One of the very popular bento, Pork Shōgayaki Bento is very filling. By placing Pork Shōgayaki on rice, the sweet soy sauce flavour goes onto the rice, making it so flavoursome.
Pork Shōgayaki (Ginger Pork) Bento consists of cooked rice and just a couple of dishes with a boiled egg and fresh veggies.
Because bento is usually made mostly from left-over dishes or make-ahead dishes, the time indicated in this recipe only shows the time to pack the bento box.
- 1 cup cooked rice (note 1)
- 100g/3.5oz Pork Shōgayaki (Ginger Pork) with sauce (note 2)
- 50g/1.8oz Lotus Root and Spinach Salad (note 3)
- 1/2 cup shredded lettuce (note 4)
- 1 boiled egg cut in half
- A pinch of gomashio (optional, note 5)
- 2 baby tomatoes
- A bento box of your choice
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While the rice is still hot or warm, place it in the largest compartment of the bento box (note 6), allowing for the pork slices to be placed on top. Let it cool.
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Cut the Pork Shōgayaki into large bite size pieces. Place them on the rice so that the rice is completely covered. Then pour the sauce over it.
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Put Lotus Root and Spinach Salad in one of the empty compartments. If your bento box does not have compartments, use a foil cupcake liner to put it in.
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In the other empty compartment, spread lettuce and place boiled eggs with the cut side up. Sprinkle gomashio in the centre of the egg yolks if using.
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Put the tomatoes in the corner of the main section next to the Ginger Pork.
1. It is best to pack cooked rice in a bento box while hot or warm as it is easier to shape the rice into the bento box.
2. When you put aside the cooked pork for bento, make sure to save some sauce too.
3. I used the recipe Lotus Root and Mizuna Salad, but I substituted mizuna with blanched spinach. The spinach was cut to 5cm long after blanching.
4. I am one of those people who can eat fresh salad leaves with no dressings. But if you need to add flavouring to the lettuce, bring salad dressing of your choice in a small container with the bento box and pour it over when eating.
5. Gomashio (胡麻塩) is black sesame seeds and salt sold in a bottle or a packet. Please visit Red Rice with Azuki Beans (Osekihan) for details and photo of gomashio.
6. If your bento box does not have separate compartment, you can use a sheet of baking paper or a couple of pieces of salad leaves to separate the rice from the rest of section.