We all know how fussy kids are when it comes to eating lunch at schools and of course you’ll find fussy adults too who’ll whine and sigh when they look at their packaged lunch if you have packed what they don’t like.
Packing lunch in a box is an art by itself. Japanese moms specialize in lunch-box art and pack their kid’s and husband’s (theirs too!) lunches in such a way that they are attractive, appetizing and appealing so that the boxes are empty when they comes home. No, they don’t stuff the box with junk food but fill in lot of nutritious food in such an artistic way that the children who hate their veggies also end up finishing their boxes.
They usually use a box called ‘Bentobox‘, which contains different layered compartments or dividers so that different kinds of food sit in their own compartments and flavors don’t get mixed up. A bento generally consists of rice or noodles and some form of protein (e.g., meat, poultry, fish, tofu) accompanied by side dishes of raw, simmered, or pickled vegetables.
The whole thing is usually wrapped together with chopsticks in a cloth or special bag, and the goal is to make the whole package as attractive as possible – from considering the colour combinations of the food and presenting and garnishing it as neatly and artfully as you can, to coordinating the box, chopsticks and wrapper, and any other items like paper napkins, knife and fork or spoon, drink flask or thermos according to Bentobox.
There are a couple of things that you must be equipped with, to make a perfect Bentobox. These include Lunch-Box with dividers (Of course!), Cutlery (Chopsticks, forks, and spoons), Furoshiki, Onigiri moulds, Weiner shapers, and condiment containers.
Check out some of the interesting sites that’ll inspire you with lunch-box ideas and you could be a lunch-box artist too.
Images: Cookingcute, e-obento
