Oden: A Tasty Japanese Hot Pot Dish

By
Setsuko Yoshizuka
Setsuko Yoshizuka
Setsuko Yoshizuka is a freelance food writer and Japanese cookbook author.
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Updated on 12/10/21
Oden recipe

​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Prep: 60 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Total: 2 hrs
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

Oden is a Japanese hot pot dish in which ingredients are slowly simmered in a soy sauce based soup. It's typically considered a winter dish in Japan and usually appears around September or October. Warm, filling and tasty, there are all kinds of oden experiences to be had.

The method described in this recipe is just one way of making Oden. You can vary certain ingredients, but others like daikon radish, boiled eggs, konnyaku, fish cakes, and dashi broth, are common in most versions of the dish, which in Japan varies by region.

 You may use Oden seasoning sold at Asian stores instead of using sake, soy sauce, and sugar.

Ingredients

  • 2 (2-inch) pieces musubi-kombu, or knotted kelp

  • 4 cups water

  • 1/3 radish daikon radish

  • 2 medium potatoes

  • 4 large eggs

  • 1 konnyaku , or transparent yam starch cake

  • 2 ounces atsuage, or fried tofu

  • 4 ganmodoki, or tofu fritters

  • 2 tablespoons sake

  • 4 to 5 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 2 to 4 fish paste cakes, or kamaboko (such as chikuwa, hanpen, and satsumaage), cut into large chunks

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Oden
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  2. First, start by making the dashi stock: In a large pot, let the musubi-kombu warm along with the water on the stove.

    Make down dashi stock
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  3. Remove the pan from the heat right as it reaches a boil—you don’t want to let the mixture boil as the kombu can leave a bitter flavor and create a slick texture—and remove the musubi-kombu from the broth and discard. Set aside.

    Remove from pan
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  4. Next, peel the daikon radish and cut into 3/4-inch thick rounds. Set aside.

    Peel daikon radish
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  5. Next, peel the potatoes and cut in half. Set aside.

    Peel potatoes
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  6. Boil your eggs and then peel them. Set aside.

    Boil eggs
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  7. Cut the konnyaku and atsuage into large triangles.

    Cut the konnyaku
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  8. Then blanch the ganmodoki.

    Blanch ganmodoki
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  9. Leave the 4 cups of dashi soup stock you made in the beginning in the large pot or place in a donabe pot.

    Stock
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  10. Place all the ingredients in the pot.

    Place ingredients in a pot
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  11. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to low and simmer for 40 to 60 minutes.

    Bring to a boil
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  12. Add more dashi soup stock and soy sauce as needed.

    Add dashi soup
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  13. Serve and enjoy!

    Serve and enjoy
    ​The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
365 Calories
16g Fat
46g Carbs
11g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 365
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g 21%
Saturated Fat 3g 13%
Cholesterol 76mg 25%
Sodium 1029mg 45%
Total Carbohydrate 46g 17%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 11g
Vitamin C 16mg 80%
Calcium 150mg 12%
Iron 3mg 14%
Potassium 683mg 15%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)