Japanese Make-Ahead Bento: Teriyaki Chicken, Sesame Green Beans and Rice

Rinse the rice until the water runs nearly clear, then cook it with 2 1/4 cups water and let it steam, covered and off the heat, for 10 minutes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 2 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 cups uncooked Japanese short-grain rice
• 12 oz green beans, trimmed
• 2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds, roughly ground
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 4 large eggs, for tamagoyaki
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs nearly clear, then cook it with 2 1/4 cups water and let it steam, covered and off the heat, for 10 minutes.
2. Whisk the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar together in a small bowl.
3. Heat the neutral oil in a skillet over medium-high and sear the chicken thighs smooth-side down for 5 minutes without moving them, then flip and cook 4 minutes more.
4. Pour in the teriyaki mixture, lower the heat, and simmer 5 to 6 minutes, spooning the sauce over the chicken until it thickens to a syrupy glaze.
5. Rest the chicken 5 minutes, then slice crosswise into half-inch strips and toss them back through the pan glaze.
6. Blanch the green beans in salted boiling water for 3 minutes, shock them in ice water, drain well, and dress with the ground sesame seeds and sesame oil.
7. Beat the eggs with a splash of the leftover teriyaki, cook them in thin layers in an oiled pan, rolling each layer forward to build a tamagoyaki, then cool and slice.
8. Pack four boxes with cooled rice on one side and chicken, beans, omelette and tomatoes on the other, and refrigerate up to three days.
9. The genius of bento is that it is designed to be eaten at room temperature hours after it was made, which is a very different problem from dinner. Everything here is cooked slightly firmer and seasoned slightly bolder than you would serve it hot, because chilling mutes salt and sweetness. Cooling the rice completely before you close the lid is the one rule worth obeying: trapped steam is what turns a good bento into a soggy one by lunchtime.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 610 kcal
• Protein: 44g
• Fat: 19g
• Carbohydrates: 66g
• Fiber: 4g
• Sugar: 9g
• Sodium: 880mg