Obento

It is sometime a hustle to make obento for three kids, but I enjoy making these lunch. I hope my kids enjoy it too.

I buy Japanese vegetables and other ingredients from local asian supermarkets, which make it easier for me to make Japanese style lunch. Who would have thought that you can buy Aoshiso in Saskatoon!

(The wooden lunch boxes are called Mage Wappa. They are handmade in Japan.)

カナダには給食制度がないので、小学校から高校までお弁当を持参します。時々、給食があったらなぁと思う日もありますが、日本の食文化を私の子供たちが将来も覚えていてくれますようにと願いながら作っています。私がカナダにきた20年ほど前はお寿司の材料や納豆が一種類、ポッキーが買えると十分幸せでしたが、今では納豆は１０種類以上、青紫蘇やレンコン、ゴボウなどもたやすく買えるようになりました。カナダで曲げわっぱに日本のおかずを詰めていると、どこに住んでいるのかよくわからなくなりそうですね

Since there is no school lunch, I make bento box lunch for my three kids. There are different religious and cuisine cultures in Canada, so it is probably impossible to make one agreeable food choice.

The school lunch in Japan is called Kyushoku, which is served in elementary schools. I feel nostalgic about it time to time.

A group of students are chosen to be in charge of getting a cart of Kyushoku. They serve the classmates and the teacher. Class leaders of the day announce the menu and pray for the food, “Itadakimasu!” as a group. If someone is absence from school, you’ll bring some of the food to her/his house along with printouts after school.