Comments on: Gluten-Free Vegetarian Bento: Gobo Kinpira Recipe, Lotus Root Sesame Stir Fry Recipe, and Inari Zushi Recipe

By: Go Ahead Honey Gluten-free Lunchbox Entry: Indian Tiffin Recipes | Book of Yum

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:03:07 +0000

[...] International Lunches from the Book of Yum: Vegetarian Bento with Burdock and Lotus Root and Inari Zushi Fusion Tiffin with Thai Lemongrass Corn and Quesadillas Spinach Sesame Onigiri (Japanese Rice Ball) [...]

By: Joy

Joy — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:15:32 +0000

A blog after my own heart — I LOVE lotus root! I wish it was easy to find. I’ve never cooked it, but if I ever find the root here, I’ll try your recipe.

By: yobaba

yobaba — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 02:45:50 +0000

Couldn’t help but jump in here. Bento (literally boxed lunch) can be anything – even a sandwich, if it is put in a box and eaten at lunch (Japanese do not refer to breakfast or dinner/supper as ‘bento’). For the sake of adding s vegan protein, please consider using miso as a seasoning for just about anything, even kinpira and especially nigiri. In fact, a stir fry of slivered abura age and miso with a little mirin (Japanese cooking wine) is wonderful and protein-rich. Also, *change of subject* I have replaced sugar in all of my Japanese recipes with mirin. Whenever I use any recipe (especially ones published outside of Japan) I ask myself one simple question: “How would my husband’s grandmother have prepared this?” She was a farmer’s wife, and I guarantee that she rarely, if ever, used white sugar. She also used animal protein quite sparingly, as it was close to being prohibitively expensive; soy products, however – including the boiled and prepared beans themselves – were used at every meal to provide good quality protein and fiber. I am certain she did not think of it that way, but these days we know it is true. And speaking of fiber, try okara – the solid leftovers of soybeans after tofu is made – in any stir-fry or soup. Or bread. Or muffins. Like tofu, okara will take on the taste of whatever seasonings you use, and like cornstarch, it will help to thicken and give substance to sauces. Unlike cornstarch, however, it is not a simple carb.

By: jordan

jordan — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 05:25:53 +0000

these images look so good! these were so easy to make and my kids loved them as well. we order a number of our veggies so we always have plenty of them. thank you for the great recipes!

By: yum

yum — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:17:58 +0000

Hi Kate- I poked around the Flickr groups a bit. There are definitely some fun bento pics out there! Thanks for the tip.

Hi S.M.- Fried tofu pouches are great, although it can be hard to get the oil out of them. It’s really a pretty easy snack to make, and goes over well with DH’s and kids. heh heh.

Hey Veg-J- The quality of the ingredients make all the difference, don’t they? Organic produce can make the best dishes, definitely. It is easy to get inari zushi, but hard if you want to avoid wheat-based soy sauce. :( That pesky little “komugi” always tends to be at the end of the ingredient list thanks to soy sauce.

I’ve made tons of GF battered things, although not so much recently, and they can be really tasty. I just tend not to like deep fried things cold- I like to heat them up in the oven or toaster oven so they get toasty again. This is why I usually don’t add them to my bento. But I do have a good recipe for fried tofu balls that is oh-so-yummy and is great just re-heated in the microwave.

Love that “Engrish,” haha. I should have bought more bento while I was in Japan- I have more Indian tiffins than bento boxes, somehow. Look forward to seeing your bento creation!

Hi Sheltie Girl, All those things sound good. Bento boxes are so convenient, aren’t they? You can really put any type of cuisine in those little boxes, unless they are too liquidy. Thanks for the ideas!

*hugs*
-Sea

By: Sheltie Girl

Sheltie Girl — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:14:47 +0000

Sea – You did a wonderful job on your bentos. I love the red Hello Kitty box too. I always make bentos when we travel. My kids are fond of fruit salad, fried rice (of any version), angel hair rice noodles with chicken, pizza cut in squares, taquitos and a small dessert of some kind. My husband and I like just about anything. Stews tend to work better than soups, unless the soup is less liquid and more veggies. We also like to put in mixed nuts for a snack.

Sheltie Girl @ Gluten A Go Go

By: vegetablej

vegetablej — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:09:44 +0000

Hi SS:

These look really tasty. I love gobo kinpira and have made it a few times. It’s especially wonderful with organic carrots. Your inari zushi looks great too. I actually haven’t made it at home yet ’cause it’s so easy to get at the market, but soon I’ll have to, since I’m moving back to Canada in April.

Love the look of the renkon, too.

You know about battered things, there is no problem at all in making any of them with a gluten-free flour mix. I’ve made glorious karage chicken (when I was still eating meat), and very good fried tofu, inspired by your southern fried tofu recipe.

The bento kits here are getting fancy. Now, at the hyakku-en store you can get a self-locking box, matching small knife and fork and chopstick set, plastic glass with snap-on lid, and cloth bag to keep them in, all in matching colours (and with slightly strange English: eg “happy fruits for your delicious life”. I always add a bright cotton bandana as a napkin. I made up a few kits to send to my family at Christmas.

Hmmm. You’ve got me thinking; maybe I’ll have to make a bento post before long. Thanks for the inspiration! :)