← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• ½ daikon (about 500 g), peeled, cut into 3 cm rounds
• 1 tbsp uncooked rice (for parboiling the daikon) (optional)
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Konnyaku (konjac block)
• 4 small waxy potatoes, peeled (optional)
• 400 g assorted Japanese fish cakes (satsuma-age, chikuwa, hanpen)
• 1.5 l Dashi powder or stock
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp Sake
• 2 tbsp Mirin
• 1 tsp Salt
• Japanese hot mustard (karashi), to serve

Method

1. Bevel the edges of the daikon rounds and score a shallow cross on one side. Cover with water, add the rice and simmer for 20 min, until a skewer slides in easily. Drain and rinse.
2. Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 9 min, cool in cold water and peel. Score the konnyaku in a criss-cross, cut it into triangles and boil for 3 min, then drain.
3. Put the fish cakes in a colander and pour boiling water over them to rinse off excess oil. Cut any large ones in half.
4. In a large, wide pot, combine the dashi, soy, sake, mirin and salt. Add the daikon, eggs, konnyaku and potatoes.
5. Bring just to a simmer, then cook gently over low heat, partly covered, for 30 min. Do not let it boil hard, or the broth turns cloudy and the eggs go rubbery.
6. Add the fish cakes and simmer for 15 min more. Oden tastes even better left to rest and reheated, so make it ahead if you can. Serve in bowls with broth and a dab of mustard.

Tips

• Most Japanese fish cakes contain wheat and egg, so check the packets for allergies.
• Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge; add fresh fish cakes when reheating.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Japanese Cooking 101 RecipeTin Japan