Easily prep ahead a vegetarian bento box loaded with protein, fun flavors and a variety of textures.
months ago,
i made mention of a
new food hobby:
the bento box.
my goal for a simple 2018
continues.
with some planning,
prep,
and practice,
i’ve been able to whip
this up in 30 min.
i’ll take it.
fyi:
wood bento boxes
Click here for the pickled daikon recipe.
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How to Make a Delicious Vegetarian Bento Box
Ingredients
Scale
- Use enough for a week’s lunch, for 2 adults
- baked tofu
- soy roasted squash
- maple-ginger carrot
- pickled daikon
- prepared rice (fruits and cheese, hard boiled egg)
Baked Tofu
- 1 block extra firm tofu (squeezed of excess water)
- 2 TBL tamari
- 1 TBL sambal oelek or sriracha
- drizzle of maple syrup
- 1 TBL sesame oil
- cornstarch – approx 1/3 cup
soy roasted squash:
- 1 small butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
- 1 TBL tamari
- 1 TBL honey
- 1 TBL sriracha
- 1 TBL sesame oil
- sesame seeds – 2 TBL
- black sesame seeds 2 TBL
- bread crumbs – 1/2 cup
- 1 egg
maple ginger carrots:
- 2 large carrots (peeled and cut into sticks)
- 1 TBL maple syrup
- 1 TBL minced ginger
pickled daikon:
- Click the link above for the recipe.
Instructions
- for the snack layer, i used silicone muffin containers to keep the fruit and cheese separated. it ended up working out, dw is not a fan of papaya but the 3-4 pieces i added was enough without annoying him.
- for the lunch layer, i sectioned off the box with a bit of rice, about 1/4 cup. then i layered the top with a few sticks of carrots, and sliced hard boiled eggs. next to it, i added the squash, tofu and slices of pickled daikon. under all that was either parchment paper cut to fit or spinach leaves, just to keep the food from leaching onto the wood.
Baked tofu
- wrap tofu block in a clean kitchen towel, pressed down with something heavy, i usually put a large can on top & ignore
- large square bowl or casserole dish, add the tamari, sambal oelek or sriracha, maple syrup and sesame oil. mix through.
- cut the tofu block into equal size cubes, aim for roughly the same size so that they bake evenly together. add the tofu to the dish and gently mix them in the sauce, every so often turning them so that all sides are evenly marinated. set aside while you set up the mise en place.
- pre heat oven to 400F.
- in three shallow dishes, add cornstarch in one, egg in another (mixed through so that the white and yolk are well incorporated) and breadcrumb + both kids of sesame seeds in the last bowl.
- at the end of the assembly line, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- methodically, a tofu cube and roll around in the corn starch, shaking off any access. next, add it to the egg wash, ensuring all sides gets wet. last, dredge in the breadcrumb mix, pressing down hard to ensure it gets all sorts of crusty. line on prepared baking sheet.
- now do this for the rest of the tofu. not gonna lie, this step sucks, it’s messy but it’s work it.
- roast in oven for 30 minutes, at the mid-way mark flip the tofu cubes over.
- cool completely, store in airtight container.
soy roasted squash:
- mix all the ingredients together and roast in 400F oven for about 30-40 minutes, until squash is tender. allow to cool.
maple ginger carrots:
- mix all the ingredients together and roast in 400F oven for about 20-25 min, until just tender. allow to cool.
pickled daikon:
- Click the link above for the recipe.
