7 types of bento rice commonly found in Japan

Japan has always been the cradle of cultural values and a good spiritual life, typical of which is rich cuisine, and  bento rice is one of the eating characteristics of the people.

Dec 12, 2022 - 15:31
Feb 3, 2023 - 08:25
7 types of bento rice commonly found in Japan

Japanese people make bento rice to save costs and convenient to carry. They are so popular that you can easily find them at any convenience store in Japan, here are some typical Japanese bento rice varieties.

HIROMARU BENTO

Hinomaru is another phrase used to describe the Japanese flag. In the middle of the Hinomaru bento is a well-salted red apricot called umeboshi, which makes the box look like the Japanese flag. This type of bento is the simplest, although eating rice with only one umeboshi may seem odd, but this bento is very popular here.

SHAKE BENTO

In Japanese, Shake means salmon, if you look at the lunch box in the picture, you can easily recognize that the piece of fish on the face is grilled salmon. The reason that shake bento is so popular in Japan is because salmon is a long-standing dish in this country, so eating salmon is very meaningful to the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. In addition, salmon is also very cheap.

NORI BENTO

The feature of Nori bento is the spiced seaweed pieces spread on the surface of the rice

KARAAGE BENTO

Karaage is not only used in Bento but also in restaurants and homes

MAKUNOUCHI BENTO

Although the definition of Makunouchi bento is not clear, it is basically a bento consisting of meat, fish, eggs and even vegetables served with rice and umeboshi. The word makunouchi means "between action". It originated in the Edo period (1603-1867), this dish is often served during the break of Noh and Kabuki plays.

GYUDON OR BUTADON BENTO

In Japanese, gyudon means a bowl of beef, and butadon means a bowl of pork. This type of bento became popular after convenience stores became more and more popular in Japan. Accordingly, many restaurants selling beef dishes here also developed.

MUSUBI BENTO

Musubi means rice ball, also known as onigiri. All that is in the box are simply rice balls, as long as they are placed in the bento box, it will be called musubi bento. The best thing about musubi bento is that when you eat, you don't need to use chopsticks, but you can pick up a handful of rice and put it in your mouth. That is also one of the reasons why Japanese people love this type of bento rice.

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