CHICKEN TERIYAKI BENTO RECIPE

This week I received a lovely present for my little boy's 2nd birthday from my friend in Japan. She sent a Japanese character bento box with lots of bento accessories. This inspired me to create my own bento and share it with you. As always I've tried to make it as simple as possible so you'll try it at home. You can use a basic lunch box for this but if you like the Japanese style bento boxes and accessories you can buy these online.

I mentioned in a previous post that bento is an important part of Japanese culture. In Japan they believe that when a mother makes a bento for her children it's an expression of her love. Japanese mothers get up quite early to prepare bento for their children which are animated, colourful and nutritionally balanced. Leftovers from the previous night's dinner are usually used for bento so it's a good idea to make a little extra. Bento can be used for a school or work lunch but it's also great at this time of year for a summer picnic. 

INGREDIENTS:
1 x portion of boiled rice
Chicken teriyaki
- 1 x chicken breast (preferable organic or free range)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
Vegetable oil (for frying) 
Piece of steamed brocolli
2 x cherry tomatoes (halved)
2 x strawberries 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. If you want to use Japanese rice, click here to see how to prepare and cook Japanese rice. You can use any type of rice for a bento box. 

2. Cut the chicken breast into bite size cubes.

3. Put the soy sauce, sake and sugar in a bowl and mix well. 

4. Then add the chicken pieces and stir so the chicken pieces are completely covered in the marinade. 

5. Place in the fridge for 15-30 minutes or a few hours if you have time. 

6. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium heat. 

7. Place the chicken pieces on the frying pan and pour all of the remaining teriyaki marinade onto the pan. 

8. Turn the chicken pieces after a few minutes then continue to cook turning a few times until the teriyaki sauce becomes thick and sticky.

9. In a lunchbox, arrange the rice, chicken teriyaki pieces, brocolli, tomatoes and strawberries as shown in the picture. You can use paper cupcake cases for the chicken and strawberries and toothpicks for the cherry tomatoes.

NOTES:
Bento and food safety
- there's a fantastic website dedicated to bento recipes called justbento. Click here to go straight to a post on this site called "keeping your bento lunch safe". It gives practical tips and advice on how to store and reheat food for bento lunch.