Oden (おでん) - a delicious Japanese winter dish!

Home-made Oden 

In Japan a few things say "winter has arrived" like the appearance of Oden (おでん) in convenience stores (or combinis). The smell of delicious tofu parcels (kinchaku), chikuwa and ganmodoki simmering in a savoury dashi, the steam clinging to the shop windows, is the harbinger of winter dishes in Japan.

Oden ingredients (clockwise from top) - konnyaku,, satsuma age (egg-shaped ingredients), chikuwa (white cyllindrical ingredients with brown spots), ganmodoki, hanpen (white triangles), konbu (knotted kelp), kurohanpen (grey triangles), atsuage (yellow circle), kinchaku (tofu parcels). 

Chikuwa - slices of fish paste cakes

Kinchaku - tofu parcels filled with mochi

kurohanpen - black steamed cake made from ground sardines

Ganmodoki (deep fried tofu and mixed vegetable balls)  and fish cakes

It is very easy to prepare Oden, that is if you have an Asian supermarket nearby. All supermarkets in Japan stock a variety of Oden ingredients, such as chikuwa (a tube-like ingredient made from ground white fish), ganmodoki (tofu fritters made with tofu mixed with vegetables and egg), aburaage (deep fried tofu parcels, commonly found on or alongside sushi), sliced daikon radish, knotted konbu (kelp), boiled egg, kinchaku (deep fried tofu parcels filled with mochi (glutinous rice cake) etc. 

Konnyaku - a healthy Oden ingredient (often known in English as Yam Cake made from the Konjac plant)

In Shizuoka it isn't uncommon to find kurohanpen (黒はんぺん) - a black steamed cake made from ground sardines - in Oden pots.

The nice thing about Oden is that there aren't any specific rules about which food to pair with each other; every household has their own unique combination as individual tastes differ.


An easy Oden recipe (easily serves 4), using supermarket bought products

For the dashi:

1 L dashi (stock)
(The dashi can either be made by making a basic stock by boiling Bonito Flakes and Dashi Kombu (kelp used to make soup stock)  in 1 Litre of water or by using an instant dashi powder. http://justonecookbook.com/recipes/how-to-make-dashi/ - this website has an excellent tutorial on how to make dashi.)
A pinch of salt
4 Tbsps soy sauce
2 Tbsps cooking sake (or regular sake)
1 Tbsp Mirin (cooking wine)
1 tsp sugar

After preparing the dashi, add the remaining ingredients in a pot and bring to a slow simmer. 

Possible Oden ingredients:

4 boiled eggs
Konnyaku (sliced into 4 triangles)
4 pieces of ganmodoki (tofu fritters)
One large piece of chikuwa, sliced into four pieces
One piece of surimi (sliced into 4 triangles)
2 pieces of atsuage (deep fried tofu), sliced into four triangles
8 pieces of hanpen
4 pieces of knotted kelp
Sliced boiled daikon
(The above mentioned ingredients seem to be the most popular, but the options are endless...) 

Add the ingredients into the simmering dashi and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Have you ever tried Oden? And what are your favourite ingredients My all time favourite ingredient is definitely Ganmodoki.

  

Tofu-parcels and knotted kelp

What better way to while away long winter evenings with some warm flavours of Japan and a full bodied white wine in hand.