In addition to being the “Live Music Capital of the World” and home of the University of Texas Longhorns, Austin is also a city with lots of great food. And with great food comes great foodie bloggers, like Rob Balon and Johnny Flapjacks, who cover the abundant and colorful food of Central Texas.
I had a chance to meet one such blogger, Ironjack, in my last job. This bento blogger extraordinaire and owner of EatingInABox.com really takes the art of bento creation to a whole new level. Rather than strictly posting recipes for Japanese bento, Ironjack incorporates food from around the world into these attractive and cost effective lunches.
I recently had an opportunity to ask Ironjack about his site and what inspires him to create his bento masterpieces. Here is Part One of that interview.
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Eating in a Box Website
Your blog posts on EatinginaBox.com go back to September of 2007. What inspired you to begin blogging about bentos at that time? How long have you been preparing bento boxes?
Well, it really started off with a confluence of my various hobbies. As an amateur photographer, I needed a good excuse to buy a light box to practice my macro photography. What better way to practice than with food photography? It’s a good thing I love to cook. Right around that time, some of the bigger bento blogs started to show up on Slashfood, but the real catalyst was my wife’s interest in eating a bit more healthy. Bento-ing was the perfect way to control portioning. And what better way to bring all my passions together than to blog about it? I’ve always loved cooking but really didn’t start preparing bento boxes until I started the blog.
You often mention being raised in a “food culture.” What does that mean?
Well growing up my parents owned a restaurant, and the moment I was able to stand on a chair and reach over the counter, I was immediately put to work at the register. From there I learned everything there was to running a Chinese restaurant. I watched and learned as my Dad prepared dishes for the customers. I learned how to prep and take apart chicken, and I developed my passion for food. Obviously we rarely “ate out”, we just ate at the restaurant. In fact, to get a break from all of the “boring Chinese food,” we’d hit the fast food. My sister and I would consider that a treat. (Man, we had it good, and we didn’t even know). More importantly, as a culture, Chinese show their hospitality and their respect through food; so food means everything to our family.
Later as I left home, I began to really take cooking seriously. I have a goal to take as many cuisines and cook from appetizer to dessert and learn everything I can about that style of cooking and add it to my own skill set. I think my record was a 14 course Greek dinner I cooked for my friends. Being a big nerd, I’m also big into food science (Alton Brown is my hero), so that really contributes towards full food immersion.
Classic Japanese Bento
Did you grow up with bento box lunches?
Actually, yes. My sister was not a big fan of attracting attention. She was happy with a brown bag containing a sandwich and fruit. On the other hand, I hated sandwiches. I’d make my mother send me in with all sorts of stuff — noodle soups, her sushi rolls (no fish so it’d keep) and rice balls, fried rice… At some point, my mom started to pack double because my friends would always wanted to try the stuff I brought. My first bento on the blog is an actual lunch my mom use to pack for me. Lunch time was always fun. My friends would always eagerly ask what was for lunch.
What would you say is the big attraction to bento box lunches? For you and for others.
Quite a few things really make bento lunches attractive. You can save a lot of money bringing your lunch instead of going out. You can control how healthy (or unhealthy) lunch can be, especially if you have dietary restrictions. (We tried a few types of diets.) I also like the artistry. I’m not as good as some of those that make the pandas, Hello Kitty’s, and picturesque scenes, but I’m a firm believer that good looking food helps contribute the overall enjoyment.
Korean Bento
What would you say is the biggest challenge in running a foodie blog?
Content. By and far keeping a weekly post is difficult when I have a real job that takes up real time. I suppose it’s not just posting, a post really comprises of a good bit of cooking and some bit of food styling. If you look at some of my earlier posts I took far fewer pictures and spent less time on plating for a picture than I do now. It’s an evolving thing, I’ll expect that the blog will take a few twists and turns as more time goes by.
A strange secondary problem is defining my blog. Local food reporter Addie Broyles helped organize and get all of Austin’s food bloggers together, and we’ve all be invited to various events. It’s been wonderful, and I’ve met so many great people and gotten to participate in a lot of great events. What’s the problem with that? The problem is to limit how many posts I push out that are non-bento related, especially when work has me traveling and I miss the ability create and post. Dunno it’s, I guess it’s a personal limit.
Persian Bento
Of the recipes you’ve posted, which are your favorites?
Ouch that’s a tough one. I actually just reviewed all the bentos with my wife and we just realized how many there were. My wife’s comments: all the bentos you’ve done with hot and sour have always been a hit, like Pantry Raid and my first Chinese bento. But for personal favorite dishes? Hard to say, my Persian bento has a special place in my heart since I learned the recipes from some really good friends that once owned a restaurant here in Austin.
Do you follow any other bento bloggers?
Oh absolutely! I keep a blogroll of all of the Austin food bloggers that I’ve met as well as some of the ones that I drew my initial inspirations. The foodie community here is very tight– a great bunch of folks, and it is always a joy to see them at various events. A lot of creative work out there that has contributed towards helping me create my own dishes.
How long do you hope to keep blogging about bentos? In what direction do you hope to take the blog?
For as long as I’m able to post and cook I will keep my blog alive. It might get slow sometimes, but that’s the nature of the beast. I think some of the things I’d like to start to incorporate are some technique posts and maybe some more on the gadgets I use (I tend to get more questions and comments there). One of my friends has been pushing at putting videos on, I’m a bit shy on that but maybe they’ll prevail.
Some newer directions: I may open it towards not just lunch for my wife maybe how we might bento on dinner and such, those I would probably exempt from six dollar rule, basically portions and variety outside of lunch. I have another concept of whole week cooking and folding that into easy to make lunches, but I’m still figuring out the logistics. It may go beyond the scope of my blog. I suppose I should say, “stay tuned and find out :)”
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In the next segment, we’ll get more specific about tips and tricks for creating the perfect bento lunch. Stay tuned for Part 2.