Vegetables for Obentos

Here are some of my stand-by vegetable additions to obentos. All of these are easy to prepare the night before, except the lettuce and cucumbers, which are best to cut fresh in the morning.

Steamed broccoli:

Cut into manageable pieces and top with a little bit of mayonnaise.

Cut into manageable pieces and top with a little mayonnaise, a tiny bit of butter, and cheese. Grill until cheese is golden brown. Spinach can also be served this way.

Spinach:  

Wash fresh spinach, drain, chop, and sauté in a little olive oil and a small amount of sesame seeds and salt.

Cucumber sticks:

Cut to fit the box. You can also wrap them in ham strips, as you can see in the photo above.

Cherry tomatoes.

Lettuce with other vegetables on top.

Asparagus or green beans:

Steam and lightly salt. 

Wrap in ham strips after steaming.

Edamame:

Rinse, dry, and lightly salt. Either the type in pods or just the beans are great.

Shishito peppers:

Grill, lightly salt.

Wasabi Okra

Eggplant:

Steam and top with equal parts wasabi and soy sauce.

Cut in half lengthwise. Score the peel sides with a knife. Put in a microwave-safe container. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Take out and put a little minced garlic and olive oil on the center sides and grill until golden. Salt.

Corn on the Cob:

Put one ear of corn in a plastic bag (be sure to leave room for a little air to escape so it doesn't explode when heated), and microwave for 4 minutes. Carefully take out and cut off the base of the corn, being sure to cut where the husks are attached. Hold the top of the husks and carefully shake out the corn. It should be perfectly cooked and have no silk clinging to it. Cut into easily manageable pieces.

Pretty much any steamed vegetables works well in an obento. You can use leftovers from your dinner the night before, too.  

Click here to see the many Japanese Obento boxes available from Amazon.