The library

Recipes

Mains, sides and one cake. Everything here is built to be packed in the morning and eaten hours later.

Mains

Teriyaki salmon bento

Pan-fried salmon in a four-ingredient teriyaki glaze, reduced until sticky so it stays put in the box and tastes good cold.

15 min·2 bento

Sides

Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet)

A sweet-savory omelet built from thin layers of egg, the most common bento side in Japan. Works in a regular skillet.

5 min·2 bento

Mains

Onigiri (Japanese rice balls) with four easy fillings

Rice, salt, nori and four classic fillings: salmon, tuna mayo, umeboshi and okaka. Shaped by hand in a few minutes.

15 min·2 bento

Mains

Chicken karaage for bento

Soy, ginger and garlic marinated chicken in potato starch, double-fried so it stays crisp for hours.

20 min·2 bento

Mains

Chicken katsu bento that stays crispy until lunch

Panko cutlets with a two-minute tonkatsu sauce, packed so the crust survives until noon.

20 min·2 bento

Sides

Japanese potato salad, the creamy bento side

Creamy, chunky potato salad with cucumber, carrot and egg. A make-ahead side that tastes best cold.

15 min·4 bento

Mains

Teriyaki tofu bento, an easy vegetarian lunch

Crispy pan-fried tofu glazed in a quick teriyaki sauce, packed with rice, edamame and pickles. Vegan as written.

25 min·2 bento

Mains

Onigirazu, the no-shape sushi sandwich

A rice sandwich folded in nori, with no shaping skill required, that cuts cleanly for a box.

15 min·2 bento

Sweet

Bento cake: the 4-inch lunch box cake

Bake, fill, frost and write on a four-inch cake that arrives in a takeaway clamshell.

40 min·2 bento