Bento Time, Pt. 1: The Just Bento Cookbook Review

The tradition of bento is very old indeed. While it has been a part of Japanese life for a long time, it is just recently catching up in popularity here. It's easy to see why; many Japanese mothers make their children bento lunches as a beautiful, healthy display of love to be taken to school. Decorated bentos---charaben---are often used in school lunchroom competitions. The presentation of these can get quite elaborate.

Which begs the question: does a bento have to be fancy to be considered bento? Certainly not. A bento is simply a meal in a box. Bentos are not quite able to be lumped in with Western-style lunchboxes however. Bentos are packed and presented with a little extra care. The size of many bento boxes requires that some thought be put into how the different food items are arranged and prepared.

And while there is nothing wrong with the cutesy character-themed bentos, many working adults do not want or have the time to take to prepare these lunches for themselves.

The Just Bento Cookbook, by Makiko Itoh.
Mrs. Itoh is a Japanese woman, who has spent most of her adult life in the USA and Europe. This affords her a unique approach: the fact she has lived several places gives her not only knowledge of her native cuisine, but also what different countries have to offer and what they can and can't easily get for bento. Because of this, even her Japanese-style bento meals contain ingredients that are quite accessible. So far, I have had no issues, and I definitely do not live in a big city. She also lists substitutions one can make if the proper items simply can't be found.

The book starts out with Makiko's bento rules (such as one should never sacrifice taste simply because something is supposed to be healthy) and tips for making the bento process faster. Throughout the book are little text boxes with extra tips and comments.

There are 15 Japanese-style bentos, and 10 alternative style bentos (Western, but even French and Indian too!) Each bento starts with a full color picture, with the recipes of the ingredients featured next. It's important to note that while the finished bentos are in color, the other little pictures used to accompany some of the filler recipes are not. Personally, this does not bother me. The author then expounds on the theme and offers many variation recipes that you can switch out if you want to try different vegetables or flavors. Because of this, even though there are only 25 finished bentos, this book has a whopping 125 recipes! This book offers tips on what to put in your pantry for bento staples, the proper way to make authentic Japanese white rice, and the different types of bentos and supplies.
And if you need extra help:

Each and every bento has a timeline, to show you not only when to start on a certain item, but how long it should take. There are a few night-before steps for some of the bentos, but most of them take a mere 20 minutes or so to complete in the morning.

This is a bento cookbook like no other. It's obviously Makiko Itoh loves good food, and she has made that the focus of her book, instead of the frills that overtake so many other titles. This is the perfect book for novices to bento, who want to incorporate portion control and healthier eating into their lives, but not sacrifice taste. It's a wonderful "grown-up" bento book.
The true test of any cookbook is how successful the recipes are, and I am pleased to say that the many I have tried are delicious. Though to be honest, the plain white rice is too plain for me. I know it's a traditional part of the Japanese diet, but I'm a seasoning and spice kind of girl, and have to doctor it up a bit. I love cumin in my rice!

In short, by this book if you're interested in diving into the world of bento, but are more concerned with its health benefits than making really over-the-top decorated lunches. Highly, highly recommended.

Sukiyuki-style beef donburi bento.

Mini-hamburgers with carrot and cheese flowers, red onions, seasame-salted rice, and fruit.

Salade Nicoise bento (a seriously delicious French food made of hard-boiled eggs, potatos, tomatos, capers, olives, and tuna.)

Mediterranean Mezze-style bento...lamb/beef koftas, baba ghanoush, edamame hummus, pita bread, and vegetables.

Disclaimer: The Just Bento Cookbook, its content and photos, are all copyrighted Makiko Itoh, the publisher, and any other creators. The pictures used here are purely for the purpose of personal review and no copyright infringement is intended.