Thinking outside the box: Reimagining the bento, Japan's classic quick lunch

CONSIDER the Japanese bento box.

The penultimate takeaway-lunch option in Japan, these snazzy, compartmentalized boxes contain a tapas style, easy-to-eat feast that provides sustenance to schoolchildren, factory workers and diners on the go.

When Morimoto chef Hiroki Fujiyama thinks about bento boxes, he remembers his childhood in Kyoto, when his mother would pack a bento for him to take to school and for his father to take to the office. Typically filled with four or five home-cooked items eaten at room temperature, a traditional bento might have rice, a small salad, a piece of fried chicken or grilled fish, and a rolled egg omelet.

"A bento is convenient to eat, easy to carry and good for when you're in a hurry," said Fujiyama. At Morimoto on Chestnut Street, bento items appear as bites of Japanese tapas, savories often served at an izakaya, or Japanese-style pub. The morsels are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat, in keeping with the Japanese tradition of eating first with the eyes.

At Zama Restaurant, on 19th Street, Chef Hiroyuki "Zama" Tanaka serves both traditional and modern Japanese "bento bites" at lunch - tasty treats like miso-marinated black cod, shrimp tempura and chicken katsu served along with edamame, house salad, miso soup and rice.

"Bento needs to be easy to eat and sort of comfort food," said the chef. "Eating a bento is like taking a 'little bit of home' with you wherever you are."

Bento bites are a great idea - but why limit this convenient food delivery method to Japanese fare? We asked a few chefs around town what their idea of a perfect bento would be. They got creative with savory results.

Southwestern Bento

 

When diners ask for tacos and burritos at the newly opened Kokopelli Restaurant, on Chestnut Street, Chef Gina Rodriguez has some gentle educating to do.

"Southwestern cuisine uses many of the same ingredients found in Mexican cuisine, but the flavor combinations are more subtle," she said. "Our menu isn't traditional Mexican or Tex-Mex."