one big email! It shouldn't happen again (fingers crossed). My apologies for clogging up your email box!

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I'm in the process of updating JustBento, and so you may see some disruptions to service over the weekend. Fear not though, the site is alive and well, just getting some work done. ^_^ If you need something to read in the meantime JustHungry will stay open (I'm working on one site at a time), where I've just posted the final lesson in the Japanese Cooking 101 course.

Also: if you're looking for a Mother's Day bento set, monbento has a 20% off sale on a very nice pink and white set right now. OK pink for moms may be a bit of a cliché but...it is very nice looking!

I'll see you back here next week, hopefully with the site still intact ^_^;

Several people noted how the red, black and white color combination bento from monbento shown in the in-depth review looks like a Pokeball. I just wanted to let Pokémon fans out there know that there’s a “real” Pokeball bento box out there.

It is kind of small, at just 170ml capacity. (For the metrically challenged that’s a bit less than 3/4 U.S. cups - so it’s just about big enough for a yogurt or something, not a full adult size lunch!) And it’s rather expensive too. But if you are a die-hard Pokemon fan…or as a gift for the Pokemon fanatic in you life, well, why not? It comes in its own drawstring bag and matching bento band, and is available from J-List/JBox and Amazon.com.

There’s also a Pikachu shaped bento box. It too is rather small, at 270ml capacity. In Japan it’s clearly cost as a novelty bento box for kids. Here it is in a Pokemon bento-stuff display at a Tokyu Hands store in Japan.

I actually used this bento once, at my book signing/talk back in January 2011 at Kinokuniya bookstore in New York. The bento box was provided by the store, and I filled it with a bento and we gave it away. This is the bottom tier - there’s also a second tier. As you can see, it is rather small. But it may work for little kids or someone with a tiny appetite, or as a snack bento box. In any case it’s sure to cause a bit of a sensation!

The Pikachu bento box is available on Amazon.com.

Finally, if you want to enjoy the world of Pokémon inside your bento box instead, there’s a book dedicated to that - in Japanese only, but with plenty of photos. It even comes with a bento box (a plain one, not one of the fancy shaped ones…but hey, plain is practical!) so you can get started right away. it’s called 食育レシピでつくる! ポケモンお弁当BOOK - Make it with healthy recipes! Pokemon Obento Book and is available from Amazon Japan. (Note, Amazon Japan will send books-with-free-gifts overseas.)

So, there’s plenty out there for the Pokémon and bento fans. ゲットだぜ - Gotta catch ‘em all! (maybe ^_^)

As the popularity of bento boxes spreads around the world, bento box and accessory manufacturers are also becoming more international. One of the most interesting bento box makers is monbento. Their headquarters are in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and their site proudly proclaims that their products are designed in France.

monbento boxes come in a variety of chic, modern and bright colors, and you can even specify your own color combinations (more on that later).

Everything about a monbento box is classy, even the box it comes packaged in. This is a red 2-tier model; each layer has a 500ml capacity, for a total of 1000ml for both layers. (They also have single-layer 500ml boxes.)

This is an orange model, that was sent to me by monbento for review. (I actually bought the red one for myself.) I’m not an orange kind of person but the orange that monbento uses is really nice. What makes the bentos look and feel even nicer is that they have a gorgeous matte finish. (Note: the standard bento band color is now grey instead of the black shown here.)

Here’s the bento un-stacked. There’s an outer lid, plus an inner lid for both of the layers. (Note: the inner lids are now grey in the standard configurations instead of the black shown here.)

The inner lids have small capped lids so that they can be vented when you want to microwave your bento. The lid is color coordinated with the bento, which is nice. The entire box, including the lids, is microwave and dishwasher safe.

This is the inside. It comes with one moveable divider in one of the compartments.

monbento sauce cups

The monbento sauce cups are also very well made. They come in sets of two in a variety of color combinations that match the bento boxes. Each pot holds 20ml.

What makes these pots special, besides their cuteness, is that the lids screw on securely and have 2 little silicone gaskets, which make them pretty leakproof. They will leak if you carry them sideways or upside down for a length of time, but if you carry the bento box right way up (as you should really, to avoid a mess) they are about as secure as any sauce pots I’ve seen.

monbento cutlery set

monbento makes two kinds of utensils: color coordinated chopsticks, and a metal cutlery set. I was sent the cutlery set for review. There’s a fork, spoon and knife, all packaged neatly in a plastic case with a snap-on lid.

The cutlery is small, but not too small as to be unusable. It kind of reminds me of the nice cutlery you used to find with airline meals. They are also very sturdy metal, so you don’t have a feeling they’re going to bend or anything while you’re using them.

a packed monbento

So here I filled up a monbento with a fairly standard bento for me. The two tiers are quite easy to pack. I put things I might want to heat up in the bottom compartment, and salad and fruit type things in the top compartment. (The sauce lids are off just to show the insides.) One thing to keep in mind is that if you pack both layers very tightly with calorie-dense foods like rice and you are trying to watch your intake (i.e. you’re on a diet), 1000ml is quite a lot. So you’ll want to pack those dense foods in maybe just one layer, and fill up with vegetables or something.

Cleanup was very easy too since I could just throw everything in the dishwasher. I put everythning in the top rack, with the little bits in a basket.

monbento mold/inner divider set

This last accessory is brand new and very interesting: the monbento mold set. The set comes with 3 pieces: 2 small cups and a larger one, all made of silicone that is heat-safe up to 240°C/464°F. It comes in this classy grey, blue and fuschia combination.

The smaller cups fit perfectly into one of the monbento box layers, so they can be used as dividers.

The bigger mold however does not work as a box liner, since it has a big lip all around.

This mold is meant for cooking things in, that fit perfectly into a monbento box. It has a slightly smaller capacity than the box itself at around 450ml. You could use the small molds/cups for cooking too, since they’re made of the same heatproof silicone material.

Now, monbento used to make a double-mold, which I have in my collection, but they no longer manufacture it. It’s the fuschia one here. I’ve been experimenting with cooking things in the molds - here I’m trying out cake salé, a savory “cake” (like a quickbread in the U.S.) of the type you see sold quite often at markets in France.

As you can see, the mold produces a flat little cake that fits perfectly in the boxes. (I’ll have the recipe for the cake up on the site soon.) I can see the mold being used for many other things…what about a baked omelette for example? I’m going to continue experimenting and post the good results.

I guess the one quibble I have with the mold is that it’s small, so baking something in it in a big oven feels very wasteful somehow. If you have a toaster oven with baking functions that might work out better. I may try using it in a frying pan too, as well as the smaller cups. In any case it’s a really good idea in principle.

The monbento bento boxes and accessories: Pros and cons

Pros:

• Beautiful coordinating colors, sleek, chic designs, nice matte finish
• You can create your own color combinations on their site
• Microwave and dishwasher safe
• 2-tier design of boxes is easy to pack
• Everything feels solidly made

Cons:

• A bit expensive (but you get what you pay for)
• It would be nice perhaps to have the possibility of buying the big grey mold only for multiple baking

All in all monbento makes great stuff. Besides the items reviewed here they also have bento bands in many colors, bento carrying bags, chopsticks and a few other things.

Where to buy monbento

There are several options for buying monbento products:

1. Directly from monbento

For the biggest selection, go to the monbento online store. This is where you can create customized bento boxes for example.

Shipping costs vary depending on where you are. If you’re in France you get free shipping if your order exceeds 60 euros. Note: If you live outside of the EU, e.g. in the U.S., you can subtract 20% of the listed price, which is the VAT. You may have to pay customs in your home country but do keep that in mind.

2. From Bento&co

Bento&co carries a good selection of monbento items, starting with their bento boxes of course, as well as sauce pots, chopsticks, the cutlery set and more. If you’re on a shopping spree there anyway, or if you’re in Japan, it’s a good option.

3. From Amazon

The Amazon stores carry a limited selection of monbento items:

• monbento on Amazon.com (US) (I don’t see the sauce pots there)
• monbento on Amazon UK

(Disclaimer: Some of the items reviewed were sent to us by monbento for review purposes. (The other items were purchased.) We did not receive any compensation for the review and the opinions expressed are my own. The links to the sellers are affiliate links. By making your purchases via these links you help to support the site at no additional cost to you. ^_^)

Hi everyone. it’s been quite a while since there’s been much activity on the forums…basically because, well, I broke the new member registration function and haven’t gotten around to fixing it.

The good news is, I am finally working on the background stuff and hope to have the forum up and running soonish. Although we have an active Facebook Page now, and I’ve finally gotten around to establishing a presence on Google+ I know that a lot of people would like a place to interact with fellow bento fans away from the usual big sites. So the forums will be back, although I’ll have to see how much stress they will place on the servers. (Full disclosure: I’m struggling a bit to keep up with the running costs of the site, especially since I’m trying to catch up from my long absence.)

However, in order to reduce the time needed to maintain the sites, I’ve decided to get rid of the individual member blogs feature. There are plenty of places where you can set up a free or very inexpensive blog, and only a few people were using the feature anyway.

So - if you do have a blog on this site, you have until May 15, 2013 to get down any content you have on them. After that they will be gone from the site.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

I don’t check the Amazon.com page for The Just Bento Cookbook too often, but I was taking a look yesterday and saw that it has reached 150 reviews! Most are 5-star reviews, with a few 4 and 3 star reviews (hey, you can’t please everyone). I didn’t ask people to review the book at all, so seeing that so many people have taken the time to post one is very gratifying. If you posted one on Amazon.com, or any of the other Amazons - thank you!

Also, with the exception of a few weeks here and there the book has been the no. 1 seller in the Japanese Cooking category on Amazon .com for the last 2 years, and in the top 5 of the Asian category for a lot of that time too. I don’t know what to say about that really, except…I’m amazed and honored and very proud of my baby for being such an over achiever.

The Just Bento Cookbook reached another milestone recently too: it is now in its 7th printing overall - quite an accomplishment I think a first time author’s cookbook. I am so grateful that the book has continued to sell so well, despite my extended absences from this site and Just Hungry over the past couple of years as I dealt with some health issues and so on.

I’ve been asked periodically if I’m working on another book. At the moment the answer is no. I was actually starting to gather the material together for another book proposal just after The Just Bento Cookbook came out in early 2011 — but then a whole lot of things happened: my original publisher suddenly closed shop (it’s now published by another subsidiary of the same company); the Japan earthquake on March 11, 2011 happened…and then I got sick and had to concentrate on getting better. I’m now a whole lot better physically of course - my cancer is in full remission, knock wood - and back to regular writing for my blogs as well as for The Japan Times and other places. So I’m almost ready to get back into the fray of book writing…I’m just a bit undecided, and unsure even as to how to go about it. (If you want to offer me any advice, I’m all ears!)

Anyway, I just wanted to say: if you’ve bought a copy of The Just Bento Cookbook, thank you. I hope that it’s been useful for you. ^_^

Unless you were living as a hermit away from any internet connection last year, you have probably heard of Gangnam Style, the phenomenal video sensation by South Korean entertainer PSY, aka Park Jae-sang, that took over the world. But Gangnam is not just the name of a rap song featuring a geeky looking dude dancing like a madman.. It’s also the name of a district in Seoul, South Korea, and that’s where this interesting line of bento boxes come from.

You’ll notice right away that unlike most reusable bento boxes, these boxes have slanted sides, rather like some disposable bento boxes. This means that they hold a bit less than they seem to - which is not a bad thing, especially if you’re using bentos to try to keep your calories down. The Small size holds 500ml, and the Large holds 900ml, although they feel a lot more bulkier than that somehow. On the plus size, the slanted sides make them a lot easier to wash by hand. You don’t have to wash them by hand though since they are totally dishwasher-safe, unlike many other boxes where the lids must be washed by hand.

Here’s a view from the top. The boxes have clear plastic lids and colorful contrasting color gaskets, which make the lids pretty waterproof. The color combinations may or may not work for you - besides the white and orange and the chocolate and pink combos shown here, there’s also a green/green variety. I was a bit taken aback at first at the brightness of that pink, but now I kind of like it.

The clips are really large and fit securely to the box. They are a bit hard to snap into place the first few times you use the box, but they do loosen up a bit over time.

The lid is also equipped with a covered steam vent, so you can put the box into the microwave lid and all - although I might be inclined to remove the lid to preserve the longevity of the gasket.

Inside, each box has two equally sized inner containers that fit snugly into the box. The inner containers are about the same thickness as the outer boxes, which makes them quite solid - but does make the box overall a bit heavy compared to boxes with thinner and ligher iner compartments. But the inner compartments stand up on their own, which is nice.

The bigger box also has two equal-size compartments.

Here I’ve used the larger (900ml capicity) box for a salad bento. I’ve filled one side with a pasta and chicken salad, and the other with a green salad with corn salad or mâche and boiled egg, with dressing in the small container (not included with this box). It’s really great for bentos of this type, since it’s nice and deep. Plus, you could put something you want to heat up in one compartment and something you want to keep cool in the other, and just pop the first compartment in a microwave to heat up.

Here I tried using the smaller box (500ml) for a more Japanese-style bento, with an onigiri on one side. It kind of works, although you need to work with the slanted nature of the box. (Note, I did tuck in the leaves when I closed the lid.)

The Gangnam bento box: pros and cons

Pros:

• Durable and solid feeling; feels very well made, with a nice matte finish
• Totally microwave and dishwasher safe; steam vent in lid for microwave use
• Slanted sides may make it easier to handwash
• Design with a difference
• Two removable rigid inner compartments
• Big strong clips to hold the leakproof lid securely

Cons:

• The slanted sides get a bit of getting used to
• A bit heavy and bulky feeling compared to bento boxes of similar capacity
• The colors may not be for everyone (I kind of wish there was a black an white or all-black color combination, which I think might be more usable for a wider audience…)
• No built in utensils

All in all, there’s a lot to like about the Gangnam bento box. I think I’m going to add them to my regular rotation.

The Gangnam bento box costs US $32 for the large (900ml) size, and $25 for the small (500ml) size, and is available from Bento&co.

(Disclaimer: The boxes were provided to JustBento for review purposes. We did not receive any compensation for the review, and the opinions expressed are solely my own.)

More reviews of interesting bento products coming soon!

I am still catching up on things after my long illness and everything. One of the things I need to seriously do is post some bento box and accessory reviews. I have several very nice products supplied by various vendors, as well as a few new acquisitions I’d like to share. So, starting next week expect several reviews of products for your reading pleasure.

Here’s a sneak peek as one of the bento boxes - it has a rather interesting profile.

I’m also going to take the opportunity to seriously sort through all of my bento supplies. Who knows…I may be getting rid of a few things. Stay tuned. ^_^

Preconceptions can limit you more than you can imagine. I’d always thought that polenta needed to be piping hot to be really good, but it’s actually pretty good cold. Anything good cold, of course, can go into a bento box.

Firm polenta cakes, briefly fried until golden on the outside, are really nice as a carb in a bento. If you have some tomato sauce also it makes a very nice accompaniment. Below is my basic polenta recipe (I use some garlic in there to boost the flavor), but please use your own polenta recipe.

Recipe: Basic polenta for soft polenta or firm polenta cakes

This is my recipe for basic polenta. Soft polenta can be served for dinner, and firm polenta cakes for lunch or bento the next day. It’s surprisingly good cold, and even better if you can heat it up briefly.

Prep time: 5 min :: Cook time: 30-40 min (for the base polenta) :: Total time: 35-40 minutes min (plus 5-10 min to fry the polenta cakes)

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 US cup (approx. 240cc), yellow cornmeal or polenta, medium grind preferred by fine grind is ok
• 4 US cups (960cc), water
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 US cup (approximate), grated Parmesan or other sharp salty cheese
• 1 teaspoon, salt plus more if needed
• black pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons, unsalted butter (for soft polenta only)
• 1/2 US cup (120ml), milk or cream (for solft polenta only)
• additional grated Parmesan cheese, to taste, optional for polenta cakes
• olive oil , for frying polenta cakes

Directions:

1. Put the water and cornmeal together in a pan and stir together. Bring up to a boil while stirring with a whisk, making sure to mash up any lumps that form. (Cooking them both together from water seems to form less lumps.) Add the grated garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt.
2. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Keep cooking until the grains are cooked - if you taste a bit it should not be at all gritty, but smooth and soft. This takes around 10 minutes if you’re using fine grind cornmeal, and 20 minutes or so if you’re using medium grind. I like it with a bit of texture so I like the medium.
3. Stir in the cheese, and add pepper and more salt if needed to taste.
4. To serve as __soft polenta__ for dinner, add the cream or milk and stir until blented. Add the butter and stir in. Serve immediately, optionally with a pat of butter on top of each portion and even more cheese. Great on its own or as a side dish to accompany a roast. It’s also good with a pasta sauce like bolognese or a tomato sauce, even pesto.
5. To make __polenta cakes__ the next day, pour the polenta (before you put the cream or milk and butter in) into a flat container or onto a plate to a bit less than 1 cm / 1/3 inch thickness. . Let cool - it will become firm at room temperature. You can store this in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Cut into pieces, and fry in a little oil or butter on both sides until golden brown. Optionally sprinkle on top with more Parmesan cheese if as you fry the second side. Serve hot, or let cool and pack into a bento box, together with some tomato sauce or even (gasp) ketchup. Great as a carb with a salad bento for example.

(Below is just for search engines.)

By Makiko Itoh

Published: April 09, 2013

Type: carbohydrate, vegetarian, not Japanese

Notes

The “time required” that this is categorized under (5-10 minutes) is the time you need to make the polenta cakes from premade polenta. The actual cooking time of the polenta is around 30-40 minutes, depending on the fineness of the cornmeal/polenta meal you use. ‘Instant’ polenta meal cooks up very fast so if you’re in a big hurry you may try that.

To vary the flavor of the fried polenta cakes, try stirring in some cubed cheese, chopped green onion, chopped and rehydrated dried tomato, and so on before it firms up. For omnivores, some chopped ham or crumbled and cooked sausage make nice additions too.

There seem to be more and more bento related contests these days, but the annual contest held by the longtime JustBento friends Bento&co is still one of the biggest in terms of great prizes and number of outstanding entries. This year the grand prize is a 6 day trip to Kyoto, including airfare if you live outside of Japan! That’s a prize worth flexing your creative bento muscles for. Besides the Grand Prize winners, 20 finalists will receive various bento-related items as prizes. The theme this year is different too: it’s Pasta Bento. Be sure to read all the rules, and I wish you all good luck! I will not be participating as a judge this year….so who knows, maybe I’ll enter too ^_^ (Alas I am ineligible…I’ll have to pay my own way to Kyoto, sniff.)

• Link: Bento&co 2013 International Bento Contest