All about Japanese Menu (Food)!!: Japanese Menu

Menu Taste and Personal Experience:

It’s been awhile since my last post. I was so busy with renovating my new house :D.

Oden

Anyway, let’s talk about oden. It is similar to shabu shabu where people usually eat it during winter period. I guess the main difference between oden and shabu shabu is on the ingredients used.

The hot and delicious soup makes it a perfect choice to make you warm in a chilly weather. It is best enjoyed together with families or friends because we all will be sharing the same pot. This of course will create a closer and relaxing atmosphere while enjoying this beautiful and delightful dish.

Menu Description:

Oden is a Japanese stewed dish which usually consists of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku, and processed fish cakes. The soup base a soy flavoured dashi (bonito) broth. Ingredients and broth/stocks used may vary according to region and between each household.

Oden is often sold from food carts, and most Japanese convenience stores have simmering oden pots in winter. Many different kinds of oden are sold, with single-ingredient varieties as cheap as 100 yen.

Varieties of oden ingredients

Varieties of Oden Ingredients

Assorted fishcake products
Various surimi/grounded meat products, eg: meatball
Beef tendons
Octopus
Boiled eggs
Chikuwabu - gluten tubes.
Ito konnyaku
Konnyaku
Tofu
Ganmodoki – fried tofu fritter with vegetables fillings
Atsuage – deep fried tofu
Kinchaku/fukuro – fried tofu pouch/bag with fillings (usually mochi or egg)
Daikon - Radish
Konbu – seaweed/kelp
Carrot
Shiitake Mushroom
Kabocha - Japanese winter pumpkin/squash
Cabbage roll
Potato

Menu Ingredients:

1/2 daikon radish, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
4 shiitake mushrooms
2 carrots, peeled and chopped roughly

Dashi Stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into halves
4 boiled eggs, peeled
1 konnyaku, cut into large triangles
2 atsuage, cut into large triangles
4 ganmodoki
6-10 assorted fishcakes as desired
4-6 surimi products as desired

Soup base

· 3 - 4 Tbsp of soy sauce

· 2 Tbsp of mirin or sake

· 1 tsp of sugar

· 1 tsp of salt

· 4 cups dashi soup stock (or 2 dashi pouches and 6 cups of water)

· 6-inch konbu,

Menu Directions:

Put 4 cups of dashi soup stock in a large pot.
Add konbu, bring to boil and turn down the heat to low.
Take out the konbu, cut into 1 inch wide strips and make a knot. Put the knotted konbu back to the soup.
Place the main ingredients into the pot
Add soy sauce, sake/mirin, salt, and sugar and simmer for 1 hour. You can add more of the soup base ingredients to achieve the desired soup taste.
Serve