What Is A Japanese Bento Box?
When we speak of bento boxes, we usually think of the black lacquer ware box with internal dividers served in Japanese restaurants, called “shokado”. These set menus contain portion-sized food items such as rice, fish or meat and pickled or cooked vegetables. It also comes with a variety of combinations of Japanese food. The literal meaning of bento is “packed lunch”. In Japan, most school children and working adults bring a homemade packed lunch with them. The boxes are usually wrapped in cloth called the “furushiki’ which serves as bag, as well as, table cloth. Their bento boxes may contain a variety of food items or may contain the simplest packed lunch called the “onigiri”. The onigiri is seasoned sticky rice formed into a ball or triangle, packed with tangy meat or a pickled plum, called the “omeboshi”. It could also be partially wrapped in seaweed or “nori” and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. The bento box may also contain an elaborate food art preparation, complete with col
