Obento: The Japanese Lunch Box

In Japanese, there is a special term for lunch, “obento.” If you happen to known someone who is Japanese, you may want to try asking him or her what an obento actually is or what it looks like. An obento is a special kind of Japanese lunch that is not only tasty, but also very healthy and eye-catching. Japanese people tend to carry around their obentos in lunch boxes called “obento-bako.”

There are a few rules in order to make a good and successful Japanese obento. First, in an obento, rice is almost always present (it can occasionally be substituted with bread or pasta). It is also important that the rice is separated from the other dishes so that the rice will not pick up any additional flavors. Along with this rice are the main dish and the two side dishes. The main dish can be anything from dumplings, to fried chicken, to fish while the side dish can be anything like a simple salad. It is important that the obento not only consist of meat, but also of green and nutritious vegetables. In other words, the overall balance of the obento should look something like 3 parts (rice): 1 (main dish of meat/fish): 2 (vegetable side dishes).

The obento should consist mostly of strong flavors that can be enjoyed even without the use of a microwave. Again, the texture and the aroma of the food should be carefully chosen so that the person who will be eating it will not get bored. One pointer in making a good traditional obento is to constantly remember the color combination of red, green, and yellow. As long as you make an obento that tries to match this colorful image, the obento should end up looking very appetizing. On the other hand, if the obento only consists of fried food, most times what happens is that the obento turns out looking brownish; this is clearly not a pleasing sight. By attempting to fit this specific color combination, it often aids the obento to turn out healthy and nutritious. Food that is the color red usually has the potential to increase people’s appetites and is often packed with lots of vitamins. Food that is yellow is usually nutritious and food that is green tends to be full of both minerals and vitamins. When making obentos, special attention is also given to sanitation. For instance, it is very important that everything is dry when being placed inside the obento in order to reduce the risk of catching germs. It is also crucial that everything inside the obento be well-cooked and never entirely raw.

Obentos differ depending on the individual that it is being made for. In the case of a child, the obento should be half the size of a typical one.  Furthermore, if the child happens to be on the thin-side, it is imperative that the obento have more of the side dishes rather than rice.

Obentos also play a significant part in the everyday Japanese culture. When a family goes on a picnic, the mother will usually pack a large obento for the entire family. When a girl goes on a date with her boyfriend, it is a big deal for her to make him an obento. When a class goes on a fieldtrip somewhere, all of the students tend to bring their own obentos. These obentos are always packed with precious feelings that may be coming from a mother to her child, a wife to her husband, a girl to her sweetheart, and many more.