I felt the act of preparing a bento box in class was a worthwhile activity that nicely punctuated Andrea Arai's presentation. I also liked the idea of swapping bentos with another classmate, as it offered a shared food experience that I have never had before. While I must admit that I did not enjoy the bento as a food item, the sharing aspect helped me to appreciate it as a cultural phenomenon.
I spent about 45 minutes putting my bento together. There was a big crowd at the rice pot, so for about the first 10 minutes I observed my fellow classmates as they assembled their boxes. Most seemed to be trending toward the "cute" versions of bento we saw in Ann's presentation; many of the riceballs had smiley faces, broccoli hair, radish clothing, or other distinguishing features. I preferred a simpler presentation, going for an architectural look that would be both appetizing and aesthetically pleasing. I found it to be very relaxing to select my items, dice them, and painstakingly place them in the box with chopsticks in an artful fashion.
Unfortunately, the second part of the activity was not as enjoyable for me (no offense to Chad). I was determined to eat everything in my bento, and did not give my partner any food restrictions. However, I am not a huge fan of fish products, and the first thing I bit into was some sort of soft fish cake that was highly unpleasant in both flavor and texture. I found the fish cake flavor remained in (which were all delicious). I enjoyed the pickled radish at first, but they were very salty, and my partner was a little liberal with their inclusion. I ate about three, however, they were extremely large and crunchy, and I couldn't bring myself to eat any more of them. I had asked specifically for the pickled plum inside my rice ball, and I found it to be overpoweringly sour, although the rice diffused some of the saltiness, making it tolerable.
For me, the preparation of the bento was the most fun part of the activity. It was hands on and creative, and really gave me an appreciation for the effort exerted by the Japanese mothers in Alison's article in making bentos for their children. In Japan, the bento serves as both a mid-afternoon snack and a source of comfort for the child; for the mothers, it is a way to express their love for their family, and also acts as an outlet for them to express their creativity.
The Experiment
JT's Bento Box (prepared in class for Chad)1 small candied fish
1 rice ball with pickled plum and nori
1 small hot green pepper
1 broccoli flowerette
6 edamame
2 pickled radishes, 1 red, 1 yellow
1 tamago square
1 small bunch seaweed salad
soy sauce to taste
The first thing I did was use the mold to prepare the rice ball, in which I included the pickled plum. I wrapped it with a sheet of nori, and used nori slivers to accent the diamond shape on the top, and lightly sprinkled it with the Japanese seasoning. Chad requested that I include the candied fish in his box, so I wanted to make sure it was prominently featured on top of the rice ball. He also said he had an adventurous palate, so I added one of the hot peppers, in order to both add a little heat to the fish and to serve as an aesthetic counterbalance.
Next, I placed a small bunch of seaweed salad in a cup next to the rice ball to serve as sort a nest for the vegetables. I placed the broccoli in the top left corner and the soy sauce container in the opposite one, so they would frame and hold up the remaining ingredients. Next, I sliced the egg into three pieces, and placed it below the broccoli. Placing the soybeans was the most difficult part of the preparation for me, as the seaweed nest was pretty slippery, and the beans wanted to slide around, despite the containment provided by the other ingredients. I thought the pickled radishes were too large to be aesthetically pleasing as is, so I slivered them and placed them on the top of the salad, in alternating colors.
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