Warming Winter Food: p.1 Oden!

It’s the winter season in Japan now, and with it comes a variety of delicious foods to keep you warm on the chilliest of days! Oden is one of the most popular of all winter dishes in Japan!

I love stopping by the convenience store to pick up this mild-flavored mini-meal on a day out!

Oden 御田- Oden is a collection of different ingredients stewed in a soy-flavored broth called dashi. You will often see this dish in convenience stores starting in late fall. The smell of oden broth can be felt from down the block! You may even see vendors selling oden at the storefront instead of inside.

Ordering oden for the first time can be a bit intimidating, though. It is very rare to find English translations of each piece, there usually isn’t any furigana provided for the kanji, and even if you know the English, the clerk selling it may not. But worry not! I have provided a list of usual ingredients so that you can order with confidence.

First, check the list below.

Next, try using some of the words below to order oden at your local convenience store!

Oden Essentials

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1. Daikon – 大根 (だいこん, daikon) – Thick slices of Japanese radish.
2. Konjac – こんにゃく (こんにゃく, konnyaku) – A thick, jelly-like plant-based food made from yams.
3. Kelp – 昆布 (こんぶ, kombu) – Called ‘kombu’ and usually tied into a cute bow-like shape.
4. Fried tofu fritter – がんもどき (がんもどき, ganmodoki) – It is called ‘ganmodoki’ in Japanese, this is a tofu fritter filled with vegetables.
5. Fish cake – はんぺん (はんぺん, hanpen) – A fish cake in the shape of a large white triangle.
6. Fish paste cake – ちくわ (ちくわ, chikuwa) – Differs from the other fish cake in shape.
7. Deep-fried fish paste – さつま揚げ (さつまあげ, satsumaage) – A ball of deep-fried fish paste.
8. Mochi in fried tofu – もち巾着もち (もちぶくろもち, mochibukuro mochi) – A bag of fried tofu with mochi inside.