Oden is a wonderful warming food that the Japanese often enjoy in the winter. Oden is a dish that celebrates the abundance of seafood on the island nation, with ingredients, many of which are made from fish, cooked in a broth made from seafood dashi (stock). This article introduces the varying types of oden available in different regions of Japan and some great restaurants to try them at.
What Is Oden?
Oden is a pot dish made by cooking a variety of ingredients in dashi made from bonito flakes and kombu (kelp) flavored with seasonings such as soy sauce. Common ingredients are vegetables such as daikon (radish), potatoes, eggs, konnyaku (made from konjac root with a consistency similar to firm jelly), and nerimono (fish paste).
Oden is a popular dish to eat at home, so sets that just need to be heated up are readily available in supermarkets. Warm oden is also sold at convenience stores.
In addition to the common ingredients mentioned earlier, you might also find oden with unusual ingredients such as wiener sausages and more.
Regional Oden Unique to Each Area
There is actually a wide range of oden available, with both the broth and ingredients varying across the 47 prefectures of Japan.
Here are the typical oden styles from Tokyo, Nagoya, Kanazawa, and Okinawa.
・Tokyo
Tokyo has many long-established oden restaurants serving deeply-seasoned oden in the style of the Kanto region. The broth is made from kombu and bonito flakes and flavored with soy sauce, mirin (sweet cooking sake), and sugar for a deep, salty-sweet flavor. Compared to the Kansai style, the broth is darker.
In addition to the typical oden ingredients, chikuwabu, which is made by kneading flour and salt into a paste and shaping it into a tube, is often included.
・Nagoya
Nagoya City in Aichi Prefecture is located in the center of Japan and is a major city following Tokyo and Osaka. Indispensable to food in Aichi Prefecture is a reddish brown miso called mame miso, made from soybeans. Mame miso can be fermented for as long as two to three years and is distinguished by its rich flavor, acidity, and unique bitterness.
The oden in Nagoya is seasoned with this miso, giving it a rich, deep flavor. Ingredients are either cooked in a sauce and dipped in mame miso or cooked in a sauce flavored with mame miso.
・Kanazawa
The oden in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, which is on the Sea of Japan and has access to plentiful fresh seafood, is distinguished by its clear soup. The soup uses an umami-rich dashi stock made from kombu and seafood and has a slightly sweet, gentle flavor that is pleasant to the palate.
The oden in Kanazawa tends to have a variety of ingredients that are unique to the city. There is kurumafu (a food made from flour in the shape of a ring), baigai (a small sea snail), and the winter specialty kanimen, which is crab meat stuffed in its shell.
・Okinawa
While oden is considered a winter food in most parts of the country, it is also popular in the tropical islands of Okinawa, where the temperature rarely drops below 15°C even in the middle of winter. Oden goes well with sake and is appreciated by Okinawans, who are considered to be cheerful people who enjoy their drink.
The oden in Okinawa has unique ingredients that reflect the local food culture. The star of Okinawa's oden is pork, including pigs feet that are soft, plump, and packed with collagen, along with spare ribs and sausages. Okinawan oden also has leafy vegetables, such as lettuce, which are rarely seen in other prefectures.
Recommended Restaurants to Enjoy Outstanding Oden
Azabu Shu (Azabu-juban)
Azabu Shu is a Japanese restaurant that procures the best ingredients every day and crafts dishes that maximize their flavors.
Its signature [Oden] is served year-round, but other menu items change by season. The clear, Kyoto-style broth is made from five different dried fish flakes, such as bonito and mackerel, and boasts the rich flavors of seafood.
Ingredients include standards such as [Daikon] (330 JPY), [Hanpen] (processed white fish meat) (330 JPY), and [Konnyaku] (330 JPY), as well as unusual additions like [Yuba] (tofu skin from heated soymilk) (550 JPY), [Sugar-Rich Tomatoes From Shizuoka] (550 JPY), and [Rolled Cabbage] (meat-based filling wrapped in cabbage) (550 JPY).
Guests who want to enjoy Japanese cuisine to the fullest should try a course meal, like the [Fresh Seasonal Fish and Shu Oden Course] (11,000 JPY) or the [Sendai Kampo Wagyu Steak, Fresh Seasonal Fish, and Oden Course] (16,500 JPY).
Both feature a variety of appetizers, simmered dishes, grilled dishes, and oden, making them very satisfying.
All prices include tax.
While Azabu Shu is a Japanese restaurant, it offers a wide selection of wines ranging from standard to organic. White wine goes particularly well with oden and Japanese cuisine in general.
The restaurant is decorated elegantly in a classic, minimalist Japanese style with warm wooden tones and beige colors. Guests can even dine in a private room while admiring the restaurant's elegant small garden.
Azabu Shu
Closed: None
Average price: [Dinner] 8,000 JPY
Access: A two minute walk from exit 1 of Azabujuuban Station's Namboku Line. The serene black walls will be your landmark.
Address: Takeda Bldg. , 2-12-8 Azabujuban , Minato-ku, Tokyo Map
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Robata to Oden Kyosuke Shinbashi Branch (Shinbashi)
In addition to the standard white [Hanpen] (275 JPY), guests can savor the [Black Hanpen] (308 JPY), made by grinding a whole fish into paste. If you're having Hanpen for the first time, be sure to try both.
You can also order robatayaki, which is where seafood, meat, and vegetables are grilled over high-quality binchotan charcoal. Sit at the counter to bask in the appetizing aromas and crackling sounds. Try the [Robatayaki 6 Pieces Set] (968 JPY), a reasonably priced assortment of chargrilled skewers including sirloin steak beef, squid, eggplant, and more.
*All prices include tax.
Customers in the terrace are also served a robatayaki appetizer that you grill yourself.
Robata to Oden Kyosuke Shinbashi Branch
Closed: Sunday
Average price: [Dinner] 3,000 JPY / [Lunch] 1,000 JPY
Access: 1-minute walk from Karasumori Exit of Shimbashi Station on JR Yamanote Line. 110m from Shimbashi Station.
Address: Shinhana Bldg., 3-21-11, Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Map
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