Bento Bites

So the fabulous fact about taking Anthropology of Food is not only eating food, but creating food!

Last week, our whole classes trekked down to the UW’s kitchen and crowded around tables set with bento making concoctions. Some of us were in awe and others in quizzical anxiety. I was probably more anxious than anything, not so much over the food items, which some I was familiar with, but more so for the fact that we had to make a bento box, not for our own enjoyment, but for a classmate! When making food for myself, I rarely care about visual appeal. In making food for another, the step of plating or in this case packaging (Bentos remind me of little presents), becomes just as essential as taste.

My Bento recipient, Adam brought the bar up by knowing I have a history of Macrobiotics--- he hinted that I probably knew what I was doing. The dilemma with Macrobiotics is that yes it is derived from Japanese cuisine, but to put it this way: Macrobiotics is a part of Japanese cuisine as a carrot is to the vast world of root veggies. Yes, some foods were recognizable, but as far as bento making experience I had zilch; my school lunch during my parents Macrobiotic phase was usually just Tupperware with a whole mess of rice and whatever side dishes we had (by lunch time it usually looked like a glob of stuff).

I guess I was surprised that I felt anxiety over making food for someone else’s enjoyment. I felt a whole new heightened sense of food preparation as I positioned the onigiri and decorations. Once, I got into the process, I started getting creative and looked over at Adam and saw he was getting really into the whole process too!

Once we were finished with our masterpieces, we went and set down to enjoy them joking that this was dinner, though in all actuality this bento container was tiny compared to my typical dinner portion. Now the art of eating! With chopsticks in hand, I went first for the two onigiri that Adam had made, each had seasoning on top and with designs made in nori. The largest one had a face on it and seaweed mixture for hair. After the first bite, it was satisfying, but seemed cruel at the same time, eating this character that took special planning by the giver. I liked how each onigiri was like an egg with a treat inside; first the solid taste of rice and nori, then hitting a different taste in the middle, salmon or umeboshi!

Surprisingly, this small bento filled me up!


(image- Thanks Ann!)