I have a large post backlog so here’s a batch update of some simpler lunches I’ve had in the past. These are made of leftovers, take-out food, instant food, and some quick to prepare food—a testament that packing a bento lunch doesn’t have to be a major production.

Bento #1 is a simple packed lunch of rice, crispy corned beef, edamame and orange wedges. Adorning the rice is umeboshi (pickled plum). The only thing that needs a bit of care here is the crispy corned beef. I had to watch it continuously so it wouldn’t burn. While cooking that, it was a piece of cake to throw the edamame in some boiling water to cook.

Bento #2 is a small sandwich and salad packed lunch. I threw together some iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes and strips of smoked tanigue—a local smoked fish. To dress it, I packed some soy and vinegar based Japanese dressing, poured ready made from a bottle. The sandwich was a simple shredded kani, cucumber and Japanese mayo affair.

Bento #3 has soy-butter beef, rice, leftover tempura and cucumber slices. There’s nothing quicker to prepare than soy-butter beef and with the rest made of leftovers and sliced cucumbers, this lunch was a cinch to put together.

Bento #4 takes a bit more effort but is quite quick to put together as well. The chicken lollipops were marinated ahead of time but the actual frying was pretty quick. Finished with a quick wrapping of decorative aluminum foil and packed with rice and tomato wedges made for another quick and easy lunch.

Proof that lunch can be quick and effortless. Convincing enough, yes?

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 16th, 2009 at 9:51 pm and is filed under bento. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.