Roots and Recipes #2

Questions to ask my mother:


What does Oden mean to you?
Special comfort food.

How did you hear about it?
My mother used to make it when we were little, but not very often because the ingrediments were quite expensive.

What special ingredient do you put in there?
Assorted fish cake, Koyadofu( dehydrated/then rehydrated tofu) sausage, Boiled egg.

Can you put anything you want in there?
Has to be something that cannot disintegrate while you cook it.

What is the best part about the oden?
It’s fabuloso on a really cold night, in japan, they have oden stands that are outside so you literally are eating the oden in the cold weather. Fabulous.

How do you make it?
First you make the broth, which contains shoyu, dashi( fish/shrimp stock) sake, sugar, mirin, and konnbu(seaweed), once the broth comes to a boil, you begin to add the ingrediments starting with the itwms that takw the longest to cook such as daikon( Japanese radish) Koyadofu, etc. then progressively add the other ingredients timing it so that they all end up cooked perfectly at the same time. You need to place a futa(wooden lid) so all of the ingredients will stay submerged. Cooking time will generally take about 2-3 hours for the flavour to fully integrate with the ingredients. When serving, serve with a side of mustard.

How long have you been making it?
Over 20 years

Why don't you make it so often as spaghetti?
It’s quite expensive to make and is time consuming.

Is there any personal ingredients you put in there?
Personally, I like to put a little bit of Portuguese sausage. (Not recommended because it alters the taste of the broth. It’s not so japanesey)