Bento and manju and daikon – oh my!
If you enjoy Japanese food as much as I do, get yourself over to the little white church-looking structure at the corner of railway and Avenue C in Scottsbluff – PRONTO! There’s an hour left of the Japanese Friendly Circle Bazaar. (It ends at noon today.)
Here was the haul from my visit:
Rice cracker appetizers (including "dragon eggs" - peanuts in rice cracker shells), bento boxes of meat and sushi with a jar of pickled daikon radish for accent and a fresh radish for later, and manju for dessert!
BENTO! OM NOM NOM!
Oh yeah. And I had to buy these cookies. They were just too funny/cute!
Vanilla wafers and mint patties held together with frosting and topped with a few sesame seeds for effect.
Sayonara!
UPDATE: I’ve never had pickled daikon radish before, so I had to report on its taste.
The lady who sold it to us warned us that it was “stinky” and that we ought to keep a bag over the closed container in the fridge. Now I see why. The flavor is reminiscent of a mild sauerkraut with just a hint of radish. The texture is a pleasingly bold crunch. It pairs fantastically with the pork in the bento boxes. Me gusta mucho! I have a new fermented flavor to crave (in addition to sauerkraut and kimchi)!
Copyright 2011 by Katie Bradshaw
Very creative!
I have never had Japanese food that I know of. I like tofu, but I use it as a meat substitute. I’m not vegetarian, just don’t eat a lot of meat. I’d love to taste some authentic Japanese food sometime!