oden

[Hiroyuki]

There are regional variations to oden. In Kansai, oden is called Kanto daki (not Kantou daki), 関東炊き or 関東煮 in Kanji. (煮 is usually pronounced ni, but in this case, pronounced daki ).

Those of you living in Osaka, do you have anything to add to this thread??

[kinkistyle]

This thread reminds me of something I saw on TV a year ago.

Apparently, in "geek-capital", Akihabara, they have vending machines that sell hot oden in cans and is apparently rather tasty:

It comes with the toothpick stuck in the konnyaku because konnyaku is hard and slippery and difficult to poke otherwise, hehe.

[helenjp]

I'm very sad to have to tell you that son1, a true geek, has indeed bought canned oden in Akihabara for himself and his geeky friends, and that a can has pride of place on his computer desk (or should I say, on one of his computer desks...).

[_john]

I love hanpen and gyusuji. oxtails are an excellent addition. I usually make one pot of only daikon and then another pot of other items. I save my oden boiling liquid and reuse it, it tastes amazing after three or four batches. unfortunately I have never eaten oden at a yatai (street vendor) because I have never seen one where I live.

Has anyone seen the new children's fad Oden-kun? I think it is written by someone named Lily Franky. Is that a company name or a person's name?

Edited October 28, 2006 by _john (log)

[helenjp]

Lily Frankie is the nickname of an artist-cum-writer-cum-musician.

I agree with the idea of cooking the daikon separately for oden. It's also worth doing the whole cross-cut in the middle and pre-cooking in the water used to wash rice thing for daikon.

I like cabbage rolls in oden, but I try to keep it a secret.

[Hiroyuki]

I love hanpen and  gyusuji. oxtails are an excellent addition. I usually make one pot of only daikon and then another pot of other items. I save my oden boiling liquid and reuse it, it tastes amazing after three or four batches. unfortunately I have never eaten oden at a yatai (street vendor) because I have never seen one where I live.

Has anyone seen the new children's fad Oden-kun? I think it is written by someone named Lily Franky. Is that a company name or a person's name?

←

John, what do you mean by hanpen? Is it a white, rectangular one made of surimi and egg white? Or, is it what we Kanto people call satsuma age?

Gyusuji is a Kansai thing. I don't think I have ever had it.

Cooking daikon separately is kind of a norm. My wife does the mentori (chamfering), too. Me? No. I'm not a serious cook.

[GlorifiedRice]

Give me chikuwabu (not chikuwa) and eggs only!

Hanpen?  No thanks!

←

Hiroyuki?

Thank God! I thought it was just me. I've made Oden 3 times and I didn't like it any of the three except for the Chikwa. I bought the "Oden Kit" from the Asian Mkt though so maybe that is why. There is just an aftertaste to the lot of it that I don't enjoy. Maybe its the burdock?

[mizducky]

I was wandering around a local Japanese market (Nijiya Market, for those of you who live in California USA and might be familiar with this little chain), thinking vague thoughts about making some kind of soup to try to scare off the sore throat I feel coming on. I spotted a bunch of different oden sets, and my vague thoughts turned into a definite plan! I bought a likely-looking set, plus a block of black konnyaku, some oyster mushrooms, and some katsuobushi; once at home, I made some dashi and added all the other stuff, suitably cut up, plus some daikon, carrots, and green onions I had kicking around my vegetable bin. Oh yeah, there's a few dried shiitake in there too. Everything is now simmering away as I type ... it smells wonderful, and my stomach is growling!

Edited to add: Enjoying my oden right now. Yum! I dunno if it'll scare the sore throat away, but it sure feels good.

Edited November 18, 2006 by mizducky (log)