Tag Archives: simmered

Kindergarten bento – How many ingredients comparison (29/May, 30/May, 31/May, 1/Jun,4/Jun, 5/Jun)

20/06/2018

29/May – 11 ingredients

Simmered cod, rice, edamame, egg with corns, spinach in sesame sauce, cucumber, carrot, apple, banana

30/May – 11 ingredients

Fried chicken (with corn flower), green beans, broccoli, cherry tomato, goma konbu (sesame & kelp), rice, furikake sprinkle (counted as one), apple, strawberry

31/May – 12 ingredients

Bread (count as one), ham, cucumber, scrambled egg, cheese, Dutch appelstroop, peanut butter, blueberry jam, green beans, apple mousse, mashed potato, cinnamon

1/Jun – 10 ingredients

Chicken soboro, chopped komstsuna, rice, sesame, tomato omelet, broccoli, cucumber with bonito flakes, watermelon

4/Jun – 11 ingredients

Nikudon (pork slices, sliced cabbage, rice), broccoli, cherry tomato, tofu omelet (tofu, egg, ao-nori (seaweed) powder), cherry tomato, apple, banana

5/Jun – 11 ingredients

Tortillas (counted as one), ham, cucumber, cheese, Dutch appelstroop, strawberry jam, banana with Nutella (secret, as it’s not allowed at her school), boiled egg, broccoli, watermelon

Wow, I am quite consistent, with mostly 11 ingredients used every day.

Kindergarten bento – a new school year starts (11/Apr/18)

11/04/2018

A new, and the last school year for our daughter started at kindergarten on Monday, and today my daily bento making resumed as well.

Proud to be one of the oldest kids at school, our daughter prepared almost everything on her own in the morning, from getting dressed, preparing for breakfast, and to wrapping her own bento in her new furoshiki* fabric.

Being the oldest kids at school and to prepare for an elementary school, they are encouraged to do this on their own – another great tip from her school to help the kids become more independent in the cutest manner.

* Furoshiki is this square shaped cotton fabric that is used for wrapping almost anything, mainly for transportation. In Japan it is quite common to wrap a gift with it, to protect the gift from bumps as well as to conceal what’s in it.

Kindergarten bento – Toshi-No-Se (15, 18, 19, 20, 22/Dec/17)

24/12/2017

In Japan, it is said that “toshi-no-se,” the year-end, is bound to be busy, as everyone starts acting somehow anxious to finish off things prior to the fresh start of the new year. As mentioned before, the new year is a big deal in this country, and we do everything to make sure the new year to be quiet and special. 

This year was no exception for me also, and I was running around like a headless chicken without any time to stop and take a big breath… until we left for our Christmas holidays in the Netherlands to visit my husband’s family. Hesitantly we dropped unfinished errands, hurriedly packed our suitcases, left beautiful & sunny Tokyo, and arrived in the equally beautiful, but quite dark Netherlands yesterday. It is Christmas Eve here in the Netherlands, and things already seemed to have slowed down, and people are starting to relax for the festivity to begin. The sense of rush I was feeling in Japan is nowhere to be seen here. It’s an interesting realisation what a huge difference there is depending on which culture you’re in.

Looking back at the bento photos I didn’t have a chance to upload before our departure, I can vaguely remember how I managed all these bento making during my busy schedule. It’ll resume in the new year, but for now I’m relieved that I won’t have to do it for the next two weeks.

Happy Holidays!

15/Dec/17 – Grilled cod in saikyo-miso

18/Dec/17 – Simmered sword fish

19/Dec/17 – Nikudon-don

20/Dec/17 – Macaroni genovese 

22/Dec/17 – Chicken soboro 

Kindergarten bento – Frozen sword fish (30/Nov/17)

04/12/2017

Last night I realised there was a pack of frozen sword fish filets in the freezer that I stored a couple of weeks ago. I decided to use it for my daughter’s bento in the morning, so I moved it to the fridge drawer so that it’ll get defrosted overnight. 

In the morning I simmered the filets in the leftover noodle dip sauce (I added sugar to thicken it). 

My freezer is getting empty. I’d better drag my husband out to visit a supermarket in the weekend!

Menu: Simmered sword fish, Simmered pumpkin, Spinach omelet, Steamed broccoli, Steamed carrot, Rice

Apple mousse & raisins with a sprinkle of cinnamon for dessert

Kindergarten bento – Sword fish (8/Sep/17)

11/09/2017

Menu: Simmered sword fish, Omelet, Boiled okra, Cherry tomato, Chopped boiled spinach mixed in rice

Kyoho grapes for dessert

I love the simmered sword fish my mum used to make (actually, I believe she still does, but haven’t come across it for a very long time). I remember my mum pouring the sauce over the fish in the pan on the stove so that the sauce gets covered evenly, and taking out the fish carefully onto a plate once done. Now I kind of copy her method when I cook this, which I was never been properly taught, but it always turns out pretty much the same. It’s not a complex dish, but it always makes me happy when it does.