●ODEN- Oden (Kantou-style)
*Oden is also
a well-known one pot menu especially popular in winter.
There are generally two different ways in cooking this
'stew'. It is divided
between Kantou and Kansai style. Kantou style simmers
all the ingredients
together over low heat for a long period of time, whereas
Kansai style
prepares all the ingredients separately before simmering
them together.
This is because Kantou style includes raw ingredients
therefore by simmering
the ingredients together, each ingredient will benefit
from each other and
add to their flavor. Kansai style values the different
taste of individual
ingredients. In Kansai, oden is sometimes referred
to as Kansai daki(stew).

<Ingredients (for four)>
1 white radish(peeled and
cut into rounds of about 2.5 cm in thickness)
300g thin sliced beef
1 devil's tongue(cut into
triangles)
4 hard boiled eggs
2 big chikuwa (fish paste rolls)
2 atsugage(deep fried tofu cakes)
4 gobouten(fried fish paste cake with burdock root)
2 shiroten(uncolored fried fish paste cake usually with
cloud ear mushrooms)
2 hanpen (fish paste cake containing grated mountain
yam )
Cooking broth:
10 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons mirin
(sweetened rice wine)
3/4 cup light soy sauce
1 konbu(kelp seaweed)
20g bonito shavings
mustard paste
shichimi (seven-spice mixture)
1)Boil the white radish in water before simmering it
with the other ingredients.
2)After boiling the sliced beef in hot water for 2 to
3 minutes, take it out and
wash off the scum. Then eliminate all water droplets.
Cut into smaller pieces
and pierce with bamboo skewers.
3)Make scores on the devil's tongue jelly and boil.
Similarly parboil the atsuage,
gobouten, and shiroten to remove excess oil on the
surface.
4)Pour the cooking broth in a pan and heat it over medium
heat. When it
comes to a boil, remove the scum on the surface and
strain the broth
through a cloth.
5)Place all the ingredients except for the hanpen into
the pan and add the
strained broth. Heat it over high heat and when it
comes to a boil, reduce
the heat and simmer for two hours covered. Add the
hanpen in the very
end and simmer some more. Serve onto individual bowls
with some mustard
paste and shichimi.