Bento if the week 1

I love packaging bentos (japanese lunchbox), lunchboxes, dosirak's (korean lunchbox), etc. First off, I use the same 2 containers for lunch, so I know how to portion out by eyeballing them, taking out a lot of guesswork. Second, they are so easy to put together. If you have ever opened the fridge that belongs to a Korean family who cooks at home, you will find various containers full of banchan, which are side dishes. I'm sure you've seen these at any Korean restaurant. This bento would be vegetarian except I used ebi fume furikake, which contains shrimp. I don't fill up on rice, I try to fill up on vegetables first, which is what the sea tangle is for. My mom forages for this in the Pacific Northwest, but I'd advise going with a seasoned forager or expert, never assume wild seaweed is safe to eat unless you are sure of it. Also, be aware of seasons and changing waters, as they can contain many toxic waters.

I didn't have a banana for scale, but this box seems fairly small. It's actually the size of my hand, and the chopsticks are kid sized. I got them both from Daiso, and they fit perfectly in a bag I also I got from Daiso, a Japanese discount store.

I won't leave instructions on how to make each individual item, I just wanted to leave a description of what I used in the box. Sorry for the mixed measurements below, I just happen to know them off hand, but they don't match...

100 grams of steamed short grain rice

1 TBSP of furikake

100 grams of sea tangle

3 oz of pan fried extra firm tofu

1 TBSP spicy soy sauce mix

1 oz cucumber kimchi

Stir Fry Tempeh Salad

Tempeh is one of things "scary" vegetarian/vegan foods that people are afraid to try, including myself. I did a 30 day vegan challenge last year that led me to try tempeh. After all, when you are trying new things, why not try new things. I purchased one from Central Market, and health food store in Shoreline, and one from Trader Joes. Both had a beigy/grey color to the tempeh out of the pacakge, that looks pretty unsatisfying. It has a slight smell it as well, related to the fermented soy beans. I heated a frying pan and added a little oil and fried sliced pieces until browned on one side before flipping and browning the other side. The result is a flavorful looking piece of protein. Adding a little soy sauce adds a lot of flavor, but I decided to give this vegetarian mushroom flavored stir-fry sauce a try with it, and resulted in almost a teriyaki flavored protein. It was really good. I dare you to try tempeh, you'll be pleasantly surprised! Even my mom gave it a try and like it.

I used the tempeh in a salad along with some steamed vegetables. For dressing, I could have used any asian flavored type of dressing, but I tried it with ranch and it tasted fine. I found the Vegetarian mushroom flavored stir-fry sauce at a local asian superfood store.

STIR FRY TEMPEH SALAD

makes 2 servings

1 package of tempeh

1-2 TBSP EVOO, separated

1-2 TBSP Vegetarian Mushroom Flavored Stir-Fry Sauce

Mixed salad greens

steamed or stir-fried vegetables

1. Open tempeh package and slice into even number.
2. Heat a frying pan to medium high and EVOO.
3. Add sliced tempeh to heated pan and stir fry, allow it to brown on once side before turning, about 3-4 minutes each side. Add stir fry sauce and flip once more.
4. Cool the tempeh and put together salad portion: steam or stir-fry vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, onion, and snap peas. 
5. Once all ingredients are cooled, put salad mix on the bottom of container, along with the vegetables and then top with tempeh. Use any dressing you'd like.