Thinking of what your kids can eat at school is serious business. It has to be easy to prepare, eat, and share. But most importantly, it has to be healthy and filling too! No need to panic, moms and pops! A well-stocked pantry filled with basic Asian ingredients opens up a ton of delicious possibilities for you and your kids!
Here are easy-to-prepare Asian lunchbox recipes and ingredients that can make your kids’ schooldays:
Let’s start with something easy and complete: rice balls! Musubis and onigiris are common items in a Japanese bento because they pack rice and protein in one. Popular onigiri rice ball combos include tuna, salmon, pickled plum, SPAM, and more. Our tip is to season your white rice well so it has that signature sushi rice tang and texture, and can help hold the whole onigiri up well.
Not only is it easy to prepare and eat, but it’s also easy to share too! In fact, there are kids who sell SPAM musubi during lunchtime as a small-time business venture. Gotta start ‘em young!
We share everything you need to make a classic SPAM musubi in our blog post, including homemade teriyaki sauce, seaweed sheets, furikake, sushi rice, and more.
Heading back to school is no excuse to be missing out on healthy meals. Vietnamese Spring Rolls is a convenient way for your kids to bite on a colorful mix of veggies like cabbage, lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers in one go. You can even involve them in the rolling process and build a healthy relationship with their greens.
Add in pork or prawn in your rice paper wrap as protein to make it even more filling, and prep a simple peanut sauce for the complete restaurant experience! If I were a kid seeing this as I open my lunch box, I’ll be the happiest kid in the cafeteria!
Lee Kum Kee must have been thinking of easy lunches for kids when they came up with this Chinese-style sauce! Their Orange Chicken Sauce packs a unique tangy flavor that kids will surely gobble up! The sweet, zesty, and savory flavors can be likened to General Tso’s chicken, which is more than anyone could want for a packed lunch! Just like their beef broccoli sauce, this one is ready in a few minutes and can serve 4-6 people.
Kids love noodles in any shape or form–that’s one thing I’m confident saying! Which makes it convenient for us adults because stir-fried noodles are one of the easiest meals to cook. Plus, it’s a great way to make use of leftover veggies in the fridge.
To make your stir-fry a sure hit among kids, choose a rainbow of veggies and a stir-fry sauce that’s bursting with flavors! Ambitious Kitchen’s Rainbow Stir Fry recipe uses julienned carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli, and other aromatics. For the main seasoning, she uses Coconut Aminos in place of regular soy sauce, so you don’t have to worry about your kids’ soy or gluten allergies, along with sesame oil and rice vinegar.
She also recommends using zucchini noodles, radish, and tomatoes depending on what veggies are in season. It’s packed with flavor and color– the perfect combo for your little picky-eaters!
If you’ve ever had kids leaving out their veggies in their lunchboxes, Lee Kum Kee’s Panda Brand Beef Broccoli Sauce has a great solution for you. It packs sweet and savory flavors that will season your broccoli to perfection. Its umami taste and saucy consistency brings the beef and broccoli together so well, it will feel wrong not to have a bite of one without the other.
The best part? The sauce is good for 4-6 servings and is ready in just a few minutes. Simply cook your beef, steam your broccoli, and finish it with the sauce! With this magic ingredient, you can prep lunch for you, your partner, and your kids!
If there’s anything kids love, it’s good fried food! And when it comes to fried food like tonkatsu, tempura, and more, Kikkoman Panko is your best friend. It offers a crunch that won’t hurt the roof of your mouth. Plus, it doesn’t burn too easily nor absorb too much oil!
A pro-tip from us is to season your panko with togarashi for a delightful hint of spice and fruitiness! When packing the bento box, don’t forget to include the Bulldog Tonkatsu Sauce!
No matter how much effort you’ve put in preparing your kids’ lunch box, I’m sure they’ll love you even more if there’s a good snack waiting for them. Don’t miss out on slipping some sweet ginger chews so they get a healthy dessert in. You can also pack in nori sheets for their afternoon low-calorie snack.
You don’t have to be the best chef to make delicious bento recipes. Most of the time, the best lunchboxes are ones made with the right ingredients and a whole lot of care and love. I hope these easy school lunch ideas will have your kids coming home with the biggest smiles and the fullest stomachs!
For more easy-to-follow lunch recipes and Asian grocery essentials, shop at Karman Foods!
