Enjoyed by many locals, oden represents the country’s popular winter dish. If you have visited Japan in winter, you might have found that restaurants offer oden in their menu during the season. The dish wins the hearts of many people and creates a snug feeling, which in turn creates a great atmosphere in the restaurant.
Not only in restaurants, the dish makes the home-cooking scene very cozy. It would not be so surprising if oden were a go-to dish for the local people when they cook dinner at home.
Today, you can learn some secrets of this magical dish and how you can apply them to your cooking.
What is Oden?
Oden is a dish made by simmering ingredients such as fish cakes and vegetables in a broth made from dried bonito flakes and/or kombu seaweed, supplemented with soy sauce and other seasonings.
As a side note, the origin of oden dates back to tofu dengaku, a dish of grilled tofu cut into rectangular-shaped pieces and skewered on bamboo sticks.
By the Edo period (1603-1867), dengaku had slightly changed its form. It became a popular side dish for the people, made by skewering tofu or konnyaku (konjac) and baking it with miso. Later, simmered oden originated in the Kanto region and became widespread in the modern era. People in the Kansai region distinguish simmered oden from the original oden by calling it Kanto-ni or Kanto-daki.
Today, this dish is popular as a winter side dish because it can keep you warm on cold days, and a variety of ingredients on one plate can satisfy your belly. It is so common that you can buy it at convenience stores during the season in Japan.
Oden’s Ingredients
As mentioned above, the broth is as simple as a broth made from bonito flakes and/or kombu seaweed, with added soy sauce and other seasonings. Common ingredients include daikon radish, egg, konnyaku, shirataki, mushrooms, mochi-kinchaku (fried tofu pouch stuffed with mochi), and several kinds of fish cakes, like chikuwa.
However, you often see distinctive ingredients in different regions as well. For example, chikuwabu and hanpen are common in the regions around Tokyo but may be unfamiliar to people in other areas.
Secret to Making Traditional Oden
Sure, oden looks like a pretty simple dish. However, it is more than just a hot-pot dish with various ingredients simmered in a pot, requiring more care than you think. Our oden course offers professional tips, including but not limited to:
- how to make perfect broth
- how to prepare vegetables for simmering
- how to cook ingredients with different characteristics in one pot
During the course, you will learn fundamental techniques that have yet to be widely known. For instance, cutting techniques like the katsuramuki technique and particular simmering methods are essential, but many people tend to miss them. Besides, only a few people know some parts of vegetables are more ideal than others for the dish.
Instructed by our master chefs, the course can teach you all the juicy tips. If you want to know more, our course full of secrets will be a perfect choice for your learning.
Learn the Basics of Oden from Masterchef
To your surprise, oden is much deeper than you may know. The course covers content that is hard to find somewhere else. You can also try our recipe for the flavorsome oden provided in the course. If you want some help extending your Japanese cuisine skills, our Oden Hot Pot course will be a great opportunity!
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