Spotlight Japan
The Comforts of Oden
Oden is defined by its interesting ingredients
One very traditional way to ward off the winter chill in Japan is with a steaming bowl of oden. Comforting and delicious, oden is full of simmered vegetables, fishcakes and meat in a fragrant dashi stock.
The name oden is derived from miso-dengaku, tofu grilled with miso paste. Today's oden with its various ingredients stewed in soy sauce-flavored dashi stock became popular when koikuchi dark-color soy sauce became prevalent in old Edo (Tokyo) in the early 19th century.
Oden is best defined by its variety of interestingly shaped ingredients: vegetables may include daikon alongside hanpen fish paste with yam, and chikuwa tube-shaped fish paste. These are complemented by its tofu-based components: atsu-age deep-fried tofu; ganmodoki, deep-fried tofu patties; and kinchaku, diced vegetables bundled into a small pouch of deep-fried tofu.
Other favorites include nearly translucent, healthy konnyaku, kobu-maki thick squares of kelp rolled up and tied neatly, chikuwabu tubular rolls of steamed wheat-flour dough, and boiled eggs.
Oden is not only delicious by virtue of its varied mix of ingredients. The dashi stock may differ depending on region, thus offering diverse oden experiences. Tokyo oden dashi stock is dark-colored with a strong soy sauce flavor, as it comprises katsuobushi dried bonito and koikuchi dark-color soy sauce. Lighter in both color and flavor is Osaka oden, which combines dried kelp, katsuobushi broth, usukuchi light color soy sauce and mirin; Kyoto dashi broth is similar but more balanced and uses less mirin. The taste of Nagoya oden stock is defined by its own local specialty, dense hatcho miso.
Oden is as popular as it is cheap; and whether enjoyed at a sit-down restaurant, a food stall at a fair or a convenience store, or whether cooked at home, the point of oden is all about selecting your favorite ingredients from the large bubbling pot, adding the warm and delicious dashi stock, and enjoying a taste fest of distinctive textures and flavors—topped off with a dab of spicy yellow karashi (Japanese mustard) for zest.
