Nori
Nori was recognized as a common food. The black seaweed wrappers used in makimono are called nori. Nori is a type of algae, traditionally cultivated in the harbors of Japan. Originally, algae was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into thin, edible sheets, and dried in the sun, in a process similar to making rice paper. Whereas in Japan, nori may never be toasted before being used in food. Higher quality nori is thick, smooth, shiny, green, and has no holes. When stored for several months, nori sheets can change color to dark green-brownish.
Nori by itself is an edible snack and is available with salt or flavored with teriyaki sauce. The flavored variety, however, tends to be of lesser quality and is not suitable for sushi.
Nori was recognized as a common food. The black seaweed wrappers used in makimono are called nori. Nori is a type of algae, traditionally cultivated in the harbors of Japan. Originally, algae was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into thin, edible sheets, and dried in the sun, in a process similar to making rice paper. Whereas in Japan, nori may never be toasted before being used in food. Higher quality nori is thick, smooth, shiny, green, and has no holes. When stored for several months, nori sheets can change color to dark green-brownish.
Nori by itself is an edible snack and is available with salt or flavored with teriyaki sauce. The flavored variety, however, tends to be of lesser quality and is not suitable for sushi.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuteobento/1808867592/http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuteobento/1811429042/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuteobento/1808894768/in/photostream/
Bento (弁当) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. Although bento are readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋), train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend time and energy for their spouse, child, or themselves producing a carefully prepared lunch box.
Bento can be very elaborately arranged in a style called kyaraben or "character bento". Kyaraben is typically decorated to look like popular Japanese cartoon characters (anime), characters from comic books (manga), or video game characters.
http://www.thanko.jp/product/usb/hot/hot-launchbagsp.html
http://dvice.com/archives/2008/11/thanko-warms-up.php
Another popular bento style is "oekakiben" or "picture bento", which is decorated to look like people, animals, buildings and monuments, or items such as flowers and plants. Contests are often held where bento arrangers compete for the most aesthetically pleasing arrangements.
There are similar forms of boxed lunches in the Philippines (Baon), Korea (Dosirak), Taiwan (Biandang), and India (Tiffin). Also, Hawaiian culture has adopted localized versions of bento featuring local tastes after over a century of Japanese influence in the islands.
info credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento
http://www.flickr.com/photos/from-japan-with-love/3971904702/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/from-japan-with-love/3971136259/
http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2008/08/06/bento-this/
A resource site about bento: Japanese box lunches. Information, instructions, pictures and links.
http://www.airandangels.com/bentobox/
http://www.timeoutsingapore.com/shopping/feature/five-lunch-boxes-for-your-meal
http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2007/07/20/bento-lunch-box/
http://www.collectorsquest.com/blog/2009/05/23/the-fascinating-collections-of-flickr/
22 Jul 2010 ... Bento box is the Japanese lunch box. Bento box is a container that store bento (the food) and often has many compartments.
http://www.happymall.com/japan/lacquer_lunch_box.htm
