Bento (弁当) with Japanese Eggplant Bites recipe (ナス) (V, NF, SF)

Bentos are like macro bowls but more aesthetically pleasing and uniform in my opinion (or perhaps I’m biased here). When you test out your own bento assembling skills, it’s key to remember the golden rule:4:3:2:1. The box should be 4 parts rice, 3 parts protein, 2 parts vegetables, and 1 part other. My bentos aren’t ideally following this rule but I do try to at least make 1/2 of the bento vegetables and 1/3 carbs then the rest is protein or fruit.

At first glance, a bento box is pretty small but creating a bento doesn’t have to be limited to containers specifically designed for that purpose. For example, I often use a rectangular Tupperware to place all the food items neatly into sections or I even use an oval container that replicates traditional Japanese bento boxes often seem in Japan or online.

If you need inspiration for your next bento box’s protein compartment, these eggplant tofu bites are delicious, easy to make, and resemble meatballs! The flavor of shoyu (soy sauce) mixed with ginger, garlic, and rice vinegar adds a perfect touch of umami to any bento.

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JAPANESE EGGPLANT BITES

JAPANESE EGGPLANT BITES

Cooking time: 1 hour | makes 30 balls

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large eggplant, cubed

  • 1/2 cup oats (I used gluten-free) or cooked quinoa

  • 1 cup shiitake mushrooms

  • 1/2 block tofu

  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs OR 1/2 cup of almond flour

  • 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour

  • 1 knob ginger, peeled

  • 1 clove garlic

  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar

  • 1/4 cup shoyu or tamari

  • 1 tbsp miso paste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Cube eggplant and steam with a pot and a steamer for 10 minutes until soft 

  2. Once that’s done, add eggplant, oats, ginger, garlic, shoyu, miso paste, rice vinegar to a blender and pulse until it’s all mixed well 

  3. Add the rest of the ingredients into the mix and blend one more time. I recommend crumbling the tofu 

  4. Rest your eggplant mixture into the freezer for 30 minutes 

  5. Heat a skillet with sesame oil on medium-high 

  6. When the 30 minutes is done, remove eggplant mixture and roll into small balls the place on pan to fry (I used a spoon and a chopstick to flip these around evenly) 

  7. Once they’re all cooked, place on the side to cool down and assemble into your bento!

Bryn YasuiComment