Teriyaki Salmon on the go – in a bento box! Cook up this easy, sweet & savory teriyaki salmon for dinner the night before, and keep an extra piece to pack in a Japanese-style bento for lunch the next day.
Continuing my Bento series, I am featuring one of my favorite main dishes on the go – Teriyaki Salmon. It’s so delicious on white rice the day after it’s cooked, when the flavors of the homemade teriyaki sauce really come together. My kids love it too, so that is what I packed in their lunch today as their main dish.
If you are a long time reader of Just One Cookbook, you know that I started the bento series once my children started school, and I wanted to pack them a healthy, homemade lunch to take with them every day. Before I started this series, the last time I packed a Japanese-style bento was back in my high school days in Japan when I helped my mom pack my own lunch. I have to admit my bento dishes are much simpler than my mom’s since she would include a wider variety of dishes. Life is too rush these days for me and for you, so let’s keep bento quick & easy!
Teriyaki salmon works so well in a bento because it just as delicious cold the next day with Japanese sticky rice along with a side of fruit, veggies, and gyoza.
Making Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
To make an authentic Japanese teriyaki salmon, the sauce is most important. That means no pre-made bottle of teriyaki sauce from the grocery store. But that doesn’t mean difficult. We need bento preparation to be fast & easy, so we can get the kids (and Mr. JOC) packed and off early the next day.
Homemade teriyaki sauce in Japan is basically 4 ingredients:
- Soy sauce
- Sake
- Mirin
- Sugar (optional)
That’s it! When you have the sauce together, you are ready to make Japanese-style teriyaki salmon for bento.
Step 1: Make the family favorite – Teriyaki Salmon – for dinner the night before. Make a few extra pieces to keep in the fridge overnight.
Step 2:
- Top the bento rice with the super flavorful Teriyaki Salmon. Add in some fruit and veggies, and if you cooked up gyoza for dinner last night like I did, add that in too. Healthy, delicious, beautiful lunch for the entire family!
I hope that my bento creations inspire you to make bento for you and your family. It’s fun, it’s a cost-saver, and it’s a great way to use up last night’s leftovers!
Other Homemade Bento Ideas:
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Teriyaki Salmon Bento
Ingredients
- 1 serving cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- teriyaki salmon
- broccoli (pre-blanched)
- gyoza
- raspberries
Instructions
- Fill up half of the bento box with Japanese rice. Let it cool so that hot/warm rice will not warm up other cooled food.
- Pan fry leftover teriyaki salmon and gyoza or bake them in a toaster oven until it's warm.
- Wash fruits and pat dry. Place them nicely in the bento box along with broccoli.
- Pack cooled teriyaki salmon and gyoza.
- Cool down completely before closing the bento box.
Notes
Nutrition
