Nori Bento Recipe - Japanese Cooking 101

nori sheets

🥗Healthier: rice paper

💰Cheaper: leafy greens

Rice paper is lower in calories and leafy greens are readily available.

grilled fish

🥗Healthier: grilled chicken

💰Cheaper: canned tuna

Canned tuna is budget-friendly and still provides protein.

pickled vegetables

🥗Healthier: fresh vegetables

💰Cheaper: frozen vegetables

Frozen veggies are affordable and nutritious.

sesame seeds

🥗Healthier: pumpkin seeds

💰Cheaper: sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds are often less expensive and still crunchy.

Prepare kinpira gobo by removing the outer skin of gobo and slicing thinly and diagonally into matchsticks.

Slice carrot thinly and diagonally into matchsticks.

Heat oil in a frying pan and add gobo and carrot, stir-fry for a couple of minutes.

Add water, cover, and cook for five to six minutes until almost all the water is gone.

Season with mirin, sake, and soy sauce, and cook until the liquid is gone.

Prepare chikuwa by cutting it vertically in half.

Make the batter by mixing cake flour, potato starch, aonori, and water, then stir.

Coat the chikuwa in the batter.

Heat oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and deep fry the chikuwa until lightly browned and floating in the oil, then remove and let cool.

Assemble the bento by mixing katsuobushi and soy sauce, then spreading it over the steamed rice in a bento box.

Cut nori sheets into smaller squares and place them over the bonito flakes covered rice.

Top with chikuwa, deep fried cod, and kinpira gobo.

Add tartar sauce on the side if desired, then close the lid and pack or enjoy immediately.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens