The Kenjinkai Picnic Obento — Grateful Crane’s and Chef John Nishio’s delicious and nostalgic re-creation of the “gochiso” served at Japanese American community picnics — will be on sale once again on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Nishio’s house in Pasadena.
Beautifully wrapped in furoshiki and artfully presented in a colorful bento box, each obento will include salmon shioyaki, chashu, niku no yasai maki (aka meat rolls), dashi tamagoyaki, chicken karaage, nitsuke ebi, nishime with carrot, shiitake, gobo, takenoko, renkon, snow peas, inarizushi, makizushi, Japanese potato salad, kimpira gobo, and new items nasu no dengaku and Elsie’s Nisei Gold homemade takuan.
These “Issei flavors” were taught to Nishio by his Issei grandmother, and he has fond childhood memories of her and other Issei’s food as he traveled from family to family sampling their dishes at community picnics.
Proceeds from the bento sale will benefit the Fukushima Bottled Water Project and Grateful Crane.
Obento will be available for pick-up at 645 Rim Rd., Pasadena. Obento are $65 each. To place an order, email Soji Kashiwagi at soji1062@gmail.com, or send a check to Grateful Crane Ensemble, P.O. Box 1600, Sierra Madre, CA 91025.
A limited number of obento will be available for sale. Order early before they sell out.