Valentine's Day Bento Box with Joyful Bento
If you’re familiar with our Instagram, you’ll be familiar with our beautiful friend Sonya Bishop aka Joyful Bento! We asked Sonya if she’d share some cute V-Day Bento Inspo, and as to be expected, she has delivered all the goods!!
Today’s bento, Valentine’s edition: heart onigiri, boiled eggs, veggies, berries, yogurt parfait, mini rice cakes, and a yogurt pretzel bite. Onigiri are basically pressed rice balls and are classic Japanese bento food because they are portable, easy to eat, and can be made with a variety of fillings to make them a satisfying meal. Some common fillings include salmon, umeboshi (pickled plum), katsuobushi (bonito fish flakes), fish roe, tuna salad, and furikake to name a few but the possibilities are endless. For this heart-shaped onigiri, I used red shiso furikake and katsuobushi.
There are different ways to form onigiri. The easiest way is with wet hands but you can buy onigiri molds at the Japanese market or use plastic wrap to create your shapes if you don’t want to get your hands sticky. Pro-tip is to add a drop of oil to the onigiri mold or plastic wrap because short-grain rice is very sticky. Take a scoop of rice and press it down a little. Add your filling and top with another scoop of rice. Onigiri if often shaped into a triangular shape but feel free to experiment with different shapes and sizes. Finally cover with a sheet of nori and you have a perfectly portable snack.
Heart tomatoes: The longer grape tomatoes work the best to make tomato hearts. Cut the tomato in half on a diagonal and rotate one side to form a heart shape. Use a food pick or toothpick to secure.
Heart boiled eggs: Use the corner of a beverage carton or a sturdy piece of cardstock and fold into a V shape. Peel a boiled egg while it is still warm and place it in the carton. Place a chopstick on top of the egg to make an indentation and secure with two rubber bands or manually hold in place for 10 minutes. Cut the egg in half and behold the heart shape it creates!
Sonya is a food lover, nanny, doula, and bento enthusiast living in LA!
Connect with Sonya @sonya.bishop
For bento inspiration (and salivation!!) follow @joyfulbento