The season has passed from Autumn into Winter. The nights are cooler, and we find ourselves wanting a little something to warm up. On such nights, Oden is perfectly steamy and comforting.
Typically when we think of Oden, we picture daikon radish and other ingredients cooked in broth. It’s a popular item, now nearly always found available near the cash registers in convenience stores. Seeing the steam rise from the delicious ingredients swimming in the Oden broth certainly whets one’s appetite. But originally, Oden was a dish completely different from this.
Originally, Oden is rooted in a dish called “Yakidengaku,” which consisted of tofu and konjac grilled on a skewer, slathered with a sweet miso. It is said to have been devised in the Muromachi Era. Following that in the Edo Era, the ingredients once skewered and grilled become boiled in a nabe pot for a dish called “Nikomidengaku,” which began the timeline for the Oden we know today. Today, we call boiled Nikomidengaku “Oden,” and the grilled variety “Dengaku.” Since Nikomidengaku is a product of the Eda Era, those in the Kansai region call this dish “Kantodaki,” and other names. (This is because in Kansai, the world for boil is pronounced “taku” as opposed to “ni.”)
That is how the Oden of Edo came to be; however, several varieties of Oden exist today in Japan from region to region. For example, in Kansai, Koro (whale skin) and Saezuri (tongue) are special varieties. In Fukuoka, you can’t have Oden without a beef-muscle skewer. Additionally, in Okinawa they have pigs’ feet Oden.
One of the most interesting takes on the dish is “Shizuoka Oden.” The star of the dish is a local ingredient known as “Kurohanpen.” Kurohanpen is a paste made by grinding blue fish such as mackerel, horse mackerel, and sardines, creating a gray color.
Another unique trait of Shizuoka oden is that the ingredients are all skewered in a beef muscle-based black broth. It is eaten with sardines, skipjacks, and green seaweed. This variety likely has its routes in Yakidengaku, since the ingredients are all skewered.
My preferred variety of Oden is none other than daikon radish. What could be more delicious than biting into the daikon radish with konbu kelp on top that has been soaking in the warm Oden broth?
What kind of Oden is your favorite?
Source: Tokyo College of Sushi and Washoku: The College Headmaster’s One-Dish Course Series.
http:///www.sushi-tokyo.jp/blog-headmaster
Photo source: Tokyo College of Sushi and Washoku: The College Headmaster’s One-Dish Course Series.