Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go

"A lovely slim volume that is a refreshing change from the huge hardback tomes that one usually gets from Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay or Rick Stein. Recipes are simple and instructions are brief and to the point. The recipes could easily double up or increase in portions to cook for more. And because the recipes are planned for bento (Japanese packed lunches) which is traditionally done in the morning, it means they are really quick to prepare. Most of the ingredients can be found at a Chinese/Asian supermarket or groceries store, or even your local Waitrose or Sainsbury's. I have tried a number of the recipes and they all taste great. A real gem of a book. "
~ Written on 2007-11-29

"This is probably my fourth Japanese cook book. I was specifically looking for a book on bento lunches, and behold, look what I found! Many of the recipes are similar to ones in my other books, but I have found some are simplified (though JUST as tasty!) and the proportion is perfect for a lunch serving!

I don't agree with marking a book down for a lack of local ingredients. After all, it's not local cooking. You can make your own judgements about certain substitutions (like types of mushrooms) but otherwise, get yourself to a Japanese market (or use an online retailer) to get the harder to find items!

This book has really inspired me to finally get my Japanese cooking into gear. There are useful inset 'instruction' photos at various points and every dish is shown in a good color photograph. Best of all, the lunches have been fantastic!! For the amazing low price and what you get inside, I can't recommend this book highly enough."
~ Written on 2007-06-08

"If you've ever even considered doing a proper bento box, you also know how hard it can be to come up with something that looks and tastes proper japanese. And not that there's anything wrong with a bento made with whatever was left over from the day before, but it's always nice to get new ideas and recipes.

One thing that is absoultely BRILLIANT in this book is that it operates with bento-serving-sized dishes. You can multiply the recipes if you ant them for dinner but that's not what thery're meant for.

The reason I don't give it the full 5 stars is that I would have loved a list of possible substitutes for the more exotic things - something that would allow you to keep the general feel of a dish if something simply isn't obtainable in your corner of the world. If you do have access to all the ingredients, this certainly is worthy of 5 stars!"
~ Written on 2007-05-06

"I love Japanese food and have been cooking a few selected dishes for some years now but recently wanted to try new things. I decided to go for this book not because I wanted to create bento boxes to take to work, but because I thought this book would have menus offered rather than individual recipes and I was intrigued. Since getting this book I have tried many of the bento menus suggested and I've been nothing but impressed as everything (no exceptions here) was delicious.

Regarding a few comments made by other reviewers:
1. The bento boxes menus in the book are not as easy to prepare as chucking a frozen pizza in the oven for 8 minutes but it is possible to use the recipes (or at least most of them) to prepare a bento box to take to work every morning -- I have done just so for a couple of weeks. The secret, I believe, is having an electric rice cooker and putting it on timer so the rice is ready in the morning when you are. The rest takes about 10 minutes to prepare if you arrange things the night before. (Tip: if you have an electric rice cooker without a timer, just get a separate timer. Works great!)

2. Indeed, some of the items are not your everyday Sainsbury's produce but I was able to find all of the items which I was looking for. Living in London does make it easier (you can find everything in China Town and the area) and the hardest to find items were actually found in Asian shops rather than the speciality Japanese delis, so do try it out. (Tip: Searching for images of the raw ingredients might help as the same thing might be under a different name. Tip2: Online shopping could get you many of the items you're looking for, if not fresh than dried or preserved, which is still better than nothing...)

Finally, this book achieved what I was looking for... introduction to Japanese recipe ideas I have not tried before and giving me inspiration regarding the recipes I have already known, but if I could point at one specific highlight of this book is that it introduced me to Lotus Root, which has become our favourite vegetable in the house, so don't give it a miss!"
~ Written on 2007-02-07

"All the recipes I've tried from this book have been absolutely delicious, and the ingredients should all be sourceable on line or from your friendly local Asian supermarket. But please don't assume that 'on the go' means these recipes are quick to make! O-bento are eaten on the go, but the dishes are not necessarily prepared so rapidly, and if you are not a traditional Japanese housewife who routinely gets up at 5 am to boil rice and simmer gobo, you will not be preparing these foods daily for your brood, or your partner, to take to school or work. However for the keen cook who wants a taste of authentic Japanese packed lunch, this book presents the real thing, and hence comes highly recommended. "
~ Written on 2006-11-09