Page 127 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Tokyo

WHERE T O EA T AND DRINK  125

The Bento Box

A bento is a take-home meal in a compartmentalized box – office
workers buy them for lunch, schoolchildren eat from them at
their desk, and business travelers have them with a beer on the
bullet train. In its neat, individual compartments there will
invariably be a large portion of rice, a main serving of meat or
fish, pieces of omelet, some vegetables, and a selection of
pickles. But part of the charm of the bento is that anything
goes. It is not uncommon to open a bento and find a small
octopus or a tiny whole fish gazing up at you, or even
something that completely defies identification. Slivers of pickled ginger

Pickled daikon Tamagoyaki Sake (salmon) Hijiki (seaweed)
radish Tempura (omelet)

Rice with black sesame Umeboshi (pickled plums) Nishime (simmered vegetables)

Typical selection of food to be found in a bento box
IN THE BENTO BOX
Agedofu Fried tofu. Kurage Jellyfish.
Chikuwa Tubular steamed Maguro sashimi Tuna sashimi.
fishcakes. Negi Salad onion, used for flavoring
Furikake Variety of condiments to and garnish.
add extra flavor, including nori Nikudango Miniature meatballs.
(seaweed) flakes and toasted
sesame seeds. Onigiri Triangles of rice with
various fillings.
Jako Miniature whole dried fish.
Saba sashimi Mackerel sashimi.
Kabocha Squash, often served Takenoko Bamboo shoots.
simmered.
Konnyaku Gelatinous paste made Tonkatsu Deep-fried breaded pork.
from Devil’s Tongue (similar to Tsukemono Pickled vegetables.
sweet potato). Umeboshi Pickled plums.
Korokke Croquettes filled with Unagi Grilled eel in black bean Japanese student eating lunch from
potato and meat. sauce. a bento box

124-125_EW_Tokyo.indd 125 12/09/16 11:28 am