Bento Box

[chrisguk]

Hey, hope this is a suitable place for my question.

Ive recently bought an Aladdin Bento Box, which is like an insulated lunch box (a bigger version of a thermos).
I was just wondering if any one had any great ideas for warm food? I was recently made aware that warm rice is not suitable to be kept warm for prolonged periods of time (who knew??).

Has anyone got one of these? They look a great little product.

[rustylady]

Is it a flask, or just an insulated box that you put your own container into?

[Bren In Pots]

Chris have a look on the just bento website its full of recipe ideas.

I take a Bento box to work, tomorrow I'm having leftover stir fry, salad pita bread then some home made yoghurt.

[Two_Sheds]

warm rice is not suitable to be kept warm for prolonged periods of time (who knew??).

Me, me, Sir, I knew!
Lukewarm rice is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria

[BrokenOphelia]

We also have one of these. We use it all the time for soup or caserole. It also does a stellar job of keeping a baked potato warm. You know you can use one half as hot and the other as cold and they wont affect each other right? My husband uses his for lunch every day. Anyhows, there is a great many bento websites if you google them. This is my favourite site and they have a cook book section Cookbooks & Bento books all from japan!

[Two_Sheds]

I'd never heard of it, but now it's on my Xmas list

edit: ah, it's just a soup flask is it? Here's another, slightly funkier one

Further reading (Just Bento link) says "bento [recipes]... Most are meant to be eaten cold (at room temperature)"

I just use an old Chinese takeaway box for cold food (salads)

[BrokenOphelia]

It is this one here Twosheds Bento Box - buy at Firebox.com It is called the Aladin, it will keep something hot for 8 hours after mircrowaving for just 3 minutes. You can even put one half in the fridge while heating the other half and the hot bit will stay hot and the cold bit cold. It is puzzling but awesome.

[Two_Sheds]

Lots of good reviews for that one Ophelia (£16). It might go back on my Xmas list then

[Rhona]

I've got a bit of a thing for bento boxes and am looking for a new one for Mr R, so this is a good thread for me.

Some bits I've included for lunches:

Egg noodles tossed in sesame oil and seeds
Soba or rice noodles
Homemade sushi or sashimi
Japanese scrambled eggs, which are sweetened with mirin - odd sounding but very nice.
Stir fried/raw vegetables
Tuna with wasabi and soy sauce

Cous cous with sultanas, mint leaves and feta
Stuffed vine leaves (great if you've got your own vine too)
Grilled hallumi and cherry tomatoes
Avocado, mozzarella and tomato salad with basil leaves.

Prolly loads more...I'll think on.

[BrokenOphelia]

Mmm Rhonda you are giving me lots of ideas now too! Nice to see another bento enthusiast though. I like to make Nishiki stew which is a japanese stew for ours too. I may have to put the recipe up.

[Two_Sheds]

I'd use one mainly for soups & stews, or pasta ... they ARE watertight then? (unlike my Thermos flask which leaks if you shake it)

[zazen999]

I have a soup flask and it rocks!

I'm not sure about rice or pasta kept hot for all that time though - 7am through until 1pm....so will stick to the soup flask. I'd love to be able to have a home made spaghetti sauce with pasta so you never know, I might be persuaded....if you cook the pasta fresh and heat the sauce and just mix it at lunchtime it shouldn't go weird! I might trial it with spaghetti in the soup flask after cooking, and the sauce heated in the microwave at work and try it out.

Nice one!

[Hilary B]

Rice or pasta kept HOT (over pasteurisation temp, which I believe is about 82C?) will probably be fine, it is when it is 'warm' that problems are likely, isn't it?
If it is put in the container at near boiling temp and then sealed, I would have thought the bacteria would mostly be killed outright, and any that did survive as 'spores' shouldn't have a chance to be active until the temp gets down to about 40C? Just applying my memory of all the stuff I learned in school and a bit of logic, so maybe someone knows otherwise.

[Two_Sheds]

I'd love to be able to have a home made spaghetti sauce with pasta

I'd like that for eating on the lotty where there's no microwave (yet)

I gave up taking tupperware boxes to school for the microwave, because they always leak in my bag, even the expensive click-clack ones

[Bren In Pots]

I take my rice and pasta cold then add a couple of those little ice packs.