Lunch-Box Rice with Three Toppings

Name: Lunch-Box Rice with Three Toppings (San-shoku Bento)
Yield: Makes four lunch boxes
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: salt; 2 drops of red vegetable colouring, diluted with a few drops of water; 5 ml/1 tsp sake; 20 ml/4 tsp caster (superfine) sugar; 3 large (US extra large) eggs, beaten; 115 g/4 oz cod fillet, skinned and boned; 5 ml/1 tsp salt; 3 mangetouts (snow peas), to garnish; 30 ml/2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar; 275 g/10 oz/scant 1½ cups Japanese short grain rice cooked using 375 ml/13 fl oz/scant 1⅔ cups water, cooled; 15 ml/1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar; 200 g/7 oz minced (ground) raw chicken; 45 ml/3 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted; 15 ml/1 tbsp shoyu; 15 ml/1 tbsp water; 45 ml/3 tbsp sake

San-shoku Bento

Preparation info

Makes
four
lunch boxes

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Japanese Cookbook

By Emi Kazuko and Yasuko Fukuoka

Published 2024

About

San-shoku Bento is a typical Bento (lunch box) menu for Japanese children. Colourful toppings and a variety of tastes hold their attention so they don’t get bored.

Ingredients

275 g/10 oz/scant 1½ cups Japanese short grain rice cooked using 375

Asia
Japan
Lunch

Method

To make the iri-tamago, add the sugar and salt to the eggs in a pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring with a whisk or fork as you would to scramble an egg. When it is almost set, remove from the heat and stir until the egg becomes fine and slightly dry.
To make the denbu, cook the cod fillet for 2 minutes in a large pan of boiling water. Drain an