Bento Equipment

I've illustrated this article with photos of my own collection. Click on the small photos to see a bigger version of each.

Box

Can't have bento in a paper sack! You don't have to order an authentic bento box direct from Japan; a locally-bought lunchbox will be fine for all practical intents and purposes. However, if you are ready to spend the money, an authentic box is great fun, built for the purpose, and will often get admiring looks and questions. Nifty. Modern bento boxes are generally made of plastic or aluminium. If you choose a metal box or one with metal parts, remember that you can't reheat it in the microwave. Sometimes only the lid has metal parts (in clasps which hold it closed, for instance) so it is okay to microwave the box without it. Some boxes are tiered; some have removable or adjustable dividers; in others the dividers are fixed; in others still there are no dividers. Shop around a bit if you can, to find the box that's just right for you. A good place to start is Jbox.com.

You may end up collecting bento boxes, because there are so many lovely designs (and it's useful to have a variety of sizes, so you can pack a snack or a big meal without wasting space). This is fun but can lead to embarrassing situations, as when my mother said she'd buy me a treat from the Texan Art Schools design store, I found a gorgeous little red bento box, and she said quite audibly to the rest of the shoppers, 'No, Sarah, I will not subsidise your fetish.' Also, it can get expensive, so don't go overboard!

Care tip: Bento boxes should be washed before their first use, and between subsequent uses, with hot soapy water and a sponge or soft dishmop. Brushes and other scrubbers tend to scratch their decorations off and dull their smooth surfaces.

Left to right, Hakoya lucky cat, Impressive with argyle pattern, Hakoya yellow kitties.

Chopsticks

Often these come with the box, and are a matched set. They may have their own drawstring cloth carrying bag, or plastic case, or they may fit into a slot inside the box lid. They're actually not that hard to use. Number one rookie mistake: trying to cross the sticks and use them like scissors/pincers. That really won't work. It's also not a good idea to hold the sticks too close to the tips, as this limits their range of movement and also, apparently, makes you look uncouth.

Chopsticks and cutlery from i.kotoba, Comment Vas-Tu? and Sanrio's Hello Kitty.

Here's how I do it - tuck one chopstick under my thumb, and brace it in place with my middle and ring fingers. The secret is, this stick hardly moves. I then hold the other stick between my thumb and index finger, much like a pencil. My thumb stays straight and my index finger moves this chopstick up and down. Perfect!

Try practising your chopstick technique by picking up something the same size as a bite-size piece of food - an eraser is good. When you feel confident, challenge yourself by picking up a roasted peanut. When you can consistently pick up a peanut on your first try, you are a fully competent chopstick user. If you want to be an intimidating chopstick master, try picking up multiple peanuts, side by side. They actually have competitions for this in Japan, with the real experts picking up six or seven peanuts at a time. Crazy, man.

Note: Japanese chopsticks are usually shorter than Chinese ones and have tapered, pointy tips, while Chinese chopsticks mostly have blunt ends.

Other Cutlery

Although a knife is not so often found, it's not unusual to see little matched fork and spoon sets for bento. Sometimes, again, they fit inside the box, or may have their own little case. Sometimes they come with the box, sometimes you buy them separately. The fork is good if you really aren't a confident chopsticker. The spoon is particularly useful if you've packed something runny like curry (see the Staples page).

Furoshiki

This is the cloth or napkin that the box and chopsticks are bundled up in. The furoshiki often has a decorative pattern on it (more anime character art for the kids) and is spread out under the open box like a miniature picnic cloth. It keeps everything clean and together. The chopsticks are often tucked under the knot tied at the top. A clean bandanna makes an excellent furoshiki, and they are easily available in a wide range of colours and patterns. An alternative to the traditional furoshiki is a drawstring or zip-up cloth bag. A bigger bag is handy if you want to carry a flask, extra cutlery, a piece of fruit, etcetera, along with your bento.

i.kotoba bags and a range of bandannas that I use as furoshiki.

Traditional triangular mould, and cutesy-poo petite mould.

Onigiri Moulds

I love these. You can get them in the traditional 'standard' shapes, particularly triangular, or fancy shapes. I have both a large, standard triangle and a 'puchi' (petite) onigiri mould which makes a heart, a star and a teddybear face. They're such fun. They're also very useful for people who find it difficult or unpleasantly messy to properly mould onigiri by hand. When you need to make a lot of onigiri, for a picnic for example, you really need moulds.

Wiener Shapers

Don't laugh. Okay, laugh if you like. Miniature weenies (think cocktail sausages, or if you are a New Zealander, cheerios) are a popular item in bento. And these are little cookie-cutter-like devices that you use to cut them into shapes like penguin, octopus, flower... You can also make the cuts by hand with a sharp knife (that's how I do my octopi, or rather hexapi, because when you cut eight legs they are rather thin and spindly) but again, these save time and mess, and can produce a neater, more uniform-looking result. Cut the sausages and then give them 5 minutes in boiling water. If you can't get any nice miniature sausages, you could always cut down frankfurters. A related American product is the Octodog, but this is for full-sized franks and they would be a bit unwieldy for a bento box. Apparently they are planning a mini version for cocktail sausages, so keep an eye out for it.

To my eternal shame, I couldn't find my own wiener cutter when I was taking photos for this article, so I've ganked two examples from Jbox.com.

Kambrook Rice Express cooker with measuring cup and scoop.

Rice Cooker

Not just for bento... I used to avoid making rice, until I got my rice cooker. It was such a hassle trying to get the proportions of rice and water right, the temperature and the time, not letting the pot boil over while trying to attend to other things I was cooking... An essential appliance in any modern Asian kitchen, a rice cooker takes all the effort and guesswork out of the job. You just put in rice and water in the amounts recommended by the manufacturer, put on the lid and hit the switch. The cooker runs on a timed cycle and at the end you have just-right rice. It only really does one thing (well, some you can also steam vegetables in) but, like the humble toaster, it does it better than any of the alternatives. Highly recommended.

Dividers

Your box may have come with dividers in place, or it may have just one large compartment. To keep the food from mixing into an unattractive mess, you can sub-divide the box in a variety of ways. Lettuce leaves (look for smooth-leaved varieties like buttercrunch rather than iceberg) can be used to make crisp, edible nests for cold food. Waxed paper or aluminium foil cupcake or muffin cases are also excellent (and can be very cute). You can also sometimes find, with sushi-making equipment (again, try a Japanese food store), little plastic sections of 'grass' used as dividers in boxes of sushi. They're authentically Japanese and look pretty nice.

Condiment Containers

In stores selling Japanese goods (it's a good idea to keep checking the bento range at Jbox to see what they've got in stock, as it changes quite often) you can find little 'mayonnaise cups' which can hold anything from dipping sauces to pills you have to take with your meal, and tiny squeezy plastic bottles shaped like fish that hold soy sauce, which are also nifty. Convenient and cute.

Deeko paper cupcake cases, plastic cookie cutters, bamboo sushi-rolling mat and Hello Kitty mayonnaise cups.

A word on food safety: If you don't have access to a fridge at work or you'll be carrying your lunch in a schoolbag, you may be concerned about your food getting warm and spoily. In this case I have two tips for you: one, invest in an insulated bento bag, which is lined with foil-y stuff like a pizza delivery bag. Two, get an ice-pack and put it in the insulated bag with your bento. You can buy little lunchbox-sized plastic ice-packs in a variety of designs from stores like Payless Plastics and Plastic Box (these are New Zealand chains; I don't know what all of you have locally, but think of the kind of store that carries kitchen bins, drawer organisers, food storage canisters) which you simply keep in the freezer overnight and pop into the bag with your bento before you go out in the morning. Alternatively, freeze a small juice box and pop it in the same way. It will keep your food cool as it thaws and you'll have a chilled drink by lunchtime!