Oden Daikon (おでん大根, Oden no Daikon)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy pot
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment with a small center hole
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with cloth

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the daikon

   Peel the daikon thickly, then cut it into rounds about 1 1/2 inches thick. Shave a narrow bevel around each edge. This small chamfer keeps the corners from breaking during the long simmer, which sounds fussy until you see one piece come out clean and whole.

2. 2

   Score one face

   Cut a shallow cross into one flat side of each round, no more than halfway through. The cut helps heat and seasoning enter the center without splitting the piece apart. Keep the cuts modest. The daikon should still look like daikon, not surgery practice.

3. 3

   Par-cook the daikon

   Put the daikon in a pot and cover with rice-washing water, or plain water with the spoonful of uncooked rice. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook 25 to 35 minutes, until a skewer slides in with only slight resistance. This first cooking draws out the raw sharpness and starts softening the dense center before the broth seasonings go in.

4. 4

   Rinse and rest

   Drain the daikon and rinse the rounds gently under lukewarm water to remove the cloudy starch. Set them aside. This keeps the final oden broth clear, because the cloudiness did its work in the first pot and does not need to follow you into the second.

5. 5

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 6 cups cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides of the pot, just before a boil. Boil the kelp and the stock turns faintly bitter and slick.

6. 6

   Add the bonito

   Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, then take the pot off the heat. Leave it alone for 2 to 3 minutes, until the flakes sink. Strain through a cloth or fine strainer and let it drip by itself. Don't squeeze, or the strong oily notes cloud the clean stock you just made.

7. 7

   Season the broth

   Return the dashi to a wide pot and add the usukuchi shoyu, mirin, sake, and salt. Taste it now. It should be slightly more seasoned than a soup you would sip, because the daikon will take the flavor inward and soften it.

8. 8

   Simmer low

   Lay the daikon rounds in the broth in a single layer, scored side down. Bring to the barest simmer, set a wooden drop-lid, otoshibuta, on the surface, and cook 45 to 60 minutes. A circle of parchment with a small hole in the center works. The drop-lid keeps the daikon covered and seasoned without stirring, so the pieces stay intact.

9. 9

   Rest in broth

   Turn off the heat and let the daikon rest in the broth at least 30 minutes, or cool it completely and rewarm gently. This is when the center catches up. The finished rounds should be tender, faintly translucent, and seasoned all the way through, with no hard white core.

10. 10

    Serve simply

    Serve one or two rounds per person in shallow bowls with a little clear broth. Add a small dab of karashi if you like its sharpness. Do not drown the bowl. Oden daikon is best when it has room, so the pale round and the clear broth can speak plainly.

Chef Tips

• •Choose winter daikon that feels heavy for its size, with taut skin and a fresh green crown if the leaves are attached. A tired radish tastes woody and hot, and no broth will make that honmono.
• •Peel more deeply than seems polite. The outer layer can stay fibrous after simmering, while the inner flesh turns tender and sweet.
• •Make the dashi yourself here. Instant powder gives salt before depth, and oden daikon needs a clear stock because the vegetable has nothing to hide behind.
• •For a meatless table, use konbu and dried shiitake dashi: soak 1 piece konbu and 4 dried shiitake in 6 cups cold water overnight, then warm gently and remove the konbu before boiling. That is temple-kitchen logic, and it is honmono, not a compromise.
• •Oden is better the next day. Cool the daikon in its broth, refrigerate it, then rewarm gently. Hard boiling at the end roughens the surface and muddies the broth.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated.
• •The daikon can be par-cooked a day ahead, then refrigerated in its cooking liquid or wrapped after cooling.
• •Finished oden daikon keeps three days refrigerated in its broth. Rewarm gently over low heat and avoid a rolling boil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 540g)