Effortless Bento: 300 Box Lunch Recipes Book Review

Japanese Bento books have been one of the most accessible and popular genres to emerge from Japan in recent years, and Effortless Bento is the bento encyclopaedia. This is the essential box lunch book, featuring hundreds of full-colour images and several bento recipes.

Book Title: Effortless Bento: 300 Box Lunch Recipes
By: Shufu-no-Tomo
Number Of Pages: 192
Published: June 2014
Rating: 4.7 / 5.0

Shufu-no-Tomo, one of the oldest women’s publishers, has been publishing craft and fashion periodicals and books since 1915.
and established the benchmark for design for women aged 20 to 35 in Japan with its debut issue, the seminal magazine Shufu-no-Tomo in March 1917 and now produces about 15 publications and hundreds of books every year, making it one of Japan’s most well-known sources for crafts, cuisine, and women’s fashion.

This handbook contains 300 flavorful, innovative, and, most importantly, simple bento dishes that can be made ahead of time and frozen or refrigerated. Make a couple of batches of meals over the weekend and you’ll be ready for packed lunches all week. And with so many dishes to choose from, you and your family will make bento part of your daily meal routine.

Book Reviews

“There are several delicious dishes. Our kids despise cooked carrots, yet they ate these and wanted more. There are methods to prepare items ahead of time for bento, what’s best cooked fresh vs what can survive in the fridge for a while, and many other helpful hints.
Definitely, one to add to your bento repertoire.”

— James D E.

“This book is fantastic. My favourite Bento book, with one major flaw for me. The printing is so tiny that I can’t read it without a magnifying glass. I thought I was seeing things, but I compared it to one of my other Bento books, and the text in Effortless Bento was clearly smaller. If you like Japanese food, this is a must-read. Very nicely organised, with essential tips on appropriate storage as well.”

— Maria Jamieson.

“The recipes are easy, and they employ comparable ingredients, so you won’t have to go to the shop to stock up on various Japanese specialty things. Sake, soy sauce, and ginger are common components. The majority of dishes include five or six ingredients and cook fast. It’s convenient to be able to prepare larger amounts and freeze them for quick and simple lunches and dinners on busy days.
My husband’s faves are the seven-spice chicken and the fried chicken. Instead of wings, we use boneless, skinless chicken thighs chopped into big, bite-sized pieces for the Seven Spice Chicken.”

— Mal X.

“The Effortless Bento book is best described as a brief course in Japanese food, how to manage it, and meal planning. To make it simple to put a meal together fast, all of the bento meals rely on scheduled behaviours. There are a lot of useful suggestions as well as a lot of beautiful images that make it much easier to prepare meals with, It is good to know what it might look like before you start preparing. I also loved the way that the onigiri recipe is presented, easy to follow.

— Rio D.