Happy Friday! Although this week was a shorter week for us due to the holiday on Monday, Friday seemed to have taken forever to arrive with all the things going on in our lives. Here we are with another bento post, and today is my favorite meal, Korokke Bento!
Last week I skipped my bento post due to our family fried trip to the rice mill facility in Nelson, California. We still need to process a lot of pictures my husband took during the tour, and we cannot wait to share what we learned. The president of the company and his staff were all very kind and friendly and we had such a fantastic time. It’s really wonderful feeling to know who’s making the food you are eating and knowing that they care so much about their rice. For now, I want to share my favorite pictures from the trip that I shared on my Instagram.
Golden color of rice field…beautiful scenery.
My children’s (and my) highlight of the trip? Riding on this giant harvester! And that’s the driver Ted. He’s funny and so great with the kids!
Such a comfortable smooth ride with A/C on. My children were so excited how the harvester collected rice.
We look forward to sharing what we learned from our trip. Stay tuned! Now let’s go back to today’s bento post.
Previous Dinner was:
This is my version of Korokke which I put minced carrot and shiitake mushroom in regular potato & beef korokke. My Mom’s Korokke is the classic one.
Lunch Next Day:
- Korokke Bento
- Water bottle
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- cooked Japanese short grain rice
- Korokke (pre- cooked)
- Tomatoes
- 2 strawberries
- Tonkatsu Sauce (See Notes for homemade recipe)
- Furikake
- Fill up half of bento box with Japanese rice. Let it cool so that hot/warm rice will not warm up other cool food.*
- Reheat leftover Korokke in oven toaster until it's warm thoroughly.
- Pour Tonkatsu Sauce in a little container.
- Wash tomatoes and strawberries and pat dry. Place them nicely in the bento box.
- Pack cooled Korokke.
- Sprinkle furikake on top of slightly cooled rice.
- Cool down completely before close the bento box cover.
Tonkatsu Sauce: Homemade recipe, click here.
[Please read FOOD SAFETY TIPS .]
If you are using a thermal bento box like Thermos, you do not need to cool down before closing lunch box.
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.
How awesome to see the rice from harvest to the beautiful box!
love croquette!
i like the decoration,it looks good,i’m sure i’m going to try this recipe.thanks.
I would love to hug your son for being so lucky to have a mother like you! That bento box looks beautiful: not too heavy, not too light – I bet he finished it all 🙂 ! OK, not big on deepfried items, but they were but a part of what the appetizing choice offered 🙂 ! And [shush!], I prefer yours over your honourable Mom’s! Oh, so loved your ricefield photos!
早い金曜日ポストだね。明日は忙しいのかな？コロッケはやはり手作りが一番だと思います。揚げたてのをフーフー言いながら、食べたい！ 息子さんラッキーだなあ。そして、農場を見学なんて、勉強になりますね。
Great recipe Nami and I loved that picture of the rice harvester 🙂
it’s lovely how your dinner transforms into a beautiful bento box! Fascinated 🙂
Hi Nami, I have a question about when to prepare all of the food for the bento. Do you make the rice and korokke over night and reheat in the morning or just place the food into the box while it’s still cool (at room temperature)? I ask this because I have very little time to prepare food in the mornings!
Thanks!
Hi Sam!
I’m terribly sorry for my late response. I also don’t have much time in the morning (I want to sleep as much as possible…); therefore, almost everything is cooked previous night, or I kept them in freezer.
For example, this korokke can be stored in freezer. I put it in the fridge overnight and in the morning I put it in the toaster oven while I prepare breakfast.
In Japan, it’s always recommended to “re-heat” bento ingredients before packing, even though you still have to cool down again. It’s a necessity process to keep it longer, especially if you don’t store it in fridge till lunch time.
When my husband brings lunch, he has fridge at work, so I usually pack at night, and he just brings it straight to work’s fridge. That’s okay if you don’t keep it out for a long time.
I almost always pack previous dinner into lunch box, and freeze extra (I purposely make extra when my bento ingredients stock is low in freezer).
I hope this helps. 🙂
Happy Friday indeed! This looks absolutely irresistible, Nami!
That looks just so cute, Nami. What a lucky little boy : ) I bet the other children are fascinated by his lunch! Love the pics of the rice fields, too..they look so serene.
I just love you Friday’s bento box! And to read about your trip!
Ciao.
What a lovely experience for the kids and you! Those machines are really huge!!! A bit different from Japan or Italy :-). Love the bento, looks so pretty!
Ciao
Alessandra
Oh wow, you got to ride on a harvester?! That’s so cool… I’ve always thought that must be such a nice thing to do. Farmers are often harvesting wheat in England sometimes very late at night in the summer months, so they can get everything in before the rain and cold weather comes!
Nami, another stunning bento box lunch! Your kids looked like they had a great time harvesting rice… what a cool experience. Have a wonderful weekend my friend.
~ Ramona
Your kids looked like they were having so much fun, Nami. Can you imagine helping to drive a harvester at that age? Korokke? I’ve learned another new one today. They look absolutely delicious. Please don’t apologise for commenting… my goodness, I don’t know how you do it! Enjoy your weekend, my friend.
What a fun trip! I’d love to visit a rice field. You son is lucky to get such fabulous lunches.
Beautiful and tempting! Now, I’m hungry…
Lovely sceneries! A gorgeous bento. Those korokke look scrumptious.
Cheers,
Rosa
What a cute bento box! If I was your son, I’d enjoy bringing this to school! Nice photos of the trip to the rice mill. Can’t wait to hear all about it and see more photos! I grew up in an agricultural province and your farm photos reminded me of those days. Till next post! Enjoy the coming weekend, Nami & thanks for sharing all these info!
Your rice trip sounds wonderful! I was very impatient to hear about it and look forward to reading more details soon. I suppose now you have come back with the stock of rice for the whole year. I would buy tons of rice if it was good and if I knew personally the people who made it.
I think I have already told you korokke is still on top of the list of my favourite Japanese dishes. Especially your korokke because even prepared by a European (I mean me), they taste hundred times better than the ones I tasted in my city’s Japanese restaurants or Tokyo conbini. No comparison!
You gave me now with this gorgeous bento photo an idea for next week’s lunch box!
What a wonderful place…!!! I can’t wait for your post showing us all your trip.
Can’t wait to see more pics from your rice mill trip.
The bento box looks amazing..too cute to eat. =)
Looks like a great outing! Fascinating to see all the rice fields.
Bento looks too beautiful to eat, but I could manage quite easily!
Nazneen
Makes me hungry just looking at it.
Thank you Debra! 🙂 Have a nice weekend!
I never knew rice was so pretty! Nice photos, and nice bento. I like the heart on the toothpick – and it’s color works so well with the tomatoes! Good post – thanks.
Your lunchboxes are so adorable, Nami! The korokke looks amazing – I need to try it!
I would so love to have this for lunch! What a cute presentation. And that field trip looks like a blast!
What a fun experience to ride the rice harvester! I’m loving this bento series – your kids eat the best lunches :).
You make the cutest bentos and very delicious I must say! Love your korokke, good stuff and always popular with the kids especially! I am glad to hear that the trip went fine, pictures look awesome!
Your bento boxes are so creative! And the family field trip looks awesome!
I know so many people who would love this korokee bento. It`s too cute! I`m glad to see you had a great time! 🙂
I was so enthralled with the Instagram feed during your visit to the rice field. Can’t wait to read more about the adventure 🙂
ps: You make the most delicious bento box!! Your kids must be so proud of their Mama 🙂
I could not be more thrilled that it is finally Friday, although I do have to work tomorrow. The rice mill factory pictures are awesome! I totally wish I was there with you. As for this croquette, I absolutely love it! This was my mom’s favorite so we’d always buy one every time we were at the Korean bakery. I definitely need to try this homemade version though!
I would like to know more about your farm visit. Please share more pictures. I just made a dish called Vegetable Cutlet in India and it looks very similar to your korokke. Instead of deep frying, I cooked it in a saucepan with little oil. Since I am back to South beach diet, I skipped the potatoes and used roasted chickpeas as the binding agent. I think every country has its own version of korokke or cutlet or patties. Whatever we call it, they are all sooooo yum and addictive right?
What a fun trip! Your kid must be excited riding that giant harvester. I love korokke – we have quite similar and we call it kroket. It sounds similar, too, doesn’t it? But we serve it with peanut sauce. The one you have, with carrot and shiitake, absolutely add texture and flavors. Will try this for hubby.
I love This.
Delicious!!!!
I would like a dish……..
So pretty and colorful. Thanks for sharing the field photos!
Can you make me lunch for work? really! These ‘croquettes’ look amazing and lovey with carrots and shitake for a little more flavor. Greta rice field pics, cannot wait to read about the trip.
I’m hoping to make your beef and potato korokke using some of the beef shank I froze away a while back as soon as I’m on my feet again.
How lovely that you were able to share the experience of seeing rice grown and harvested with your children. Every child should have that experience while growing up especially those who live in the city. One of my favourite childhood trip memories was going to a local farm where they raised goats and used the milk to make cheese. We got to taste them both from as close to the source as possible. I’ve never forgotten.
So beautiful to see the golden rice field of California. It reminds me of visiting countryside of Korea around this time of the year to see beautiful golden rice field with farmers harvesting their crops. You korroke looks good and love your bento idea!
I apparently missed the Korokke from last year so I had to go check it out. What great little croquettes! I love fingerfood like this – crisp on the outside and chewy and tasty on the inside. What a perfect protein for a Bento box. I’m sure the kids loved it! have a fabulous weekend!
Those rice fields are just gorgeous, and the korokke look heavenly. Thank you for sharing!
very pretty golden rice field, can’t wait to see more..every kids sure love this yummy bento!
What a lovely lunch for your son. Suddenly sandwiches pale into insignifcance. I’d much rather this bento any day. Sounds like you had both a fun and an educational day out with the family. I think it is so important that kids know the origins of the food they eat. Well done!
Nami, I’m sure your kids had fun! I fell in love with the mill just by looking at the gorgeous shots. I love korokke with lots of potatoes & especially when it’s hot. I’ve just posted an article on my first solo trip, with a pix of me when I was a kid. Hahaha! Lots of lovely memories flowing back…..
when we were kids we used to go with my grandparents when they harvest the wheat and yes, riding on that ginormous harvester was tons of fun!
Can’t wait to see more photos!
Oh, I cant not stay away from this snack, we all love it! your bento really looks cute, i think i will make it the same for my son lunch box. hihi, I should have the cutie tiny sauce bottle
I packed my lunch bento style this week and thought of you! Mine did not look nearly as cute and delicious as this.
I can’t wait to hear more about your mini-break. Those karokke’s look delicious. I love anything with shiitake mushrooms! What a beautiful and colourful lunch box xx
Love Bentos Nami!! are beutiful! and this is georgeous!
I’ve tried making korokke myself but found shaping them quite difficult but yours looks so good. 😀 I would be so happy to have bentos like this. Your kids are so lucky!!
What a nice activities to visit the rice field. I think it’s always nice to let the kids know exactly where our food are really coming from…(and not from the supermarket as some of them might think!) hahaha…
And wow, I would love to ride on the giant harvester too! How fun! It’s so nice to be your kids. You always have these beautiful and appetizing bento packed for them. Lucky!
Such beautiful and healthy meal, I love!
Nami, these Korokke look so wonderful – they are going to be a sure huge success with the whole family. I am sure that the kids would be more than pleased to bring leftover Korokke to school. The bento box that you prepared with them looks so appetizing!
P.S.: Just wanted to let you know that I baked your Green Tea & White Chocolate Cookies and blogged about it – they were amazingly delicious, just the kind of cookies I enjoy. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Have a terrific Sunday!
I’ve never seen a harvester before let alone sat in one! How fun it would be!!! I don’t think i’ll ever have leftovers to make bento the next day as my hubby just eats everything up! If you see him, you won’t believe that he’s able to eat so much as he’s quite thin. I need to find ways to fatten him up! haha
That bento box looks so good. Your son is so lucky to have you 🙂
Looking forward to your recap. What a nice experience to see how rice is harvested. I love learning things like this. I’ll have to share your post with my husband, too. He’d get a kick out of that harvester! 🙂
The Instagram pics are already awesome. I can’t wait for your story and more pictures about the rice mill trip. This looks like a delicious croquette Nami! I wish I am child number 3!
Hi Nami,
Looks like you”ll had a wonderful trip!
The bento box looks amazing! Your son is so lucky to have a mother who cooks like the way you do and packs it so beautifully!
Great job!
That croquette looks good, can I use this with Japanese curry?
Hi Raymund! I’ve seen that before. You know Japanese curry match with a lot of deep fried food, like ebi fry (deep fried shrimp), chicken katsu, etc. 🙂
This must have been such a great experience for all of you but most importantly for the kids! Our kids live in big cities and somehow they lose the connection with nature and the earth and all the works that have to be done in order for us to enjoy the produce in our plates. Beautiful pictures and the bento delicious!
These lunches almost make me wish I was a kid again.
Lucky kids for having a mom like you 🙂
How much fun is that? I bet your kids had a blast! I love seeing how things are made, especially when it comes to farming and harvesting food.
This lunch looks so good! I would love to surprise my husband with a bento box like this one sometime. Now I am off to read the korokke recipe!
Love these bentos! This looks like such a deliciuos lunch. I am jealous of your field trip.
Love all your photos, Nami! What a terrific adventure to share with your family. 🙂
Such a beautiful scenery Nami, I will wait for more about your trip. Just like every time I love your Bento, I have to make those korokke soon, yum!
Nami, I love korroke! 😀 I remember having this incredible cream korokke when I was in Tokyo. The outside was so crispy and the inside so creamy. I’ve always wanted to make one like it 🙂
Nami-san, A big thank you for resolving my issue of not being able to find tonkatsu sauce here in HK on a regular basis. Sometimes they have it and sometimes they are out of it for months. I have booked marked your homemade tonkatsu sauce and will give it a try soon for my pork tonkatsu or for your delicious fried Korokke. Ja Mata, BAM
I’m loving the bento series! Those korokke seem perfect for lunch (I tend to struggle with eating leftovers of most foods) but I’d happily take this for lunch. That rice mill trip looks fantastic.
Looking at all your lunch bentos makes me want to buy all these cute bento supplies. I must resist! >_<
That looks so good, and the “grass” is so cute! Beautiful pics of the fields, can’t wait to see more.
Beautiful photo of the rice fields, sounds like a wonderful and informative trip;-)
Nami, I received a gift of supplies for Bentos- which I admit to storing and never using;-( I am feeling more inspired since you’ve started your Bento series….
Nami, It is so much fun to see your colorful Bento boxes. I would feel like a VIP if this was sent in my backpack! Your son is so lucky. 🙂 That sauce container and the little heart skewer are adorable touches too! P.S. I was in Half Moon Bay recently and thought of you! We had some great sushi at Sushi Main Street. I only wish that you could have been there too! One day we will meet!
Hello Nami,
Is the citrus seasoned soy sauce (http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/anuga2011/mizkangroup_1enlarge.htm) quite different from tonkatsu sauce? I bought it from local supermarket as I could not find tonkatsu sauce. Thanks for sharing your recipe 🙂
Yes, that’s called Ponzu (in this brand it’s called Ajipon) and it’s very different. Check out this page.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/tonkatsu-sauce/
If you cannot make it, I put the recipe for Tonkatsu sauce. Hope this helps!
And here’s Ponzu: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/ponzu/
Thanks Nami for your reply! So desune :p I think it should be available at the Japanese supermarket in Singapore but not at the local one I went to :p I don’t want to waste it so I guess I have to see how I can use it 🙂
You’re welcome! May I suggest some ponzu recipes? How about
Ponzu Vineigrette for spring rolls, steamed veggies, tofu:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/spring-rolls-with-sesame-ponzu-vinaigrette/
Sesame Ponzu Dressing for salad (similar to above):
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/tofu-salad-with-sesame-ponzu-dressing/
And Shabu Shabu (use Kombu dashi please, not chicken broth): https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/shabu-shabu/
Hope this helps! 🙂
Thanks Nami for your helpful suggestions! 🙂
By the way, the pumpkin korroke that Ajisen used to serve over here does not have any other ingredients except pumpkin itself :p I was amazed when I saw your mom’s korroke recipe with beef and pork 🙂
When we say korokke, it’s usually potato and ground pork & beef. But other vegetable korokke like Kabocha (pumpkin) Korkke and Cream Korokke don’t usually include meat in them. 🙂
Dear Nami, thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes. 🙂 I’ve made some of them, like the hijiki salad and korokke, and they turned out delicious. May I ask how you keep korokke crunchy when you use them in bento? Thank you in advance!
Hi Sandra! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 There is no perfect crunchiness when it comes to bento. Even you buy from a good bento shop, tempura bento, karaage bento, katsu bento, all the deep fried foods are not crunchy as freshly made. I mean, it’s impossible. We still enjoy those recipes in room temp bento though. But we accept the condition when it’s in bento and used to eat that way in bento.
You can try your best by toasting the korokke in a toaster oven or frying pan. NEVER microwave it. And after toasted, let it cool completely on wire rack (so moisture won’t be on the bottom). Then when it’s cooled, you can pack in the bento. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Thank you for the quick reply, Nami. 🙂 I can see that you really enjoy teaching and sharing your recipes with us. I will use your tips when I next make a korokke bento!