Kanazawa Oden (金沢おでん, simmered winter hot pot)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large donabe (earthenware pot), or a heavy Dutch oven
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment
• •Skimmer

Instructions

1. 1

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. That pale bloom on the surface is flavor. Put the konbu in the cold water and warm it slowly over low heat, about 20 minutes. Lift it out just before the water boils, when small bubbles gather along the pot. Boil the kelp and the stock turns faintly bitter and slick, which is not the Kanazawa paleness we're trying to keep.

   You're steeping the konbu, not cooking it hard. The rule is only the shortest way to say protect the clarity.
2. 2

   Add katsuobushi

   Bring the water to a gentle boil after the konbu is out. Add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and leave it alone for 3 minutes. Don't stir. The flakes give up their aroma as they sink, and stirring only brings roughness into a stock that should taste clean.

3. 3

   Strain the dashi

   Strain the dashi through a cloth-lined sieve and let it drip by itself. Don't squeeze the flakes. Squeezing presses out oily, heavy flavors and clouds the broth. Measure about 2L for the oden pot; if you are short, add a little water rather than forcing the flakes.

   A pale oden depends on a pale stock. Once the dashi turns muddy, no seasoning later will make it clear again.
4. 4

   Parboil daikon

   Peel the daikon thickly, cut it into rounds, bevel the edges, and score a shallow cross on one face of each round. Cover with fresh water and add the rice rinsing water, or the spoonful of raw rice. Simmer about 20 minutes, until a skewer enters with a little resistance. The rice helps draw out harshness, and the parboiling keeps the final oden broth clean. Rinse the daikon gently before it goes into the dashi.

   Beveling the edges is not decoration. It keeps the rounds from chipping as they sit in the pot.
5. 5

   Prepare eggs and konnyaku

   Cook the eggs in simmering water for 10 minutes, cool them in cold water, and peel them. Score the konnyaku lightly on both sides, cut it into triangles, and boil it in fresh water for 3 minutes. Konnyaku has an alkaline smell when it comes from the package; the quick boil removes it, and the shallow scoring gives the broth places to enter.

6. 6

   Ready local pieces

   Soak the kuruma-fu in warm water for 10 minutes, then press it gently between your palms so it is pliant but not crushed. Pour just-boiled water over the ganmodoki, chikuwa, and akamaki, then drain them. This removes surface oil and excess salt, both of which would cloud the broth. Keep baigai and kani-men chilled until they are added, because they need warming, not punishment.

7. 7

   Season the pot

   Put the strained dashi in a wide pot with the Ōno shōyu, mirin, sake, and sea salt. Taste it now. It should be deeper than a clear soup but much lighter than a sauce, because the daikon, egg, and konnyaku will sit in it for a long time. Add the daikon, eggs, and konnyaku, arranging them in a single layer if you can.

8. 8

   Simmer the base

   Bring the pot to the smallest simmer and set a wooden drop-lid, otoshibuta, over the ingredients. A circle of parchment with a small hole in the center works well. Cook quietly for 45 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the pot rest for 20 to 30 minutes. The rest is not idleness. As the ingredients cool, they pull seasoning inward.

   If the broth starts moving loudly, lower the heat. Oden should tremble, not roll.
9. 9

   Add tender pieces

   Return the pot to a low simmer. Add the ganmodoki, chikuwa, baigai, and kuruma-fu, and cook for 20 minutes. Add the akamaki for the final 8 to 10 minutes so its red-white spiral stays clear and the fish cake does not toughen. If using kani-men, nestle it shell-side down for the last 5 to 8 minutes and spoon broth over it. Crab that is already cooked only needs to be warmed through.

   Kuruma-fu drinks greedily. Give it enough time to take in the broth, but don't squeeze it dry before serving.
10. 10

    Serve with karashi

    Serve three or five pieces per bowl with enough clear broth to surround them, not drown them. Put a small dab of karashi on the side so each person can sharpen the sweetness of the daikon and the richness of the tofu pieces. Keep the remaining pot at a low tremble for second helpings. Leave the bowl room; a crowded oden bowl looks anxious, and this dish has no need to hurry.

Chef Tips

• •Ask a Japanese market for kuruma-fu and akamaki first. If akamaki is not available, use good kamaboko or chikuwa and say plainly that it is a stand-in. The red spiral belongs to Kanazawa; pretending otherwise helps no one.
• •Kani-men is tied to the short kōbako-gani season. If the crab is out of season, omit it. Don't replace it with imitation crab, because the shell, roe, and meat are the point of that piece.
• •If the broth tastes thin, add more dashi or reduce the heat and let the pot rest. More salt will make it louder, not deeper.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and dried shiitake, and choose daikon, konnyaku, tofu, kuruma-fu, and vegetables. That is shōjin-style oden, honmono in the temple kitchen sense, but it is no longer Kanazawa's seafood pot.

Advance Preparation

• •The konbu can soak in the measured cold water overnight in the refrigerator. Warm it slowly from cold the next day for a rounder dashi.
• •The dashi can be made two days ahead and refrigerated. Keep it covered, because it takes on refrigerator smells easily.
• •Daikon, eggs, and konnyaku are better if simmered in the broth a day ahead. Add the fish cakes, kuruma-fu, baigai, and kani-men on the day you serve so they keep their texture and color.
• •Leftover oden keeps two days refrigerated. Reheat it gently below a boil, and add a splash of fresh dashi if the broth has grown too concentrated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 800g)