Yield: 4 people

Oden

Oden is a Japanese stew made with hard-boiled eggs, daikon, fish cakes and dashi soup as ingredients. Easy and one of the best oden recipes with homemade dashi.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 cups homemade dashi
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 softened kombuu strips, tie into knots, optional
  • 12 oz. (340 g) Japanese oden fish cakes and fish balls
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs
  • 6 oz. (170 g) daikon, cut into wedges
  • 2 oz. (56 g) konnyaku, cut into pieces or wedges, optional
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 1 tablespoon cooking sake
  • Japanese Togarashi (Japanese 7-Spice Blend) (S&B Brand)
  • Japanese mustard (Karashi), for serving

Instructions

  1. Rinse the fish cakes and fish balls with running water, remove the excess oil from the fish cakes and fish balls. Drained, pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
    oden ingredients
  2. In a soup pot, bring the dashi, water, kombu strips (if using) to boil. Add the daikon and stew on low heat until they are cooked through.
  3. Add the hard-boiled eggs, konnyaku (if using) and fish cakes. Add the soy sauce, mirin and sake. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve the oden warm with Japanese mustard and Togarashi.

Notes

Click for the dashi recipe.

You can make oden with instant oden soup mix, for example: Mizkan Bonito-Flavored Soup Base. If you use a soup mix, use 3 1/2 cups water and 1/4 cup soup mix, or more to taste.

There are many kinds of Japanese fish cakes and fish balls. Find those pre-packed for Oden.

Some fish cakes and fish balls are saltier and might make the soup a tad salty. Please add some water and oden soup is too salty.

Traditionally, oden is simmered for an hour. My version is the quick and easy version.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size

4 people
Amount Per Serving Calories 157Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 136mgSodium 668mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 24g