<ODEN JAPANESE HOT POT/ おでん>
＜Yield> 4 servings
<Prep time> 15 minutes (does not include resting time)
<Cook time> 40 minutes
<Ingredients>
Bannou sauce/ 万能ソース
200ml (a little less than 1cup) soy sauce
200ml (a little less than 1cup) Mirin
40g bonito flakes
Oden soup
700ml(3 ¼ cup) water
110ml(½ cup) bannou sauce
10cm (5g) kombu
Oden ingredients
1 inch thick ×7 daikon radishes
½ block (200g) konnyaku
6 pieces fish cakes
4 shiitake mushrooms
3 small-medium potatoes (300g)
1 leek (200g)
½ cup broccoli(150g)
5 cherry tomatoes
Egg in fried tofu (Optional)
1 pieces fried tofu
2 eggs
3 tbsp cheese
2 stalks spring onion
<Directions>
1. To the large pot, add water and kombu. Soak it for at least 30 mins.
2. (make bannou sauce)
Bring the mirin to a boil in a small pot. Once it comes to a boil,lower the heat.Keep it on low for 15- 30 seconds to burn off the alcohol.( Make sure there is no more smell of alcohol). Add soy sauce and bonito flakes. Once it comes back to a boil, off the heat immediately. Let it cook down.As the temperature goes down, the umami flavor seeps out to the sauce.Strain it over a piece of paper towel covering a strainer. Squeeze the bonito flakes in the paper towel and let the liquid drip down into a bowl.You can keep the sauce upto 2 weeks in a fridge.
3. (Prep Oden)
-Chop daikon into 2 cm/ 1 inch thick. Score the surface(⅓ of its thickness) on one side allowing them to absorb more soup.
-Remove the stem of shiitake mushrooms.
-Cut fish cake into small bite size if it's too big.
-Peel the skin of a potato and remove the eye.
-Chop leeks into 4cm/ 2 inch length.
-Chop broccoli into florets
-Remove the stem of cherry tomatoes and peel the skin.( Watch on YouTube)
4 (Prep konnyaku)
-Blanch konnyaku for 2-3 mins to remove the odor.Cut into big triangle shape.( Watch on YouTube)
5 (Prep egg in fried tofu)
Place a single chopstick over the fried tofu then roll around from one side to the other by pressing. Cut the tofu in half and put your finger into the cut to open the tofu carefully.
Remove the excess oil of fried tofu by patting with a paper towel.
Open the fried tofu and stuff cheese inside. Drop one egg into the fried tofu. Tigh the opening with blanched spring onion or chives.
6. In to the kombu stock ( step1), add bannou sauce. Add daikon, potatoes, and leeks. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat to low and close the lid. Simmer it for 25 mins.
7. Add the rest of the ingredients except for cherry tomato and broccoli. Continue to cook it on low for another 10 mins.Once everything is cooked,add cherry tomato and broccoli.Close the lid and wait for another at least 10 mins. Scoop your favorite ingredients along with a generous amount of soup. Enjoy with Japanese mustard if you want.
<Miwa’s tips> ※Watch more on YouTube!
1. The ratio of soup is 1 bannou sauce : 6 water . Feel free to scale up and down. It's a bit on the savory and salty side. Add more vegetables or splash more water if you want.
2. The ingredients I showed here are just an example. Feel free to change up. Sweet potatoes, cabbage, and other mushrooms are great options.
3. When you make bannou sauce, make sure to burn off the alcohol of mirin but try not to burn at the bottom. If you don’t smell any alcohol, it should be ok.
<Storage time>
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
2023/2/18 MIWA