Oden

Oden is a Japanese hot pot dish in which ingredients are slowly simmered in a soy sauce based soup. It's typically considered a winter dish in Japan. You can try making oden at home using some of your favorite ingredients.

The method described in this recipe is just one way of making oden. You can vary certain ingredients, but others like daikon radish, boiled eggs, konnyaku, fish cakes and dashi broth, are common in most versions of the dish, which in Japan varies by region.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 daikon radish, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into halves
• 4 boiled eggs, peeled
• 1 konnyaku (transparent yam starch cake), cut into large triangles
• 2 atsuage (deep fried tofu), blanched and cut into large triangles
• 4 ganmodoki (tofu fritters), blanched
• 2 or 4 fish paste cakes, such as chikuwa, hanpen, and satsumaage, cut into large chunks
• 4 musubi-kombu (knotted kelp)
• 4 - 5 Tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp of sake
• 1 tsp of sugar
• *You may use oden seasoning sold at Asian stores instead of using sake, soy sauce, and sugar.

Preparation:

Put 4 cups of dashi soup stock in a large pot or donabe pot. Add sake, soy sauce, and sugar in the soup. Place ingredients in the pot. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to low and simmer for 40-60 minutes. Add dashi soup stock and soy sauce as needed.