Chinese Inspired Vegan Bento

I love a stir-fry as it's a great way to clear out the vegetable crisper at the end of a week! And my husband loves dishes with black bean sauce. His favorite is a Thai-style stir-fry with eggplant and Thai basil. Here I took a more Chinese-style approach by using black bean sauce with crisp sauteed mixed vegetables. 

Top tier of bento: Rice, Green Tea Pickled Radish, sliced snap peas, Chinese 5-spice Fried Tofu, raw carob and spiralina trail-mix square. Garnish: cilantro, tiny carrot cut outs.

Bottom tier of bento: Mixed Vegetables in Black Bean Sauce (asparagus, celery, onion), Carrots with Fresh Ginger, sliced snap peas. Garnish: carrot and radish flowers, grated ginger.

My Bento Recipes:

Green Tea Pickled Radish
This is an easy and refreshing pickle. The green of the green tea looks beautiful over the white and red of the radish slices.

Ingredients:

3 radishes, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon green tea salt*

Directions:

* Sprinkle the radish slices with the green tea salt and let sit and soften for 30 min. 
* To make green tea salt mix equal parts fine sea salt with either matcha powder or green tea leaves ground into a fine powder in a spice/coffee grinder. I also use this salt over simmered pumpkin with coconut milk, and it's also great on popcorn!

Carrots with Fresh Ginger
A simple and warming side dish

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cut carrots
stock (use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian/vegan)
1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger juice
pinch of sea salt

Directions:

* Simmer the carrots in stock until tender but not over cooked (about 4 minutes.) 
* Drain the carrots but save the stock as it's still good! 
* Grate fresh ginger (I use a zester) and squeeze the grated ginger until you have 1/4 teaspoon of its juice. 
* Sprinkled the ginger juice and a pinch of salt over the carrots and mix. 
* Garnish with a dap of grated ginger.