Season 7-4 Sanga-burg Bento

Let's go check it out.

Today, Marc reports from a fishing port in Chiba Prefecture.

They've caught a huge haul of yellowtail or "buri" today.

A local specialty is grilled fish patties.

They're often packed in bentos.

In fact, they originated as a bento menu item.

So you've got the abalone shell.

This is like the original bento box.

Marc makes an original bento inspired by this local specialty.

We love bento!

We love bento!

(The Global Lunchbox 7-4)

Welcome to "BENTO EXPO,"

your guide to the wonderful, delicious world of bento.

Today I've come to the southernmost tip of the Boso Peninsula

which is one of the most active fishing areas in Japan.

First, let's have a look at a few of the delicious looking bentos

submitted through BENTO EXPO's website.

First, from Satoko, a bento inspired by her Greek husband's heritage.

Konnichiwa. We are from Australia.

Satoko is making a bento with "spanakopita,"

a Greek spinach and cheese pie that she learned from her mother-in-law.

She is making her version with Swiss chard instead of spinach,

and she starts by chopping it up along with dill and parsley,

and sautes them with olive oil.

Then she crumbles in some feta.

It's a brine cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk,

and it's an indispensable ingredient in Greek food.

Then she adds an egg and seasons the mixture with pepper.

We don't use salt because feta cheese is salty.

For the crust, Satoko uses a super-thin dough

called "filo" to wrap the savory filling.

Rolling, rolling.

After rolling them into cylinders,

she arranges them in a spiral pattern in the pan

to make the pie.

Beautiful, isn't it?

While the pie is being baked,

Satoko's father-in-law and daughter

grill up some "souvlaki," a Greek skewer,

and these chicken and lamb souvlaki are everyone's favorite.

Back in the kitchen, the spanakopita is done.

Listen.

Nice and crispy.

I bet the rich feta with the fresh herbs

goes beautifully with the crispy filo.

She packs the spanakopita with a few skewers

and a Greek salad which also includes feta,

and her bento is ready to go.

Mama's spanakopita is lovely.

We love bento!

Next, from Singapore, a nutritious seafood bento for two growing boys.

Today, I will be making a bento full of local Singaporean favorites.

Daphne is making two types of fried fish,

and for her sea bass, she's seasoning them with curry leaves,

a fragrant south Asian herb.

They have a beautiful aroma. They're citrusy.

She fries the curry leaves with ginger to make a flavored oil.

Once they're crisp, she removes the leaves

and uses the oil to fry the fish.

This is going to give them a nice fresh flavor.

Once the fish is fried,

she tops them with the aromatic leaves as a garnish.

Crispy topping.

Great combo!

And this is "yong tau foo."

Yong tau foo is a comfort food in Singapore

with fish cakes stuffed into tofu or veggies.

She's made one with eggplant,

and the other with bitter melon which are some of her sons' favorites.

And it helps them to eat a lot of vegetables too, which is great.

With loads of protein and vegetables,

this colorful bento is perfect for two growing boys.

- Yeah.
- Yeah? You want to try it?

Enjoy!

We love bento!

The waters off the southern tip of the Boso Peninsula

in Chiba Prefecture are teaming with sea life.

This port boasts one of the largest catches in all of Japan.

Okay, this ship just came into port

and I see some action, so let's go check it out.

We got a big catch of buri.

They've caught a huge haul of yellowtail or buri today.

The waters around the Boso Peninsula

are populated by over 140 varieties of fish.

Spiny lobster and abalone

are two other luxury seafoods the area is known for.

This is a Japanese horse mackerel, or aji.

"Aji" Is one of the most common fish in Japan.

The strong ocean current builds up muscles in fish.

The fishermen cleaned and prepared a plate of sashimi for me.

It doesn't get much fresher than that.

They get a workout so the flesh is lean.

Very tasty.

Nearby restaurants turn the catch into various dishes,

and I've come to this one which is famed for their massive aji-fry.

Let's go in for a bite.

It's super crispy on the outside,

and it's fluffy and moist on the inside.

This is delicious.

Here you go.

The manager also suggested I try a regional specialty.

This is Sangayaki, a local specialty.

It's a fish meat Hamburg steak.

It seasoned with miso. Very tasty.

Wow, look at that.

You've got the umami from the fish pairing with the umami in the miso.

That's so good.

It's such a unique and flavorful dish,

I decided to visit an expert to learn about its history.

- Hello!
- Welcome.

Chef Kurihara is the owner of a local sushi restaurant

with a 150-year history.

He explained to me that "sangayaki" is made using a dish

that was historically prepared by fishermen

on their boats called "namero."

I slice it thinly.

Namero is made by adding miso,

scallions, shiso leaves and ginger

to raw fish like aji,

and chopping it with a knife until it forms a sticky paste.

We use this to make namero.

This is how fishers extracted all the umami.

By breaking up the cells?

As the mixture gets stickier, it takes more effort to lift the knife

which is a good sign that your namero is done.

The umami is seeping out.

Adding love with every chop!

Here's your namero.

Let's try this out.

It's so creamy,

and that umami from the miso and the fish

spreads over all of your taste buds,

and it just puts a smile on your face.

Next, Chef Kurihara brings out some abalone shells.

Let's see what he's going to do with them.

Stuff one half of the shell with namero and the other half with the rice.

Good combo.

And close like this.

The shells once served as bento boxes.

Wow, I see.

This is like the original bento box.

So you've got the abalone shell,

and when you put the two halves together,

you can wrap it around and carry it around.

I could just throw this in my back pocket right now.

This little bundle made it easy

to carry lunch up into the mountains for work,

and they were grilled at mountain huts or "sanga"

which is where it gets its name.

It's so meaty and delicious.

If you didn't tell me this is fish, I wouldn't know.

It's got so much umami.

I want to maintain the traditional flavor of namero and sangayaki.

Proof of Boso Peninsula's thriving fishing industry

can be found in the festive kimonos

made to celebrate the landing of huge catches.

The kimonos are adorned with lucky motifs

like cranes and turtles as well as sea life.

This area is also home to a shrine

dedicated to the Shinto deity of cooking.

A 1,000-year-old ceremony

reenacts an imperial court ritual

in which a fish is expertly cut

without ever being directly touched.

It's a display of gratitude.

It conveys respect and passion towards food.

The deity of cooking is sure to give his blessing.

For my next stop, I found a shop

that specializes in a variety of sangayaki bentos.

They've modernized this classic

by adding a variety of vegetables into the patty,

and they even have a version that serves it like sushi

with a thin piece of sangayaki on vinegared sushi rice.

It's so good. Fragrant with miso.

I want to keep the tradition alive.

There are many ways to enjoy sangayaki.

Mr. Aoki gets together with staff and friends

to come up with new ideas.

Looks good.

I added cheese.

One popular menu item that came from these sessions

is a sangayaki burger which is stuffed

between miso-glazed grilled rice.

It goes great with sangayaki. Kind of like a fish burger.

Feeling full and inspired,

I headed back to Chef Kurihara's restaurant

to try my hand at a sangayaki-inspired bento.

Instead of Japanese leek and shiso, I'm adding onion and basil.

Interesting. Japanese cuisine doesn't use much basil.

I used a bit of grated garlic in place of the ginger,

and then it's time to mince the mixture up.

I also chopped about a quarter of the aji into quarter-inch cubes

for some variation in texture.

To keep the patties moist, I add a bit of olive oil,

and for the seasoning I use some fish sauce

in place of the miso to add umami.

Nice.

Full of umami.

Different ingredients, but the same idea as sangayaki.

For a pop of freshness, I wrapped the patty

with a paper-thin slice of lemon.

I'm going to make a bento with these.

I'm looking forward to it.

To keep the preparation simple,

I pan fried the patties until they're nice and browned on both sides.

For a splash of color, I'm using dried common marigold flowers in my bento.

The edible flowers are a symbol of spring on the Boso Peninsula,

and Mr. and Mrs. Igarashi grow and process

the dried flowers on their family farm.

For my bento, I've cooked the flower petals

with rice for a pop of color.

Add in the fish patties which I'm calling "Sanga-burg"

along with some loquat,

and my bento celebrating the bounties

of the Boso Peninsula is done!

Today I've asked Chef Kurihara

and a few of his friends to try out my bento.

Smells great.

Mr. Suzuki runs an inn here,

and Mr. Hasegawa guided me around the fishing port.

I waited in nervous anticipation

for what Chef Kurihara had to say about my Sanga-burg bento.

Nice texture.

Lovely aroma of basil and lemon.

I've never had grilled lemon before.

It's more fragrant.

The olive oil gives it a western twist.

Good idea, using basil instead of shiso.

Olive oil and onion go well with rice. Delicious!

Thank you for showcasing our local ingredients.

My pleasure.

Sangayaki started as a portable food to take on the go,

and these days, people enjoy it in many ways.

I hope you feel as inspired as I did

by the ingredients and people of the Boso Peninsula,

and give my Sanga-burg bento a try.

We love bento!

Thank you for joining me on my trip to Chiba today.

I hope you enjoyed all of the delicious looking bentos we looked at today.

Speaking of bentos,

don't forget to send us a photo of your favorite bento

and share some of that inspiration

with fellow bento makers from around the world.

Well, that's all the time we have for today,

but we hope you'll join us again here soon on "BENTO EXPO."

Bye.