Chikuwabu Oden (ちくわぶおでん)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy pot or donabe clay pot
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with cloth
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment
• •Small pot for pre-boiling chikuwabu

Instructions

1. 1

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in the cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat, about ten minutes. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Boil the kelp and the dashi turns bitter and a little slick, which is a poor bargain for impatience.

   You're steeping the konbu, not boiling it. The clean broth is the first thing oden needs.
2. 2

   Add the bonito

   Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, then take the pot off the heat. Let the flakes sink for two or three minutes without stirring. Strain through a cloth or fine strainer and let it drip naturally. Don't squeeze, because squeezing pushes the strong oily taste into the clear stock.

3. 3

   Prepare the companions

   Boil the eggs for 9 minutes, cool them, and peel them. Simmer the daikon rounds in plain water for 12 to 15 minutes until a skewer enters with a little resistance, then drain. Pour hot water over the fish cakes to remove excess surface oil, and score the konnyaku so the broth can cling to it. These small preparations keep the oden broth clear and let each piece take seasoning evenly.

4. 4

   Boil the chikuwabu

   Cut the chikuwabu on the diagonal into thick pieces. Boil it in a separate pot of water for 5 minutes, then drain. This is the detail that decides it: chikuwabu is wheat flour, not fish paste, and a short boil sets the chew and washes away surface starch before it enters the dashi.

5. 5

   Season the dashi

   Return the clear dashi to a wide pot and add the usukuchi shoyu, mirin, sake, sugar, and salt. Taste it before anything goes in. It should be clean, lightly salty, and faintly sweet, a broth you'd want to sip but just a little stronger than that. The ingredients will drink it and soften its edge.

6. 6

   Simmer quietly

   Add the daikon, eggs, konnyaku, tofu, fish cakes, and boiled chikuwabu. Bring the pot barely to a simmer, then lower the heat and cook uncovered or with a drop-lid for 45 to 60 minutes. Keep the surface calm. A hard boil clouds the broth, roughens the tofu, and makes the chikuwabu swell before it has taken in flavor.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the oden rest for 20 minutes if you can. This is when the chikuwabu drinks. Rewarm gently, taste the broth once more, and serve each bowl with a little karashi on the side. Don't crowd the bowl. Give the wheat pieces, daikon, egg, and tofu enough space that the broth can be seen.

Chef Tips

• •Buy chikuwabu from the refrigerated oden or fish-cake section of a Japanese market. It should feel firm and slightly springy, never sour-smelling or slimy. If you can't find it, don't replace it with chikuwa and pretend it is the same dish. Chikuwa is fish paste; chikuwabu is wheat.
• •Boil the chikuwabu before it goes into the oden broth. This is not fussing. It sets the starch and keeps your dashi clear, and clear dashi is the dignity of the pot.
• •Oden improves by resting. Cook it gently, let it cool in the broth, then rewarm it. Chikuwabu especially needs that quiet time to drink.
• •Use a wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta) if you have one, or a circle of parchment with a small hole in the center. It keeps the ingredients settled under the broth without stirring them into disorder.
• •For meatless oden, use 6 cups water, 15g konbu, and 4 dried shiitake soaked together for several hours or overnight. Remove the konbu before boiling, simmer the shiitake gently, and season the broth the same way.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Reheat it gently before seasoning.
• •The whole oden can be cooked a day ahead, cooled in its broth, and refrigerated. Rewarm slowly so the broth stays clear and the tofu stays tender.
• •Daikon and eggs can be prepared earlier in the day. Keep them covered and add them when you begin the final simmer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 520g)