Milliliters Rice (multiply as required) Milliliters Water to cook the rice with (multiply as required) A pot with lid Water to rinse the rice withYou might know of a bento as a lacquered box filled with lots of small dishes at a Japanese restaurant, or a kid's packed lunch filled with food shaped as cute animals. However, traditionally, a bento is a homemade Japanese meal, packed in a box to be taken to school or work. Along with rice, bento boxes often also contain a selection of cold side dishes all arranged beautifully. In this feature, Sara from Shiso Delicious shares three of her favourite fillers with us… My take on bentos is in keeping with the traditional Japanese gluten and dairy-free approach, but I like to mix it up a little with a range of wholesome carbs – brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, rice noodles – and plenty of raw, colourful vegetables, plus a vegetarian protein like eggs or tofu. It’s easy to get that great umami flavour, typical of many Japanese dishes, with simple condiments such as soya sauce, sesame oil and nori seaweed.

Combine these with beautiful, fresh ingredients, and your bento is guaranteed to taste as good as it looks. The best kinds of food to use in your bento boxes are those in bite-sized pieces that will stay fresh out of the fridge for a few hours, and that can be prepared ahead. food delivery in ottawa ilI know that preparation can seem daunting, but while you’re making your dinner anyway, cooking up an extra batch of rice or quinoa, cutting a couple more cucumber portions or putting a few eggs on to boil won’t add much extra time, and then you’ll be ready to bento!cooking sushi rice water ratio Check out my three great bento box ideas to get you going:order sushi toronto

Simply prepare everything the night before, leave to soak in the fridge overnight and grab it on your way out the door in the morning. Rice vermicelli noodles are great if you don’t have time to cook grains, and they don’t stick together when cold, making them a perfect option for bentos. sushi pagar onlineYou can prepare this box either the night before or in the morning.sushi pack online games This simple sushi rice keeps in the fridge for a few days and is delicious topped with any vegetables. where can i buy smoked salmon for sushiPrepare your box night before and store in the fridge overnight (although it’s worth keeping in mind that this kind of rice tastes best at room temperature).can you cook sushi rice in a slow cooker

Tip: If you don’t already have a bento box, there are lots of different types and sizes available to buy online. You can use any lidded container, but being leak proof, reasonably stylish and the right portion size all are high up on my bento check list. What are your favourite bento box fillers? Let us know in the comments box below! For more portable meal inspiration, check out our pick of .A Sushi Mold is a plastic or wooden mold that is used to make different kinds of Sushi. Some like the Nigiri and Onigiri mold are more for convenience rather than out of necessity because they can be formed by hand, while the oshizushi mold is for pressed sushi and must be made in the specially designed wooden or plastic box.With that, why don't we start with the Oshizushi mold. Oshi Sushi or Oshizushi is a type of sushi from Osaka, a part of the Kansai region in Japan. It means "pressed sushi" but can also be called "box sushi". Look at the middle picture above to see an example.

As you can see, it is one of the "prettiest" versions of sushi that you will see. It is also one of the oldest forms of sushi and stems from the ancient method of preserving fish by packing it tightly in boxes with fermented rice. Today however, pressed sushi is made with vinegared sushi rice with mackerel being one of the most popular toppings. As a matter of fact, mackerel is one of the most popular forms of take out food bought in airports by Japanese travelers.A wooden sushi mold, called an oshibako is used to make this form of sushi. The Oshibako is used by alternating layers of sushi rice, condiments, and toppings which are then pressed with a wooden top in between each layer. The final layer of toppings is pressed and then the compact sushi block is sliced using the grooves visible in the sides of the box above. The sushi is then pushed out of the bottom of the mold and given any final slicing needed before serving.A traditional sushi mold is normally made out of wood, mainly cypress or cedar, similar to that

used for the Japanese sushi rice mixing tub (or Hangiri). But today they also have plastic molds which are convenient and easier to clean.Visit our Oshi Sushi Recipe page if you want to learn how to season your wooden Oshzushi sushi mold or if you want to learn how to make this very unique type of sushi. If you are serious about giving this type of sushi a try, you can find Oshizushi molds on Amazon. Next, we have Nigiri Sushi. I guess you could say that Nigiri sushi is what really broke the ground on the method of sushi rice preparation using rice vinegar that we still use today as well as the custom of serving raw fish in combination with it.The term Nigiri Sushi or Nigirizushi basically means "hand-pressed sushi". It was created by a man named Hanaya Yohei around the year 1824 in Edo, Japan (which later became Tokyo). At that time, a new fermentation process had just been developed which consisted of adding rice vinegar and salt to freshly cooked rice and allowing it to sit for only a few minutes before serving.

Seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the demand, Yohei put a stall near a busy bridge which crossed the Sumida river in the Ryogoku district of Edo and opened for business.Being close to the river, he was able to obtain fresh fish which he quickly filleted and laid over hand-formed, palm sized pieces of rice which was sold to passing pedestrians.It was a huge hit...and the rest as they say...is history.For the home sushi chef, making these oval hand formed pieces of rice for Nigiri can sometimes be challenging so soon came the development of the Nigiri sushi mold (See pictures above).To use these molds all you have to do is press sushi rice into the mold and then push them out or drop them out by turning the mold over and hitting it lightly against the counter. If you don't know how to make sushi rice, you can learn by following our sushi rice recipe. All of the nigiri molds that I have seen are made of plastic and are available on Amazon if you are looking to get one. One of the best nigiri molds I have used is included in the Sushi Magic Sushi Making Kit.

Just looking at the middle picture above of the onigiri reminds me of the ones I use to get in my lunch box when I was growing up in Japan. It brings back such wonderful memories. In Japan the school would take lots of field trips too. One of my favorite places to visit was Mt. Fuji. I'm sure you've seen pictures of that famous snow-capped Japanese mountain before, even if you didn't realize what it was called. My Mom always put onigiri in my lunch box for those trips. Funny how we tend to relate memorable childhood experiences with food :-)Anyway, there were two fillings that I remember being my favorites. One had the red japanese plum called Umeboshi in the middle of it. It kind of has a salty/sour taste to it. The other was called Okaka or Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes used to make dashi) and it was made by mixing Katsuobushi with soy sauce. Although this original version is good (and the way most recipes make it), my mother also added a little sugar to it and made it salty/sweet which I think made it ohhh, so much better.