The brand new cookbook Real Bento is out today! This time-saving book is packed with a collection of family-friendly, easy and inexpensive recipes used and honed over many years by Japanese working mum Kanae Inoue. This book is published by Tuttle Publishing and is available to buy now via good book retailers and Amazon.
Are you looking for a quick, easy, healthy and economical meal for you or your loved one? If you like Japanese food just like I do, then this is the book for you. This book shows you time-saving tricks that allow you to make bento box lunches each morning in just 10 minutes, using ingredients and recipes that will satisfy the whole family. The recipes are presented by flavour type and key ingredient, so it is easy for parents to find dishes their kids will love or perhaps you can use the recipes to make it for your elderly neighbour who might be in isolation due to COVID-19 right now.
Inside this book, there are 200 recipes, divided into main dishes and sides for 22 complete bento boxes. Most of the ingredients and sauces can easily be found from big supermarkets in their World/Asian continent section or a Chinatown supermarket. There are a few ingredients, like mentsuyu sauce, yukari shiso salt, that you might have to get via specialist Japanese food shops.
What I like about this book is that her recipes are very easy to make and are not very complicated. Most importantly, I can get most of the ingredients via our big local supermarket. There are lots of colourful photos of delicious-looking dishes with step-by-step instructions. Not only that, but she also teaches you how to style your bento to look and taste great when presented together. This beginner bento book is a perfect tool for getting lunch/dinner packed and a family out the door on a busy morning! I would recommend it!
Thanks to Tuttle publishing who has sent me an extra copy for my followers. With the current condition due to COVID-19, this competition will last a lot longer than usual. I do hope by June, the conditions will be better for me to go out there to post it through!
Disclosure: I received this sample from the publisher for free. However, they have not paid me for this review, and they do not exercise any editorial control over my review or anything else on this site. We have included an Amazon affiliate link to the product. If you click on this and buy, we may earn a small commission.