Rest easy, Saba Man and I have not gone back to eating meat. It’s only seitan not real beef. My twitter friends and I do a monthly food theme and February’s was Oranges and after posting my photo of Orange “Beef” and Broccoli, there were requests for the recipe.
Tofu again! Hey, it’s my “go-to” protein. Quick, easy and absorbs any flavor that you throw at it.
This time…hoisin sauce. I found a very nice vegetarian type and tossed it with baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, onions, fried tofu cubes then simmered until tender.
Brown rice topped with furikake with a slice of takuan. Takuan (takuwan), pickled daikon, is risky for the work environment. It’s very stinky. He hasn’t mentioned it but I’ll have to ask Saba Man if his co-workers have commented on his odorous lunches. I’ll let you know his answer.
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I know, right? It’s been awhile since my last Meatless Monday bento post. No excuses, except that most of my recent bento box lunches were repetitive (read: boring). Rice, tofu, asparagus. Then more rice, more tofu then broccoli. Same ole stuff.
Well, this bento is pretty much the same thing except one teeny-tiny difference. Can you see it? It’s in the rice.
Yep, I cooked chunks of Okinawan sweet potato (OSP) along with the rice. Imo-gohan!! So delicious and steamed together in a rice cooker.
Just peel the raw sweet potato, cut into large chunks, then toss in with the washed rice. Add water as usual.
When the rice is done, gently mix to break up the chunks into smaller bits. For this version I used my usual sprouted brown rice. But any rice will work. I’m thinking about using orange colored yams too. Wouldn’t that look great for an autumn-themed bento lunch?!
The other items are simmered tofu with bok choy then topped with fried onions. Cherry tomatoes and kaiware (radish sprouts) add color and pizazz!
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I swear Mondays come around more often than any other day of the week!
And here it is again.
The upside is that I get pack a vegetarian bento for Saba Man. Today’s lunch, or I should say dinner because Saba Man is working an oddball shift today, is a melange of previously fried tofu, asparagus, carrots, sesame, shoyu, mirin, ginger and garlic.
I’ve separated this mix from the hapa-rice with plastic baran; something I don’t normally use but glad to have because I’ve run out of fresh lettuce of shiso leaf.
Champagne grapes, cherry tomato and a pinch of beni-shoga complete this meal-to-go!
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This week’s Meatless Monday does not contain seitan! I know, shocker of shocks eh?
Instead, I made burgers out of soy protein called TVP or Textured Vegetable Protein. This product, at first, turned me off as it sounds like something that’s been very processed and artificial…but after checking the ingredients it’s really just soy flour.
But when seasoned and shaped into mini-burgers, they’re fabulous!
The other meatless items are fried tofu, hapa-rice, yellow-carrot namul, pickled cucumbers, seasoned aburage (another type of fried tofu), snow peas and a cherry tomato!
Happy Monday everyone and have a fantastic week!
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Don’t adjust your monitor, the color of this bento is truly the color of sunshine.
Robust and spicy flavored Oaxacan Tofu—not my creation but bought from the deli— is cubed and cooled down with fresh mango, cilantro and tomatoes. And as though I didn’t have enough yellow in this box lunch, I added saffron rice topped with fried scallions.
Red strawberry and orange carrots complete the warm toned palette.
Well… if the sun doesn’t want to shine over Seattle, maybe I can give it a kick-start with this bento!
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First off, look how cute and tiny those potatoes are! They’re smaller than even the cherry tomatoes! Baby (extra baby) red potatoes.
Today was our May #twitterfoodparty and the theme was tofu! A perfect pick for Meatless Monday too!
Yes, these are as crispy and delicious as they appear and they take no time at all to prepare.
It started out a gray day but turned sunny by noon…just in time for a Meatless Monday bento!
Yummy fried tofu, bought from the Vietnamese market, then simmered in sesame, shoyu and garlic. Partnered with “hapa rice” (brown and white mix), gai lan (Chinese Broccoli) and carrot sticks it’s both a balanced and satiating meal!
If you don’t have access to fried tofu, you can fry your own using firm tofu that’s been drained of all moisture. Just press between cotton towels with a heavy plate on top. Leave it for at least 20 to 30 minutes switching to dry towels as needed. Cut into bite-sized cubes then fry in hot oil until golden. Drain thoroughly. I keep them in the freezer which does alter the texture a bit, but I like them that way. Cook them up in almost any kind of seasoning for bento or drop them in stews or soups. More than just bento-stash!
I was hanging out at the top of a tall building today. By lunch time, the clouds made way to blue skies which made today rainless as well as meatless! 
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More Meatless Monday fun!
Today’s bento contains a rice combination that started out as a hodgepodge of ingredients that didn’t have a direction but ended up being very tasty!
Today’s Meatless Monday bento is probably the easiest one I’ve assembled to date!
A Tofu Soboro!
After taking a short break from posting bentos, I’m feeling revitalized with many non-meat and fish recipes to share with you. If you’re a carnivore, please don’t leave. I’m not being preachy, just providing ideas!
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Contact me:
debra@hapabento.com
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