#otsumami

When the weather gets colder and the temperature starts dropping, it is time for oden. You definitely can smell the enticing aroma of the broth nearby any oden place: several food stalls starts popping around the streets and many izakaya add the dish to their menu - even convenience stores sells their own version of oden!

The recipe for oden is really simple: make dashi, season it with shoyu, mirin and salt, then add the ingredients and simmer them on low heat. When the ingredients absorb the oden flavor, enjoy!

Unless you have a lot of familiarity with Japanese home food, several ingredients served in oden are not exactly well-known. I added the Japanese names in case you want to try them yourself!

Basic Recipe

Dashi stock (katsuobushi and kombu)

Shoyu

Mirin

Salt

Ingredients of choice

Steps

Extract the dashi.

Season with shoyu, mirin and salt.

Add the ingredients and boil in medium heat.

When the ingredients are ready, turn the heat to low and let them sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

Serve the oden.

Tips

It is recommended to leave the dish resting for a while before serving it, in order to let the ingredients absorb flavor better. It is common to serve oden the day after preparing it for tastier results, but two hours should be enough if you want to make and have the dish on the same day.

Some of the common ingredients:

Daikon　大根

The staple ingredient of oden. Large, thick slices of daikon simmered until its core is full of flavor. The secret for a good daikon is to peel at least half centimeter, so only the most tender core will be cooked. Cooking it in boiling water before preparing the full oden ensures that the daikon will be perfect.

Tofu 豆腐

Large blocks of tofu cooked lightly in dashi.

Egg　湯で玉子

Hard boiled eggs, cooked until part of the flavor is infused into the oden.

Niku Dango/Tsukune 肉団子・つくね

Meatballs, made of pork meat or chicken meat. Usually served in skewers to make it easier to pick them.

Chikuwa　竹輪

A tube-shaped deep fried fish paste.

Konyaku コンニャク

A paste made of devil’s root yam and lime-water. It has a quite unique texture and flavor. Remember to boil it before cooking to remove its unpleasant odors.

Shirataki　白滝

Konyaku shaped in noodles. Absorbs more flavor than common konyaku. Usually served tied in knots.

Hanpen　 半片

A fish paste and yamaimo (Japanese mountain yam) mixture.  It has a very mild taste.

Cabbage Roll キャベツロール

Cabbage rolls filled with ground pork meat.

Chikuwabu　ちくわぶ

A tube-shaped udon, very common in Kanto region. Sometimes mistaken for chikuwa (which is a fish paste).

Abura age　油揚げ

Deep fried tofu. Absorbs tons of broth.

Ofukuro　袋

A small pouch made of an abura age with mochi inside. My personal favorite.

Kombu　昆布

Seaweed, usually tied in knots for presentation purposes.

Gobomaki　ごぼう巻き

A stick of gobo stuck in the middle of a chikuwa.

Ganmodoki　 雁擬き

Fried fritter made using leftovers of tofu, vegetables and egg whites.

Ikaten　イカ天