Japanese-style bento box

Japanese recipe for 1 people, takes only 25 mins; recipe has edamame, fruit, sushi rice, rice vinegar, golden caster sugar, nori, smoked mackerel, mayonnaise, spring onion, wasabi and red pepper.

Japanese-style bento box

Japanese-style bento box

Recipe by Chef Soomro Course: Japanese
Servings

1

servings
Prep time

20 mins

Ingredients

  • Red Pepper: 1/4 red pepper, thinly sliced lengthways, about 6 slices
  • Spring Onion: 2 spring onions, chopped
  • Mayonnaise: 1 tbsp light mayonnaise
  • Golden Caster Sugar: 1/2 tsp golden caster sugar
  • Sushi Rice: 100g sushi rice
  • Rice Vinegar: 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • Fruit: handful of a favourite fruit, such as fresh pineapple, blueberries or strawberries
  • Edamame: 100g fresh edamame in the pods (or frozen soya beans)
  • Nori: 1 sheet nori
  • Wasabi: pea-sized blob wasabi (optional)
  • Smoked Mackerel: 1 smoked mackerel fillet, about 75g, flaked

Directions

  1. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the edamame for 3-4 mins (or 1-2 mins if using frozen soya beans) until tender. Drain, sprinkle with salt and set aside.
  2. Rinse the rice well in cold water until the water runs clear. Put the rice in a heavy-based pan with a tight-fitting lid and cover with 200ml water. Bring just to the boil, then put on the lid, turn the heat to its lowest point and cook for 15-20 mins, until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat and leave with the lid on for another 10 mins.
  3. Spoon the cooked rice into a wide bowl and leave to cool a little. Stir together the rice vinegar, sugar and a small pinch of salt, until the sugar and salt dissolve. Mix this into the cooled rice. Lay the nori sheet on a sushi rolling mat or sheet of cling film. With damp hands, spread the rice over two-thirds of the nori sheet.
  4. Mix the smoked mackerel, mayonnaise and spring onions, season well with black pepper. Spread a line of wasabi down the middle of the rice, if using, and layer on the red pepper pieces, then the fish mixture. Roll the sushi up, starting from the end covered with rice. Dampen the uncovered end to help it stick. Slice into about 6 x 3cm thick pieces.
  5. Pop the sushi rolls into a bento box or lunchbox, adding the edamame and fruit to the other compartments.