After two long weeks, my routine is finally back to normal when my husband came back from his business trip yesterday. I realized how much I rely on him on day-to-day tasks around the house and helping with the children. Now I can get back to focusing more on my blog work besides parenting.
Lately I received positive feedback from readers that my recipes are very easy to prepare even on busy weekdays (thank you!). I’m happy to suggest to you one of our family’s favorite recipe again, and that’s Garlic Miso Chicken.
Have you tried the combination of garlic and miso? It is very delicious, just the right amount of saltiness and savory. For this recipe, I only used common Japanese condiments miso, soy sauce, and mirin. We really love the marinade and I hope you will enjoy this recipe.
Previous Dinner was:
Garlic Miso Chicken (I used chicken thighs this time).
Lunch Next Day:
- Garlic Miso Chicken Bento
My sponsor, Lunch-à-Porter sent me today’s Bento Box ($29.00), Oval silicone cups ($12), Panda Pix’s ($6.00), Eiffel Tower Fork ($4.00) as a gift. It’s a perfect lunch box for my 6-year old son who usually tries to finish his lunch in 10 minutes and go play! Check out their cute bento boxes and accessories and get 15% off using coupon code JOC15!
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- Onigiri (Rice Ball)
- Garlic Miso Chicken
- Strawberries
- Kiwis
- Cherry tomatoes
- Broccoli (pre-blanched, see Notes)
- Make Onigiri and let it cool.
- Reheat garlic miso chicken in a frying pan or toaster oven. Set aside to let it cool and pack in bento box.
- Cut strawberries and kiwis into small pieces.
- Pack fruits, cherry tomatoes and broccoli in the bento box..
- Make sure all the foods cool down completely before closing the bento box.
Broccoli: How to freeze food for Bento, click here.
[Please read FOOD SAFETY TIPS].
* This lunch is for my 6-year-old son.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #justonecookbook — We love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!
Ellena Guan
Love your Miso Chicken Bento! Quick, easy and yummy!!!!
Lara
This chicken looks absolutely delicious! Just one night of patience…
Nami
Hi Lara! Haha! That’s right… 🙂 Thank you so much for sending your Garlic Miso Chicken picture on Facebook. They look so delicious and made me hungry… I’m glad you enjoyed this dish!
Joanne T Ferguson
G’day Nami! I have a FASCINATION about Bento boxes, TRUE!
Yours is very cute and your “simple and versatile” recipe “inspires” me to do! Thank you!
The Ninja Baker
弁当全部食べたい！I want to eat the entire bento! Onigiri are one of my all-time favorites. And thank you for your garlic miso chicken recipe. It is a must-try. どうもありがとう =)
Sue | My Korean Kitchen
I love an easy & quick meal. I don’t normally pack fruit in our lunch box. It’s just a boring leftover stir-fried rice/noodles etc… 🙂 I should make my lunch box more like yours!
Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover
I love everything cook with miso ,but never try garlic miso before, sure will try out soon.
[email protected]
This is one of the cutest Bento boxes I have seen lately, Nami! I haven’t tried garlic miso yet, I will have to try it!
Ramona
Another fun bento idea. I love the chicken and rice… such a hearty combination. 🙂
My Kitchen Stories
Cute Nami and so delicious looking. I would so love this for lunch tomorrow
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
I want to be reincarnated as your child. What lucky children you have, Nami! This looks and must taste amazing!
Belinda @zomppa
Want this for MY lunch!
Denise [email protected] Brazil To You
Nami: I love bentos…What a great way to carry lunch wherever one goes. Yours looks very yummy plus make me smile. I love those smiling-face, playful pandas. When I look at them it seems that they are trying to say that a great, healthy meal is waiting for us.
Rosa
A great bento box. The chicken looks scrumptious.
Cheers,
Rosa
Eri
I love it, Nami, I;m making miso glazed fish usually, I;m sure that the combination with garlic must be excellent.
Today I’m going to make your chicken curry 🙂
Helene
This is the cutest Bento box, thanks for sharing.
Sandra's Easy Cooking
That is one delicious bento, Nami! I love the combination of garlic miso chicken and onigiri. Looks like a real meal fit for a king! Wonderfully put together, thanks for sharing and have a lovely week…oh and rest now that your hubby is back! 😀
Ashley Bee (Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine)
Now, if only I could train my boyfriend to make me bento boxes to bring to work… they always look so good and delicious!
A_Boleyn
A shame that your little guy doesn’t sit and savour that gorgeous bento box but play is always more important for little boys. The combination of dishes is wonderful as always. I love wings but around here, drumsticks and thighs are always cheaper by the pound than they are. 🙂
[email protected]
Lovely bento! And I love the idea of combining miso and garlic – I haven’t done this, but it sounds wonderful. Really good stuff – thank you.
Rhonda
Those little pandas are the cutest thing! This bento looks tasty and adorable.
Sissi
Nami, I do remember very well how your miso and garlic chicken is extraordinary! Remember when I made skewers with breasts slightly twisting your recipe? I have been preparing them all the time since I posted them. I serve them to my guests and even those who pretend they don’t like Japanese cuisine, love them of course! Miso and garlic combination is amazing.
Your bento looks terrific, as always. I cannot even imagine how beautiful your bentos will be when summer fruits and vegetables arrive.
Nobuko
Hi Nami, Your bento lunch looks delicious. I love onigiri and grilled chicken cold for a snack outside the home. My son says I can serve it to him everyday for his lunch too! That’s how much he loves the combo. My mother still makes onigiri for us before heading out on any excursion.
Thanks again and will be serving it for lunch this week for sure!
Nobuko 🙂
CCU
Being partial to garlic, this has been one of my favourite Bentos yet 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
This is my favorite bento yet! The pandas are too cute, and the chicken looks mouth-watering!
Baking Scientist
Your lunch box looks very healthy! With balance of vegetables, fruits, chicken, and rice, I really like it a lot 😉 I wish my girl will like strawberries and tomatoes soon…
Dedy Oktavianus [email protected]
great bento plating, i wont eat that if i were you,
it’s away to cute….
mjskit
One of the things I love most about your bento boxes is that they introducing me to some of your previous recipes that I missed. I mean – how would I not just love your garlic miso chicken?! It looks so good! This bento, like your other bentos is delicious and healthy. How on earth do you get your kids to eat blanched broccoli? 🙂
La cocina de Vero
Hi, Nami. I’m having such a busy days, that I can’t wait to get my vacations.
Never try miso & garlic together, but we will do it soon.
Thanks for your great recipes.
Have a great week!
Vero
CK
Ooooo, I can’t wait to try out the Garlic Miso Marinade on my next batch of chicken. I like to use boneless because it is easier on the kids so I think this will work great and I bet is taste so good hot or cold…perhaps I will have to try some of this chicken on a nice cold noodle salad. Do you think this could be frozen in the marinade or part of it (I prep, cut and freeze a lot of my chicken for later use) or would it be best not to?
Nami
Hi CK! I wouldn’t recommend to freeze the chicken WITH marinade. As you know, miso and soy sauce are both quite salty. You just need to marinade for a short time and it’s perfect. I understand the convenience though. If you use boneless, and cut the meat smaller size (for faster marinade), you actually need to marinade (in all ingredients) for a several hours, not even over night. Marinade is very quick to make so hope you can just combine chicken and marinade in the morning before you leave the house to prep dinner. Hope that helps. 🙂
Mich Piece of Cake
Must be hard when you hubby travels. I can imagine how busy you must have been. Your garlic miso chicken looks great. I now have ready miso in my refrigerator and can make this sometime.
[email protected]
I don’t think I will ever get over the fact that I am so jealous of your children and how they are able to indulge in these delicious, healthy and beautiful lunch boxes you make for them 🙂 I particularly like the mini pandas hehe so cute!
Jeff
I think that more people should pack Bento boxes for students lunches instead of the other crap they send. No more lunchables! Just Bento’s! Especially if they are filled with delicious food like this! And they still get toys too!
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker
I never thought about using garlic in my miso marinade –wonderful idea! I will give that a try next time when I make my seabass. Lovely post Nami.
Raymund
I agree your recipes are really easy to make yet it is delicious.
Nuts about food
Pinned the miso garlic chicken recipe: have all the ingredients in the house and always on the lookout for recipes to use my stash of miso paste. Love it!
Jenny
Hello Nami, great to be reading you again! I’ve also had two weeks away – in South Africa, gazing at giraffe and finally getting some sun. Good break, but hard to be back in icy England! Your garlic miso chicken is a comfort for me!
Betty Ann @Mango_Queen
Oh we love the combination of miso and garlic in chicken. This is great! And you gave us a bonus ~ how to prepare the bento box! I’m getting hungry and might make this for us even if it’s not in a bento. Thanks for sharing, Nami!
miss mochi
I love the shape of the onigiri, and the portions seem like a great lunch for a 6 year old!
Carol | a cup of mascarpone
Nami, your miso chicken bento is lovely, and looks so delicious! The chicken is incredible looking on its own! Thanks for sharing this wonderful dish!
Lail | With A Spin
I totally gt what you mean, Nami. My husband travels every week(Mon-Thu) and can’t for him to get back Thursday nights to have some of my sanity for the weekend.
The bento box looks delicious.
Reem | Simply Reem
Ok Officially I am in Bento Heaven…
I can never never make my bento like this!
B/W I am loving the panda sticks
Juliana
Oh Nami…so cute your bento…and I need to add garlic ext time cooking chicken with miso…sounds delicious!
Enjoy your week 🙂
Lynna
I do agree, your recipes are quick and easy! I love the step by step pictures as well. 🙂 Love this bento box. The combination of garlic and miso sound delicious together!
Liz
I would love to eat one of your lunches! Your children are so lucky to have you as mom. I need to check out your garlic miso chicken again…I know it’s a winner!
Jayne
Such a colourful pretty bento! I love miso and garlic. In fact, I always overdo garlic because I cannot get enough! Thanks for bring up your garlic miso chicken. I’ll be making it for a gathering this weekend. Wish me luck!
Bam's Kitchen
Nami-san, this is an adorable little bento box. I can see it was made with love and care and I am sure your little one will eat it 1/4 of the time it took you to make it. Miso and garlic are beautiful together. Your recipes are so easy that it makes weeknights a breeze. Take Care, BAM
GourmetGetaways
The garlic miso chicken sounds delicious. I am going to back track and look at that recipe. It would be great for dinner with rice and then I could use the leftovers for school lunches. I think I need to be feeding my 7 year old a little more food in his lunch box each day! He comes home famished :0
Lianne
Beautiful bento box as usual! I wanna be your child! hehe Get to have yummy food every day and be surprised as well! hehe Everything sounds delish! You’re an awesome mum dearie! x
Kim Bultman | alittle lunch
Nami, your bento box arrangement caught my eye and so did that little Eiffel Tower fork! Thanks for including the link to Lunch-a-Porter. Glad to hear your husband made it back safe and sound, and that normal life has resumed!
Gemma @andgeesaid
Yum, this looks so delicious, Nami! I just had miso soup for a quick dinner just then, would never have thought of putting miso and garlic together! xx
Donalyn
Oh yum – I think I just figured out what I am making for dinner tonight. I love garlic and miso together and I have a package of chicken thighs thawing already – thanks!
Chef and Sommelier
Hi Nami! Absence makes the heart fonder!… Good for you that your hubby is back…:D
Nice bento! I like the 2 pandas… so cute!
Katerina
This is so quick and yummy Nami! Love it!
Monet
Isn’t it amazing how quickly our routines can fall apart? I’m sure you and your husband are both happy to be back together. And the little ones too! Thank you so much for sharing. As always, a visual and sensory delight. I hope you have a wonderful week!
[email protected]
I really need to get some miso already and consider it a condiment staple already. The chicken looks amazing and as always the bento box is adorable.
Dara
Love this bento! Garlic Miso Chicken sounds delicious. I love the simplicity of the recipe – perfect for a weeknight.
yummychunklet
Sounds and looks delicious!
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com
this looks so good! It actually looks like a perfect lunch box!
[email protected]
Can I take the 6-year-old bento box? I’ll need two boxes:)
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today
I know that I write it almost each time but your lunch boxes rock. My future child will write you one day to thank you, hahaha. And I’ll try your idea to combine miso and garlic, must be delicious. Good to hear that you’re all together now 🙂
Mallika
A lovely bento box treat. Nice clicks and loved that creativity!
[email protected]
What a lovely Bento Box. I bought my first real Bento Box, and I am all fired up to put it to use. Thanks so much, your posts are amazingly helpful Nami. Love it.
Kitchen Belleicious
its like I can smell the garlic in this chicken. I love it. The little panda bear picks are absolutely adorable. Where on earth did you find them?
Candice
Such a cute bento box! Your son is very lucky! =)
Your recipes are such a lifesaver on weeknights. =D
Nami
Thank you Candice! xo 🙂
[email protected]
Wow, the bento box looks like a beauty, so cute! My 2 1/2 is such a picky eater that I am so embarass to call myself a food blogger, she just refused to eat! I think I should learn how to make Bento, always in my to-do list year after year, maybe the cuteness can lure her in:-)
Asmita
Wow Nami,
This looks absolutely delicious!!!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking
So glad you’re back to a comfortable routine with your husband home again, Nami! Isn’t it funny how little we realize that we rely on the guys? Glad you have you back to regular blogging. This chicken bento looks so delicious and adorable!
Linda | The Urban Mrs
Yum! I love garlic miso – it’s the best combination, and I’m definitely in for something quick, easy, and delicious!
Lola Lobato
Dear Nami, what a lovely Bento!!!! so delicious and well balance. It’s a perfect complete meal.
anh
That bento looks pretty and delicious at the same time!!!
Lisa H.
that is so cute bento box. I know my daughter would love to have this everyday, unfortunately her mom is lazy ;P
Shema George
I am totally in love with your bento’s. They are so beautiful and of course healthy. I am sure your son might be so happy about them 🙂
Jen L | Tartine and Apron Strings
Your bento boxes are the cutest!!! I can’t resist them! Garlic Miso Chicken…yummmmm…by the way, you had me at “garlic” – LOL! I happen to put garlic in everything!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
Can you believe that I’ve never tried miso?!?!?!? Seems like I’m missing out on deliciousness!!
Glad your Husband is back — they are always appreciated more whenever not around 🙂
Sandra
I’ve never had miso before but I think I’d like it. I know I would love to have one of these cute bento boxes for my lunch.
Food Jaunts
I love all these cute bentos so many fun colors. Lol, at least you know your son is getting a healthy tasty lunch in that 10 minutes before he runs to go play!
Lori Lynn
Garlic + miso sounds perfect, can’t believe I’ve never tried it.
My nephew Jett would love those pandas, I think I’ll go to the Japanese market and buy my sister-in-law some cute animals for his lunch box. Thanks for the inspiration, as always Nami!
LL
Hannah
I’m glad your husband is back and life can return to normal. I remember the chaos in our household when my husband traveled and our children were quite young! This is a beautiful bento and I can’t wait to try your garlic miso marinade.
Shirley
So cute!! I’ve been wondering what else I can do with my tub of miso paste, so I’ve pinned the chicken recipe. Mine won’t be as cute as this bento box, though. 😉
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
Garlic and miso is definitely a flavor combo I can get onboard with!
TheKitchenLioness
Nami, more fabulous looking bento! The presentation is so very pretty and the food looks so very appetizing, again! I am always so impressed and really enjoy this Bento series of yours – these panda pix are just the cutest!
Stephanie
I have yet to make my bentos for my boyfriend as pretty as you make them for your son.. Also, loving the garlic and miso marinade! I will try to use it your sauce this week. =)
mycookinghut
Looks really cute and good. The miso chicken looks yummy!
Kat
I made the Garlic Miso Chicken two days ago and it is so good. We have to always encourage/bribe our 3 year old son to eat meat but once he tasted the chicken he said “MMMmm” and when I asked him what he wanted more of he said chicken.
Thank you so much for posting the recipe.
Nami
Hi Kat! I’m so happy to hear you liked this garlic miso chicken recipe! I’m especially happy that your son enjoyed it. You made my day! 🙂