Bacon Wraps Onigiri Lunch Box
I made this bacon wraps onigiri lunch box with my pan of simmered bacon wraps. This is a really fast and easy recipe! The contents keep well in room temperature for half a day and need not be reheated, if there is no access to the fridge or microwave in the office.
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Each Lunch Box Contains:
- 5 bacon wrapped with pea sprouts or enoki
- Seasoned pea sprouts and/or enoki. They line the bottom of the lunch box compartment holding the bacon wraps.
- 1 mini sauce bottle to drizzle over the bacon wraps.
- 3 small (6 cm) seasoned onigiri (Japanese rice balls).
- For fruits, I used cherry tomatoes and blueberries.
Note: I’m using an Ikea 365+ rectangular 1 litre lunchbox. This recipes makes 2 lunch boxes.
STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS
(1) MAKE THE BACON WRAPS
These are my bacon wraps cooking in the pan. You can check out the step-by-step photos in my simmered bacon wrap recipe.
After the wraps are cooked, take them out, leaving behind the simmering sauce in the pan.
Cook some pea shoots and enoki in the remaining sauce. The seasoned veggies, cooked in the savoury simmering sauce, taste really good and take only about 1 minute of cooking. Who can say no to a super quick and healthy veg side dish?
I lined one of a lunch box compartment (the one holding the bacon wraps) with the seasoned veggies.
(2) MAKE THE ONIGIRI (RICE BALLS)
I love onigiri in a lunchbox as it keeps well (at room temperature or in the fridge). Remove cling wrap, reheat briefly in the microwave (less than a minute) and the warmed onigiri tastes like freshly made.
This is the seasoned onigiri powder mix which I bought from Donki. This particular flavour is called “shiso konbu” (perilla kelp).
FEATURED PRODUCTS
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- I’m using a small 6 cm onigiri mold purchased from Daiso. This recipe makes roughly 6 small onigiri for two lunch boxes.
- Mix cooked short grain rice with the onigiri seasoning powder according to package instructions, until the seasoning is evenly distributed. Divide the seasoned rice into 6 equal portions.
- Have a small bowl of water by the side. This is for moistening the mold, the spatula and your fingers to prevent the rice sticking to surfaces in contact.
- Making the onigiri with a mold: Wet the spatula and fill the mold with one portion of rice. Cover the mold lid and press firmly to shape the onigiri. Release the mold cover and push out the onigiri. Remember to moisten the mold and spatula each time you make the onigiri.
(3) ASSEMBLE THE LUNCH BOX
Line one of the lunch box compartment with the seasoned pea shoots and/or enoki, then place bacon wraps on top.
Assemble the lunchbox along with a sauce bottle. Pour the sauce over the bacon wraps before eating.
Bacon Wraps Onigiri Lunch Box Recipe
The bacon wraps and onigiri can be made the day before and reheated in the microwave, making it ideal for meal prep.
Ingredients:
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1 punnet blueberries
BACON WRAPS
- 50g pea shoots separate to 5x10g bundle
- 50g enoki mushroom separate to 5x10g bundle
- 10 slices streaky bacon
- 1/2 tsp oil for greasing the pan
- chopped spring onions to garnish
(A) SAUCE FOR WRAPS
- 100 ml water
- 1/8 tsp dashi powder
- 1 tsp mirin
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp (15g) sugar
SEASONED ONIGIRI
- 320g cooked short-grain rice see cooking note below
- 10g onigiri seasoning powder (use any favourite, adjust quantity according to package instructions)
- 6 nori (seaweed) strips cut to size
Directions:
- Make Bacon Wraps. Wrap each bundle of pea shoots or enoki mushrooms with a slice of streaky bacon, making 10 bacon wraps in total. Place bacon wraps in a fitting greased frying pan. Sear the surface of each bacon wrap until just cooked. Pour sauce (A) onto the pan, simmer covered until the sauce is half reduced and slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Click this recipe for the step-by-step photos.
- Make Seasoned Pea Shoots & Enoki. Cook the remaining pea shoots and enoki mushroom in the leftover simmering sauce for about 1-2 minutes. Use the cooked veggies to line the lunch box before placing the bacon wraps on them.
- Prepare Sauce Bottles. Run the remaining sauce in the pan through a fine sieve into two mini salad dressing bottle.
- Make Onigiri. Place the cooked rice, slightly warm, on a large broad plate. Sprinkle the onigiri seasoning over the rice and mix until the seasoning is evenly distributed. Divide the rice to six portions. Shape the seasoned rice to a triangular shape either by hand or using a onigiri mold. Always moisten your hands and onigiri mold with a small bowl of water at the side to prevent the rice from sticking. Paste a piece of nori strip on each onigiri. Wrap each onigiri tightly in cling wrap.
- Assemble Lunch Box. Divide the food among two lunch boxes (I’m using Ikea’s 365). Pack each lunch box with a bottled sauce. This lunch box keeps well at room temperature for half a day. It can be eaten at room temperature without reheating. To reheat the onigiri, remove the cling wrap and microwave the onigiri on a plate on low heat for less a minute until slightly warmed. Before eating, pour the sauce over the bacon wraps.
How to cook onigiri rice:
Rinse 1 cup short grain rice in a few changes of water until the water runs less cloudy (skip if using pre-washed rice). Rice cooker method: Add rinsed rice and 1 1/2 cup water to a rice cooker and set to cook. OR stovetop method: Add rice and 1/2 cup water to a non-stick saucepan. Bring to boil and lower heat to low and simmer, covered until water is just absorbed, about 10 minutes. Turn off the stove. Continue to let the rice steam with the lid covered for at least 10 mins before using.