Broiled Saba and Satsumaimo Bento
Today’s bento is a sort of potpourri of foods! A little of this, a little of that— equals a lot of flavor and a bit of a fragrance.
After all that karaage deep-frying I had give my home a break. It’s a small one (my house, that is) so any robust kitchen activity permeates throughout.
Serving Saba Man his favorite leaves no doubt in my mind as to how to prepare this…ahem…aromatic fish.
I grab my car-keys and head to the market.
Where it’s scaled, cleaned, filleted, and broiled at the store. :)
Then I bring it home all nicely wrapped without a hint of mackerel smell.
Until I “break the seal”.
Then I work quickly…cutting, arranging in the bento, re-sealing leftovers with extra plastic wrap and placing it in a tightly sealed container, wrapping it’s original container in many layers of paper bags, and burying it deep in the trash bin…outside.
Whew! “What’s that smell?” Ack! My hands! Lemon juice to the rescue!
I call this routine, “Extreme Bento Lunch Preparation” 
Such a shame that mackerel, as delicious as it is, has such a persistent odor.
Luckily Saba Man doesn’t heat up his lunch!
And in case you’re wondering… the fishy odor is rather tame when eating at room temperature or cold. Just don’t zap it in the microwave if you want to stay friendly with your lunch-mates!
The accompanying items are pretty subdued: cucumbers, colorful corn, figs, satsumaimo, tamagoyaki, and tomatoes!
Oh and there’s shiso leaves acting as baran to keep certain flavors segregated.
Poor smelly mackerel! Hold your head high! I’m a smelly fish fan myself; so tasty and mouthwatering. Awesome Extreme Bento! Haha!
I feel your pain! BF has mackerel in his bento today too, in a pasta-salad for that is. But the smell, uuugh. I really love smoked mackerel though.
Hi Samantha, Smoked mackerel sounds wonderful.
I had the gall to heat up some smoked fish in the microwave at work one time. Not a popular girl that day …
Maybe I should pack it again one day sans microwaving
. I love your ‘balloon’ tomatoes!
Hi mils, yep, folks that eat fish in the lunchroom…eat alone.
It looks delish. Speaking of bad smells, you ever try putting durian into bento? Your house will smell for weeks =.=
Hi Matsuko, Oh my yes, durian would really smell bad.