Oden is a traditional Japanese dish made by simmering various ingredients in soy sauce-flavored dashi stock. In addition to vegetables such as radish and potato, there is a wide variety of ingredients such as fried tofu, chikuwa, hanpen, fish balls, konjac, boiled eggs, beef, and roll cabbage.
Also, oden is very different from other stewed dishes in that we can order our favorite ingredients. Oden is generally served at oden specialty stores and izakaya.
What is Oden and can I eat it ?
Materials of Oden
Dashi soup Soy sauce, dashi, mirin, and sugar
Please see “Meal description”.
| Restaurant | Convenience store |
A hot pot dish where you can choose your favorite ingredients
Oden is a traditional Japanese dish in which various ingredients are placed in a large pot and simmered in dashi soup. Dashi soup is made by adding soy sauce, sugar, and mirin to the bonito flakes, and has a sweet and spicy taste.
Simmer the ingredients in the dashi soup for more than half a day to make the ingredients delicious.
Unlike other stewed dishes, oden is ordered by the name of the ingredients. For example, if you order a “boiled egg”, the boiled egg and dashi soup will be served in a small bowl.
Only oden can order only certain ingredients in stewed dishes. When eating, it is often eaten with mustard if you like.
Some of the ingredients in oden are unique to Japan, so we think it’s difficult to understand.
We will introduce gluten-free ingredients, and ingredients that use only plant-based ingredients. Since soy sauce and dried bonito are used for the dashi soup, it is neither gluten-free nor vegetable-based.
Ingredients that are gluten-free and use vegetable ingredients
Daikon Japanese radish, thickly sliced and boiled in advance is used.
Potatoes Potatoes are used as they are or cut in half.
Konjac A jelly-like food made from konjac potato starch, also known as devil ’s tongue.
Shirataki Noodles made from konjac potato starch.
Ingredients that are gluten-free and use animal ingredients
Boiled egg Boiled chicken or quail egg.
Hanpen Japanese soft fish cake. It is made by adding yam to minced fish, molding it, and steaming it.
Gyusuji Achilles of beef, cut into small pieces and stabbed on a bamboo skewer used as oden ingredients.
Tako Boiled legs of octopus are stabbed on a bamboo skewer and used as oden ingredients.
Ingredients containing gluten
Chikuwabu Gluten taken from wheat flour is molded into the shape and baked.
Tsumire Eggs, wheat flour, potato starch, etc. are added to minced fish meat or minced meat and mixed to make a bite-sized piece. Wheat flour may be used. When using only fish, it is called “fish ball” or “fish dumpling”.
Chikuwa Fish meat is kneaded with salt, sugar, starch, egg white, etc., smeared on a thick skewer, and then baked. There is a hole in the middle because it is sold off the skewers. Starch made from wheat flour may be used.
Satsuma-a-ge Fish meat with salt, sugar, starch, egg white, etc., kneaded and fried in oil. Starch made from wheat flour may be used.
Try to eat Oden!
How much ?
$ 1.4～5 per one item.
Where can I eat Oden ?
Oden specialty stores
The price of oden varies greatly from store to store. It’s not that expensive stores are delicious and cheap stores aren’t. It takes courage for me to enter a store I don’t know. You may eat a lot and be charged a high price. I think it’s best to ask the people at the accommodation to tell you the recommended stores.
Precautions when eating Oden
For gluten-free people with celiac disease
Chikuwabu, one of the ingredients for oden, is made by baking gluten and hardening it. Even if you didn’t order the chikuwabu, there may be debris in the dashi stock. Eating oden in restaurants is not recommended as you may unintentionally intake large amounts of gluten.
For gluten-free people other than celiac disease
If you don’t eat ingredients that contain gluten, that’s okay. Wheat flour is used in the soy sauce contained in the dashi stock, but it is not contained in the soy sauce because the protein is decomposed during the brewing process.
For vegetarians
If you are a vegetarian for religious reasons, you cannot eat oden. Dashi contains animal ingredients, and all ingredients are cooked in one pot, so animal ingredients can be mixed in. If you are a vegetarian for your health or for the environment, choose and eat the botanical ingredients featured on this site.
Japanese writer’s comment for Oden
Is there a place where you can easily eat oden? Until two years ago, in winter, convenience stores sold oden in large pots, and we were able to buy our favorite ingredients.
As a result of the spread of infectious diseases, the sales method has changed, and a set of several types of ingredients is sold in packs. It’s best to try this as it can be heated in the microwave. The price is about $ 3, which is reasonable.
