Oden
Daikon, hard-boiled eggs, konjac, and an assortment of fish cakes simmered gently in a dashi-based broth, longer-cooking ingredients added first and delicate fish cakes later, and left to soak so everything absorbs flavor, often tasting better the next day. A Japan-wide winter dish with real regional character: Kanto-style leans on a darker, saltier soy-based broth, Kansai-style keeps things lighter and clearer, and Aomori-style is finished with a ginger-miso sauce.
Seafood
⚠ Contains: Fish, Egg, Soy, Gluten. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 10g dried kombu
- 15g katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
- 1.5 liters water
- 500g daikon radish, peeled and cut into thick rounds
- 4 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
- 200g konnyaku (konjac), scored, cut into triangles, and parboiled
- 4 pieces chikuwa (fish cake tube)
- 4 pieces hanpen or satsuma-age (fried fish cake)
- 200g atsuage (fried tofu), halved
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp salt
- Japanese mustard (karashi), for serving
Steps
- Make the dashi: soak the kombu in water 30 minutes, heat gently until just before boiling, remove the kombu, add the bonito flakes, simmer 2 minutes, then strain.
- Parboil the daikon rounds in plain water for 10 minutes to remove bitterness, and parboil the konnyaku separately for 3 minutes.
- In a large pot, combine the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and salt. Add the daikon and konnyaku, and simmer gently on low heat for 30-40 minutes until the daikon is translucent and tender.
- Add the eggs, chikuwa, atsuage, and other fish cakes, and simmer a further 20-30 minutes on low heat, keeping the broth at a gentle simmer, not a boil.
- Let sit off-heat for at least 30 minutes before serving, or refrigerate overnight, to let the flavors deepen.
- Reheat gently and serve hot in bowls with broth, accompanied by karashi mustard on the side.