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Dinner Tonight, Bento Tomorrow! 夕食のおかずで翌日お弁当！

Make dinner work twice! This Japanese bento recipe features easy beef & scallion rolls and pork & asparagus rolls. Enjoy them for dinner, then save a few for bento the next day!
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Servings: 2 people
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Beef & Scallion Rolls
  • 1/4 pound thinly sliced beef (ideally marbled with some fat)
  • 3-4 large scallions
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • 2 tbsp sake
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sugar
Pork & Asparagus Rolls
  • 12 stems medium sized asparagus
  • 4 slices thinly sliced pork belly
  • salt
  • 1/2 lemon
For Bento
  • 2-3 cups cooked warm Japanese white rice
  • 1/2 bunch spinach
  • salt
  • 3 tbsp chopped raw, unsalted walnuts
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3/4 tsp soy sauce
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vegetable oil
  • 10 cherry tomatoes

Method
 

Beef & Scallion Rolls
  1. Lay out the beef on a cutting board, then cut the scallions to match the width of the beef slices.
  2. Wrap the scallions with beef, wrapping them as tightly as you can. Sprinkle a little salt and black pepper on the rolls.
  3. For the sauce, combine 2 tbsp each of sake, mirin, and soy sauce, and 2 tsp of sugar.
  4. Heat the frying pan, and place the rolls seam-side down. (If non-stick, add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil first to the pan). Don't touch them for a couple of minutes to allow the seam to seal completely.
  5. Once the seams are sealed, turn the rolls and keep cooking until the beef changes color.
  6. Add the sauce to the pan. Cover with a lid and then simmer until most of the sauce is absorbed, flipping the rolls a few times.
  7. Cut 2 rolls into small pieces for tonight's dinner, and save the other 2 rolls for tomorrow's bento.
Pork & Asparagus Rolls
  1. Remove the tough end of the asparagus spears, and then boil them in salted water for about 30 seconds. Drain, then cool in cold water.
  2. Carefully wrap 3 asparagus diagonally with the thinly sliced pork, wrapping as tightly as you can.
  3. Heat the frying pan over medium-high heat, and place the rolls seam-side down, leaving them to cook for a couple of minutes.
  4. Once the seam is completely sealed, turn the rolls and cook until the pork is nicely browned. Then sprinkle with a little salt.
  5. For dinner tonight, cut the 2 rolls diagonally into 3 pieces, and before serving, drizzle a little fresh lemon juice on top. Save the other 2 rolls for bento tomorrow.
Bento Creation
  1. Begin by making Japanese white rice, referring to our TOKYO FLAVORS, NEW YORK STYLE: "Make Rice Like This!" episode.
  2. To prepare the spinach, first wash it well with cold water. Then briefly boil in salted water and then cool it quickly under cold running water. Squeeze as much water as you can out the spinach leaves.
  3. Cut the squeezed spinach into bite-sized pieces.
  4. For the dressing, combine 3 tbsp of finely chopped walnuts, 1 tsp of sugar, and 3/4 tsp of soy sauce in a bowl. Add the spinach and toss together well.
  5. For the omelet, break 3 eggs into a bowl and mix with 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/3 tsp of sugar.
  6. Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to a small frying pan, pour in the eggs, and cook on both sides until they're set. Cut the omelet into 4 pieces.
  7. Cut the saved beef & scallion rolls into small pieces, and the saved pork & asparagus rolls diagonally into 3 pieces.
  8. Pack the bento, placing the rice first. Then add the beef and pork meat rolls, the omelet pieces, the spinach with walnut dressing, and finally 5 cherry tomatoes in the center. Add a wedge of lemon next to the pork & asparagus rolls.
    It's ready!  We hope you enjoy your "TOKYO FLAVORS, NEW YORK STYLE" meal!  Itadakimasu!

Notes

  • Cut the meat rolls just as you are preparing the bento. The freshly cut ends look better and make the bento more attractive.
  • The spinach with walnut dressing is good for both dinner and the next day's bento.  
  • The rice and egg should be prepared fresh each time for dinner and bento.
  • Cherry tomatoes are always a great addition to bento. Their bright red color makes the bento look beautiful, and unlike cut tomatoes, they don't leak moisture into the other foods.
  • Let the food cool until it is just slightly warm before covering the bento box with the lid.