A Bento That Everyone Loves

October has been my busiest month in the whole semester. In the middle of a stressful day, people often want to eat fast food to save time and feel energetic. Let’s not do that. It’s unhealthy and gonna make you hungry soon. If you are a busy person like me, you are in the right place to learn about bento.

Bento is a take-out style meal originated from Japan. Japanese housewives prepare bento in the morning for their children to eat at school. It’s a single-portion meal that is well-balanced, easy to make, and easy to eat at work —you can either use microwave to warm it up or eat it cold. Nowadays in many counties, people can even buy bentos at convinces stores.

When I was in middle school, I went to tutoring class every weekend. The one thing I liked about cram school was that my mother often gave me a bento box in the morning, and I didn’t know what’s in there until lunch time. Opening the lid of my bento, I always felt happiness, and become ready for the rest of day.

Although you can’t get a bento from 7-11 in America, today I’ll give you my favorite bento recipe from my mother.

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Teriyaki Chicken Thighs Bento (30 minutes to make)

Ingredients

• 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1.5 tablespoons sake

• 1.5 tablespoons sugar

• 2 tablespoons water

• 2 chicken thighs (bone out)

• salt

• 2 eggs

• any vegetables you like.

• rice

The Chicken

1. Mix soy sauce, sake, water and sugar in a bowl for sauce.

2. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt. Use paper towels dry the chicken.

3. Place the chicken skin-side down in a hot non-stick pan.

4. Fry the chicken until the skin is crispy and browned. Flip the chicken and continue frying until the chicken is almost cooked through.

5. Add the sauce and turn up the heat. Continually flip the chicken to let both sides covered with sauce.

6. the chicken is done when there is almost no liquid in the pan.

Side Dish and Decoration

1. Use 2/3 space for rice. Place the chicken on top. Put some sesames on the chicken.

2. Mix the eggs. Pour the liquid into a hot pan to make some thin crepes. Roll them up and cut into small pieces.

3. Put any vegetables you like on the side. I chose boiled spinach and buttered roasted corns.

4. For decoration, you can put some flower-shaped carrot slices on the rice.

Tips

1. Use baking paper to separate bento box from food to make cleaning job easier.

2. You can have side dishes always ready in your refrigerator by simply making them every week. It saves time.

Comment to let me know if you enjoy this recipe!