Nori seaweed bento

Abstract

[Purpose] The nori bento is said to have been derived from the nori dried bonito flakes bento, which was widespread in households in the showa 30era. It was a lunch box consisting of white rice topped with dried bonito flakes and sprinkled with soy sauce. In 1976, when the first Hokkahokkatei restaurant was opened, a modified version of the Nori bento was launched. Initially, grilled white meat fish (hoki in miso) was used as an ingredient, but this was later replaced by frozen fried white meat fish. Some time later, chikuwa tenpura was added. In this study, we investigated the ingredients, cooking and taste of nori bento with a focus on the two points of ‘taste’ and ‘food loss’, to gain insight into the essence of nori bento and to analyse the factors that determine them.

[Methods] Information was collected from the internet and books on bento chain restaurants, take-out restaurants and various recipes. The study also attempted to examine the ingredients, cooking, eating quality, regional characteristics and historical background of each of these.

[Results] As ingredients, rice, bonito flakes, seaweed and soy sauce were common. The most common ingredients were white meat fish (often fried) and chikuwa (often tempura). Seafood was the most common ingredient. It was inferred that this was due to the use of items that go well with seaweed as a combination of flavours and aromas. Combinations of rice and kelp (often tsukudani) are also common. The harmony of marine products, including nori, brings a sense of unity. Kinpira gobo (braised burdock root), egg omelet, fried chicken and shibazuke (Kyoto-style chopped vegetables pickled in salt with red shiso leaves) are also often used. Many of the details of seasonings are unknown, such as dashi soy sauce, mirin and tartar sauce. In the future, we plan to analyse the factors that determine the attractiveness of nori bento by comparing them with homemade cooked bento.