How to enjoy Odenya Takeshi | Sake goes great with oden (hot pot)!
During the cold season, nabe (hot pot) containing a variety of ingredients is a favorite wintertime meal in Japan enjoyed with family and friends. Oden is one of the most popular nabe dishes. In this installment, we visited Odenya Takeshi, where you can enjoy two types of dashi (soup stock), and asked them for their recommendations on how to enjoy oden.
【Advised by】Odenya Takeshi（おでん屋たけし）
Table of Contents
Oden
Oden is a dish in which various ingredients are stewed in dashi for a long time. It is said to have its roots in tofu dengaku (grilled tofu dressed with sweet miso paste), which became popular during the Muromachi period (1333-1573). Later, in the Edo period (1603-1867), it made its transition to the modern stewed oden we know today. The dashi and ingredients used in oden differ slightly depending on the region of Japan and the household.
Enjoying agodashi-mori oden (oden with flying fish soup stock)
Agodashi-mori あごだし盛 agodashimori
Let’s start with a classic oden dish using agodashi. Agodashi is a dashi made from flying fish. If you are not sure what to order, we recommend ordering the Agodashi-mori which includes such standard ingredients as daikon (Japanese radish), tamago (egg), ganmodoki (deep-fried tofu with vegetables), konnyaku (devil’s tongue jelly), and mochi kinchaku (glutinous rice in fried tofu)!
商品名：あごだし盛（大根、玉子、がんもどき、こんにゃく、餅巾着）
Aotake tako tsumire 青竹蛸つみれ aotake tako tsumire
The aotake tako tsumire (fish paste with octopus chunks) is made to order and added to dashi. The texture is soft and fluffy, and the fresh flavor of octopus fills your taste buds.
商品名：青竹蛸つみれ
Edo Kinchaku 江戸巾着 edo kinchaku
This is Odenya Takeshi’s original Edo Kinchaku. The kinchaku (deep fried tofu covering) is filled with boiled tuna, negi (green onions), and shoga (ginger), and is very satisfying. It is a must-try dish that can only be found here!
商品名：江戸巾着
Enjoy oden with chicken dashi.
Chicken dashi oden 鶏だしおでん tori dashi oden
Odenya Takeshi also offers chicken dashi oden. The white, cloudy soup is packed with the great taste of chicken. You can enjoy slightly different ingredients from the standard oden, such as cabbage rolls, pork and negi rolls, and baby corn, to go along with the creamy, Western-style broth.
商品名：ロールキャベツ、豚葱巻き、ヤングコーン
Tomato トマト tomato
Tomato oden is made with a mildly flavored chicken dashi and a fresh sweet and sour accent. The tomatoes are topped with bacon. Odenya Takeshi’s adds a little something extra to oden and serves it as an à la carte dish, providing more charm to the customers.
商品名：トマト
Honetsuki chicken 骨付き鶏 honetsuki dori
The honetsuki chicken (chicken on the bone) is an excellent chicken thigh meat that has been carefully prepared to a tender and chewy texture. The chicken adds even more flavor to the rich dashi and you can even enjoy the soup when you’re done eating the chicken.
商品名：骨付き鶏
Create an even better flavor
At Odenya Takeshi, agodashi dishes comes with karashi (mustard) and some dishes with chicken dashi dishes come with yuzu kosho (yuzu citrus paste). You can take a small amount of karashi or yuzu kosho with chopsticks and apply it to the ingredients, or dissolve it in the dashi.
Yuzu kosho is also recommended for oden with nerimono (fish paste) such as satsuma-age (deep-fried fish paste) and ganmodoki. The sweetness of the nerimono is accented by the sharp pungency. Ask the staff if you want yuzu kosho.
Sake goes great with oden
We recommend enjoying oden with sake. Ask the staff which sake goes best with your oden. Also, at Odenya Takeshi, you can choose your favorite sake cup. The taste of sake actually changes just by changing the sake cup.
Agodashi×Urakasumi あごだし×浦霞 agodashi×urakasumi
Urakasumi is a sake characterized by its moderate aroma and mild flavor. The sweetness of the rice is pronounced and it enhances the flavor of the seafood in the agodashi. We recommend enjoying this sake chilled.
chicken dashi×Gunma Izumi 鶏だし×群馬泉 toridashi×gunmaizumi
Gunma Izumi is a creamier sake with a slight sour taste. It is a rich complement to the chicken dashi, which also has a mellow flavor. Ask for it at room temperature, heated or lukewarm.
*Sake availability varies depending on the season.
Add sake to the dashi afterwards
After filling up on oden, Japanese sake connoisseurs enjoy a relaxing glass of dashiwari, which is oden dashi mixed with sake.
Enjoy otsumami (side dishes) while waiting for your oden
Enjoy the otsumami that can be prepared right away while you wait for your oden.
nikumiso bell peppers 肉味噌ピーマン nikumiso piman
Crispy, fresh bell peppers are dipped in an original nikumiso (miso flavored meat).
商品名：肉味噌ピーマン
Osashimi-mori お刺身盛 osashimimori
This is an assortment of sashimi made from delicious seasonal fish. On this day, we were served, clockwise from the front, nama honmaguro no chutoro (medium fatty Pacific bluefin tuna), tako (octopus), suzuki (Japanese sea bass), buri (yellowtail), and kagamidai (mirror dory).
商品名：お刺身盛
I hope you all can also enjoy the great taste of Japanese winter with some oden when you come to Japan!
* The published information is current as of January 2023. Prices and other details are subject to change.
This creative oden izakaya serves oden with two types of dashi, agodashi and chicken dashi. A wide variety of Japanese sake is also available, from mild to robust, for pairing with your oden.
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