Bento Story,,

Pasti semua udah pernah denger kata Bento. Yup, Bento dalam bahasa Jepang adalah bekal. Sejak dulu orang Jepang suka membawa bento, baik ke sekolah maupun kantor. bento disajikan dalam satu porsi makan, yang biasanya dibuat di rumah atau dijual di bento-ya (toko bento). Bento umumnya berisi nasi, daging, sayuran, dan acar yang disimpan dalam kotak bento yang ditata menarik agar menggugah selera makan.

Bento pertama kali ditemukan pada periode Kamakura [1185-1333], dimana saat itu berkembang nasi masak yang dikeringkan bernama hoshi-ii [hoshi=kering, ii=makanan]. Pada periode Azuchi-Momoyama [1568-1600] mulai dikenal bento yang disimpan dalam kotak kayu berlapis vernis. Saat itu bento hanya dibawa untuk disantap pada perayaan hanami [melihat bunga sakura] atau acara minum teh. Barulah pada periode Edo [1603-1867] bento mulai dikenal dan berkembang secara luas di kalangan masyarakat. Saat itu orang-orang membawa bento mereka dengan mengikatnya di pinggang, sehingga dikenal dengan nama koshibento [koshi=pinggang, bento=bekal]. Koshibento biasanya berupa onigiri [nasi kepal] yang dibungkus daun bambu. Selain koshibento, ada juga makuno uchi bento [maku=adegan, uchi=antara, bento=bekal], yaitu bento yang disantap ketika menonton pertunjukkan Noh dan Kabuki yang populer pada masa itu.

Memasuki periode Meiji [1868-1912], muncul istilah eki-bento atau yang disingkat dengan ekiben [eki=stasiun, bento=bekal], berupa bento yang dijual di stasiun. Ekiben pertama kali yang dijual di stasiun kereta Utsunomiya prefektur Tochigi pada tahun 1885. Saat itu ekiben yang dijual berisi dua buah onigiri dan sebuah takuan [acar/asinan lobak] yang dibungkus menggunakan daun bambu. Para pembelinya tentu saja salaryman dan pegawai kantoran yang tidak sempat membuat bento sendiri di rumah mereka. Pada masa ini anak-anak sekolah pun tidak ketinggalan membawa bento dari rumah. Bento semakin berkembang dengan mulai dibuatnya beragam jenis isi, termasuk bento ala Eropa yang berisi roti sandwich. Pada periode Taisho [1912-1926], diperkenalkan kotak bento alumunium yang dianggap sebagai barang mewah. Karena hal itu, muncul kesenjangan di antara para murid yang membawa kotak bento biasa dengan kotak bento alumunium, akibatnya kebiasaan membawa bento dari rumah mulai ditinggalkan. Sebagai gantinya, pihak sekolah menyediakan makanan untuk disantap para murid dan guru.

Bento kembali populer pada awal tahun 1980 berkat munculnya bento kemasan siap saji yang dijual di toko dan supermarket. Saat itu penggunaan kotak bento yang terbuat dari kayu dan alumunium mahal diganti dengan bahan sterofoam yang jauh lebih murah dan praktis sekali pakai. Satu dekade kemudian bento semakin menjamur dan banyak dijual di supermarket serta toko-toko bento. Bahkan sekitar tahun 2003 bento mulai dijual di bandara udara, yang dikenal dengan istilah soraben. Soraben biasanya disantap dalam pesawat terbang atau ketika menunggu keberangkatan pesawat. Belakangan ini bento yang sedang populer di Jepang adalah bento yang dibuat dengan berbagai bentuk karakter anime/manga/artis, dikenal sebagai kyaraben.


Bento dikemas dalam suatu wadah makanan sehingga sangat praktis dibawa kemana mana dan cocok untuk bekal sarapan, makan siang saat sekolah maupun makan malam bagi yang sudah kerja bahkan cocok juga untuk bekal piknik.Di indonesia sendiri banyak para ibu rumah tangga yang belajar membuat bento. Bagiyang berminat, Let's try!!! :D

Bibimbap!!!!

Bibimbap! Bibimbap!! Bibimbap!!!

Such a fun word to say...even if you don't know how to say it!  

How is it pronounced? Well from local Koreans, I've heard it pronounced as [pee-beem-bahp]. Sometimes the first syllable will be pronounced with a "b" sound, but I've been told that the latter pronunciation is proper.

So, what is bibimbap?

Bibimbap in Stone Pot - Photo by You Know Where You Are

Bibimbap is one of my favorite Asian dishes. The dish is Korean and its name means “mixed meal.” It’s very hearty, healthy, filling, and tasty - a complete meal fixed with complex carbs and protein through a serving of various vegetables and select meats. The dish is also perfect to customize for vegetarians and vegans.

As far as some of the ingredients used, bibimbap can be prepared in a number of ways due to its diversity. It’s traditionally served in a hot stone pot, called a dolsot, in which the rice is cooked. The rice is considered the base of the dish and characteristically becomes crispy at the bottom of the dolsot. It's frequently flavored with sesame seed oil for taste and to help along the scorching of the rice as it cooks along the sides and bottom of the stone pot.

The rice is layered with generous but radially arranged and color-orchestrated helpings of fresh and sometimes seasoned vegetables and a select meat, such as bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, minched beef (usually) or slivers of salmon, carrot julienne, kimchi (yum!), and bok choy or spinach.

This vegetable-laden portion of the meal is referred to as namul (without the meat selection). Namul is a Korean term for a dish or serving filled with a variety of seasoned vegetables. It can be served on its own or as an accompaniment to or inclusion in a meal, such as bibimbap.

Bibimbap is fabulously topped with a fried egg. The egg can be fried or it can be raw or semi-cooked. When the dish is mixed together, the runny and slightly gelled yolk from a semi-cooked or raw egg provides a divine taste, although it might sound weird to some.

A red pepper paste referred to as gochujang is usually added to the dish or served on the side in a small condiment vessel. Gochujang has a spicy and slightly sweet flavor that compliments bibimbap very well. It is meant to be mixed in with the rest of the ingredients, as bibimbap is eaten with a spoon rather with chopsticks or a fork.

Some people love to sprinkle sesame seeds, dried seaweed flakes or even dried bonito flakes over the bibimbap for added texture and flavor.

You can find bibimbap on the menu in most Korean restaurants. If you haven't had it, you should definitely give it a try! Korean food is delicious!

Spicy BBQ Chicken Bibimbap - Photo by Closet Cooking

I personally would love to try my hand at making this dish at home. It seems rather easy, requiring the freshest of ingredients. and I would to try this taste too...

I don't own any dolsots (stone bowls), but I am sure I could find such serving pots at local Korean grocery stores or ethnic food supply shops. Or bibimbap can made and served in a basic ceramic bowl such as the one shown in the above photo.

ESCARGOT…

ESCARGOT…

Okey!! It’s an English time!!!
and we talk about Escargot…..

Escargot - [ehs-kahr-GOH] is the French word for Snail. In culinary terms the little mollusk is traditionally served baked in the shell with a sauce of garlic, shallots, parsley and butter.

One of the most famous dishes in French cuisine is escargot, a preparation of snails which can be served with a variety of sauces. Some of us find the thought of escargot somewhat disconcerting, as snails are not associated with food in most countries. However, some of us eat other mollusks, such as abalone, and some adventurous diners do try escargot at least once for the experience. When well prepared, the flavor and texture can be quite delightful, and snails have been enjoyed in many Mediterranean nations for centuries.

While people who are not from France think that the word refers to a specific dish, in fact it is a generic term for edible snails. The most common preparation for escargot is boiling or steaming, and the snails are often served in the shell on a special escargot plate, which has small depressions for each shell. Diners use tongs to extract the flesh from the shell, along with small two-tined snail forks, and then dip the snail into the sauce provided. A garlic and butter sauce is the most common, but wine sauces and others are not unusual.

Snails can be collected in the wild or farmed for prepared escargot. Farmed snails are fed on a mixture of green and dried foods, with some snail raisers preferring dried food because it is less messy than fresh greens. Some cooks also feed the snails herbs like dill to lend a delicate flavor to the escargot. Either way, the snails must go through a period of fasting which usually lasts for one week before being prepared to cleanse their intestines, which can make the dish turn bitter if not completely emptied. During the fasting period, the snails are kept in wooden ventilated boxes and food is withheld. The snails are gently washed every other day in running water, with stimulates them to empty their guts.

Some cooks salt their snails, producing a large amount of foam which removes the last of their impurities. Others simply throw the snails into salted boiling water for cooking before draining them and bringing them to the table to eat, either as an appetizer or an entree. Simmering the snails in a white wine can also add to the flavor, and in addition to being served plain, escargot can be tossed with pasta or used to stuff vegetables for appetizers.(source: WiseGeek)