This Sweet & Sour Chicken Bento uses the leftover from my Ootoya’s Sweet & Sour Chicken recipe for a delicious portable lunch! Served with steamed rice, ramen egg & Japanese potato salad on the side, it can be put together easily with some planning ahead.
Last time I shared a bento post was August 2014… Almost 10 months ago. I didn’t mean to drop my bento series at all, but we’ve started to focus more on making YouTube videos and our priority got shifted a little bit.
I know some of you have mentioned that you really enjoy my bento series so I’ll definitely do my best to continue next school year. I just have to be more disciplined!
Have you been to one of the popular Japanese diners called Ootoya (大戸屋) in Japan? Outside of Japan, there are 3 locations in NYC, and the restaurant chain is also popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia.
My favorite meal there is this popular sweet and sour chicken & vegetable dish called Tori Kurozu An (鶏と野菜の黒酢あん). Their sweet and sour sauce with black vinegar is one of their specialties and super delicious! This dish requires deep frying so I don’t make it often. However, when I make it, it’s a wonderful treat and our family really enjoy it!
On previous day, dinner was: Ootoya’s Sweet and Sour Chicken.
Assemble Sweet and Sour Chicken Bento
With the leftover, I packed the sweet & sour chicken into bento lunches for the next day. Here are what goes into the bento box:
- Sweet and Sour Chicken Bento
- Ajitsuke Tamago (ramen egg)
- Japanese Potato Salad
- Steamed rice with sesame seeds and umeboshi (pickled plum)
- Cherry tomatoes
How to Heat Up Bento
Now if you’re wondering about how to heat up bento… you might be surprised to learn that most Japanese are used to eating room temperature bento. Microwaves are not available in school and we typically eat bento at room temperature. Therefore, we usually pack food that tastes good even without heating up. One trick is to season the food slightly more. It’s very common to see deep fried food, food that covered with sauce, and salad that still taste pretty good at room temperature in a bento box.
As you may not be used to eating bento at room temperature, I understand this might not work for everyone. Please use Thermos food jars to keep hot foods hot (by lunch time, it’s usually “warm”) and cold foods cold for hours. I do use the food jars as well for certain dishes. If your school or work has a microwave, use a microwave-safe glass container to pack your lunch. It’s wise to separate hot foods and cold foods so you don’t have to take cold foods out in order to microwave hot foods.
Other Bento ideas:
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Bento
Ingredients
- 1 serving cooked Japanese short-grain rice (made ahead or stored in the freezer)
- Ootoya’s sweet and sour chicken (made ahead)
- Ramen Egg (Ajitsuke Tamago) (made ahead)
- Japanese potato salad (made ahead)
- cherry tomatoes
- toasted black sesame seeds
- umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums)
Instructions
- Pack steamed rice in ⅓ of bento box and let it cool.
- Reheat Ootoya's sweet and sour chicken in a frying pan till heated through. Transfer them to a small plate and let them cool.
- Meanwhile, put ramen egg, potato salad, and cherry tomatoes in the bento box.
- When sweet and sour chicken is cool, pack in the bento box.
- Let cool completely before closing the bento box to avoid condensation. Please read food safety tips for bento.
Nutrition
If you are new to packing lunches and interested in making bento-style lunch, check out my short video below on How To Make Bento.
Watch How to Make Bento (お弁当の作り方)
Here are some helpful tips and tools on how to make healthy and colorful Bento!
Hi,
Had been copying your recipes to my pc thank you so much! Son is 2 year old+, attending daycare, had been really worry about his meal that parents have to prepare everyday, i personally like Japanese food although can’t take raw food but the principles are impressive and love the balance of food groups.
Again thank you and hope to see your continuous success.
Best regards.
Hi Louise! Thank you for writing! I hope I can continue sharing many easy recipes that you and your son enjoy. Thank you for following my blog! 🙂
Hi Nami! You really cook in the feature! Lol literally! I thought you mean August 2014!
I love your new entry is such a great idea for when you have few friends coming over for dinner! That would be lovely! Thanks again!
u rock!
Mariano Croner
My goodness! Thanks for noticing and letting me know! It happens when I write at night and publish it.. Thanks for catching my error! I wish I had kept bento series till August 2015! 😀
May I come and go to school with your two next Fall to have a bento box like that for lunch!! Love every bit of it: a feast for the eyes and then your ‘tum’ . . . please post some more variances for us even if they do make us feel peagreen 😉 !! I eat a lot at room temperature: Middle Eastern cuisine is another one which lends itself readily to ‘not hot, not cold’ treatment!!
Aww Eha, you’re too kind. I would love to eat bento with you! 🙂 I didn’t realize or know that Middle Eastern cuisine is served not hot or not cold! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Such a beautiful presentation – that much more mouthwatering! A varied selection of yummy savories, this is why I enjoy making bento so much!
Hi Damiana! Thank you so much for your kind words about my bento! I’m happy to hear you like making bento too! 🙂