Oden (Japanese Hot Pot Stew)

Name: Oden (Japanese Hot Pot Stew)
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: Serves 3–4
Ingredients: Oden fish cake set 1 bag (about 400 g); Daikon radish 1/3 (about 400 g); Egg 4; Konnyaku (konjac jelly) 1 (about 250 g); Dashi granules (Japanese soup stock) 2 tsp; Karashi (Japanese mustard, tube) A little; Water About 2.5 L (for pre-boiling, eggs and broth); Soy sauce 2 tbsp + a little; Mirin (sweet rice seasoning) 2 tbsp; Sake (Japanese rice wine) 2 tbsp; Salt 1/2 tsp

🥗 Lighter 🍲 Cooking for a group

Serves 3–4 · About 1 hr 45 min (30 min of this is just letting it sit with the heat off)
Daikon, eggs, konjac and store-bought fish cakes (chikuwa, satsuma-age and more) simmered in dashi broth.

① Pre-boil the daikon→② Make boiled eggs→③ Prepare the konjac and fish cakes→④ Simmer in the broth→⑤ Turn off the heat and let sit

What to buy

Fish cakes

Oden fish cake setOne with chikuwa, satsuma-age, gobo-ten and so on. If it comes with a soup packet, do not use it this time1 bag (about 400 g)

Vegetables

Daikon radish1/3 (about 400 g)

Eggs & konjac

Egg4Konnyaku (konjac jelly)1 (about 250 g)

Seasonings & dry goods

Dashi granules (Japanese soup stock)2 tspKarashi (Japanese mustard, tube)If you like. Add it when you eatA little

Check what you already have

WaterAbout 2.5 L (for pre-boiling, eggs and broth)Soy sauce2 tbsp + a littleMirin (sweet rice seasoning)2 tbspSake (Japanese rice wine)2 tbspSalt1/2 tsp

Tap an item to check it off (checks clear when you close the page).

How to make it

Cut and pre-boil the daikon

Medium → Medium-low heatAbout 25 min

On the cutting board, cut the daikon into 3 cm thick rounds and peel the skin off thickly (6–8 pieces)
Make a cross-shaped cut (5 mm deep) on one side with a knife. This helps the flavor soak in
Put the daikon in a pot, add water (about 800 ml) to cover, and set over medium heat
When it boils, turn to medium-low heat and boil for about 20 min. Drain in a colander

How to tell it's doneA bamboo skewer (or chopstick) slides easily into the daikon.

Make boiled eggs

Medium heatAbout 15 min

Put the eggs in a pot, add water (about 700 ml) to cover, and set over medium heat
When it boils, keep boiling over medium heat for 12 min
Take out only the eggs with a ladle and put them in a bowl of water (do not throw out the hot water; you will use it in step 3)
When cool, tap the shells lightly on the counter to crack them and peel in the water

How to tell it's doneThe shells are off, and the whites are set. After 12 min of boiling, the yolks are set too. If you are worried, cut 1 in half and check that the yolk is firm, not runny.

Be carefulBoiling water can burn you easily. Put the eggs in and take them out gently with a ladle.

Prepare the konjac and fish cakes

Medium heatAbout 10 min

On the cutting board, make shallow grid cuts (2–3 mm deep) on both sides of the konjac. Cut it in half, then cut each half on the diagonal (4 triangles)
Bring the hot water in the pot from step 2 to a boil over medium heat, add the konjac, boil 2 min and drain in a colander
Dip the fish cakes in the same hot water for 30 sec and drain in a colander (this removes oil from the surface and helps the flavor soak in)
Cut large fish cakes in half on the cutting board

How to tell it's doneThe konjac and fish cakes are drained in the colander.

Simmer the daikon, eggs and konjac in the broth

Medium → Low heat, lid onAbout 20 min

In a large pot (a clay pot is fine too), put 1000 ml water, 2 tsp dashi granules, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp sake and 1/2 tsp salt
Add the daikon from step 1, the eggs from step 2 and the konjac from step 3, and set over medium heat
When it boils, turn to low heat, put the lid on and simmer 20 min

How to tell it's doneThe edges of the daikon are starting to turn light brown.

Be carefulIf it boils hard, the broth gets cloudy and the daikon falls apart. Keep the heat low, so the surface just trembles a little.

Add the fish cakes and simmer

Low heat, lid onAbout 10 min

Add the fish cakes from step 3. If anything is sticking out of the broth, swap the top and bottom pieces
Put the lid on and simmer on low heat for 10 min

How to tell it's doneThe fish cakes are plump and have taken on the color of the broth. Cut the biggest fish cake: it is hot all the way to the center.

Be carefulIf fish cakes boil hard, they puff up too much, then shrink later and lose their flavor. Keep it on low heat.

Turn off the heat, let sit, then reheat

Heat off → Low heat30 min + 5 min

Turn off the heat and let sit 30 min with the lid on (the flavor soaks into the daikon and eggs as it cools)
Before eating, reheat on low heat for about 5 min
Taste the broth. If it is too mild, add soy sauce 1 tsp at a time
Serve the food and broth in bowls. Add karashi on the side if you like

ReadyThe daikon has turned brown, and the food in the bowls is steaming.

📚 Learn more about this dish

🥬 Ingredient guide

Dashi Eggs Konnyaku Mirin Shoyu (soy sauce)

🔪 Cutting & cooking tips

Boiling Heat levels (high, medium, low)Wa-giri (rounds)

If it didn't work out

The daikon is hard, or the flavor has not soaked inIt was not pre-boiled enough in step 1. Boil until a bamboo skewer slides in easily. Letting it sit longer in step 6 adds more color and flavor.

The fish cakes puffed up, then shrankThe heat was too high in step 5. Keep it on low heat after adding the fish cakes.

The broth is too saltyThe broth boiled down and got too strong. Add water 100 ml at a time and taste.

The eggshells are hard to peelThey were not cooled long enough. Cool them well in water, then peel them in the water.

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Made by YUU, a teen who loves cooking → About me