Oden is a traditional Japanese dish where various ingredients like vegetables and fish cakes are simmered in a seasoned broth made from dashi, a traditional Japanese soup stock.
In this recipe, we’re sharing a vegan version of oden that uses no animal-based ingredients at all.
The key to creating an exceptional oden lies in carefully preparing each ingredient. By simmering these carefully prepped items together in one pot, you can enjoy the unique flavors of each one while also letting their umami meld together to create an incredibly delicious dish.
Although it may appear simple and rustic, oden’s deep, layered flavors make it a beloved simmered hot pot that warms both the body and soul—especially in the colder months. It’s a dish cherished by generations across Japan.
You can use any ingredients you have on hand. Feel free to make your vegan oden with accessible, everyday ingredients!
Table of Contents
What is Oden?
Oden is a type of simmered dish in Japanese cuisine and is also considered a traditional hot pot dish.
Typically, it’s made by seasoning a broth based on dashi, which is often prepared from kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Carefully prepared ingredients like vegetables, seafood, meat, and various types of fish cakes or tofu products are then simmered together in this flavorful broth.
The key to oden’s deliciousness lies in the dashi. As dashi is at the heart of Japanese cuisine, oden has also been greatly influenced by this dashi-based cooking tradition.
Oden varies significantly by region. Local dashi, seasonings, and choice of ingredients are directly reflected in each region’s version, making oden a dish that truly showcases the unique food culture of each area in Japan.
The Story Behind This Recipe
For generations, oden has held a warm and nostalgic image for Japanese people—a dish to share with family and friends, fostering a sense of togetherness, especially during the colder months.
In recent years, oden has also become strongly associated with convenience stores. When oden starts appearing on convenience store shelves, it’s a sure sign that winter has arrived.
It’s common for Japanese people to ask each other, “Which oden ingredient is your favorite?” Some people might choose classics like daikon radish, while others might name something a little different like stuffed cabbage rolls—these answers often reveal each person’s unique tastes and personality.
Incidentally, among the Paqupel team, the top three favorite oden ingredients are:
No.1 Daikon (Japanese white radish)
No.2 Eggs
No.3 Konnyaku (a jelly-like food made from konjac root)
We hope you’ll share a pot of oden with your loved ones on a chilly day and ask each other, “Which ingredient do you like best?” to deepen your bonds even more.
Ingredients
The ingredients listed here are just examples. Feel free to add your favorite ingredients to the dashi broth and enjoy!
- Daikon (Japanese white radish) – 1/3 (peeled thickly, chamfered and parboiled)
- Carrot – 1 (peeled, chamfered, and parboiled)
- Potatoes – 3 (peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces, soaked in water, and parboiled)
- Sweet potato – 1 (peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces, soaked in water, and parboiled)
- Shiitake mushrooms – 1 pack (stems removed, decorative cuts made)
- New onion – 1 (cut into wedges)
- Broccoli – ½ head (cut into small florets and parboiled)
- Cherry tomatoes – 1 pack (blanched and skewered)
- Konnyaku – 1 block (cut into bite-sized pieces, parboiled to remove bitterness)
- Shirataki (konjac noodles) – 1 pack
- Firm tofu – 1 block (drained and cut into bite-sized pieces)
- Atsuage (deep-fried tofu) – 1 piece (blanched to remove excess oil)
- Ganmodoki (fried tofu fritters) – 1 pack (blanched to remove excess oil)
- Knotted kombu (kelp) – 1 pack (soaked in water for half a day to extract umami)
For the mizuna and aburaage rolls:
- Aburaage (fried tofu pouches) – 1 pack (blanched to remove excess oil)
- Mizuna (Japanese mustard greens) – 1 bunch (parboiled)
For the cabbage rolls with bean sprouts and carrots:
- Cabbage leaves – 2 (parboiled)
- Bean sprouts – 1 bag (parboiled)
- Carrot – ½ (julienned)
- Pasta – 1 strand (to secure the rolls)
For the dashi broth:
-
Kombu dashi – 1.2 liters
Learn more about dashi here. - Soy sauce – 1 tbsp
- Mirin – 2 tbsp
- Cooking sake – 2 tbsp
- Salt – 1 to 1½ tsp
Preparation of ingredients
Daikon
Slice the daikon into rounds about 3 cm thick. To ensure a smooth texture when eating, peel the skin thickly to remove the fibrous outer layer. If the daikon is large, cut the rounds in half. To help flavors soak in, score a shallow cross (about 5 mm deep) on the cut surfaces. Then, parboil the daikon in water or in rice-washing water (the cloudy water left from rinsing rice) for about 15–20 minutes, until a bamboo skewer can easily pierce through.
This parboiling step is essential for allowing the daikon to absorb the delicious flavors of the broth later on.
Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
Like daikon, potatoes and sweet potatoes should also be parboiled to help them soak up the broth. Either simmer them from cold water until a bamboo skewer slides through easily, or microwave them for about 6 minutes until they’re cooked through.
Other Vegetables
For firm vegetables that take longer to cook, parboil them before adding to the dashi broth. For brightly colored or delicate vegetables like broccoli and tomatoes, parboil or prepare them separately, and then add them to the broth just before serving. This helps maintain their vibrant color and prevents them from falling apart.
Konnyaku and Shirataki
If the package does not say “pre-boiled” (or “aku nuki” in Japanese), konnyaku and shirataki should be pre-treated to remove any bitterness. Cut the konnyaku into pieces and sprinkle with about 1 tsp of salt per block. Rub well, then place in boiling water. Once the water returns to a boil, cook for 2–3 minutes, then drain in a colander.
This pre-treatment improves both the texture and the flavor absorption, while also reducing the characteristic aroma of konnyaku.
Aburaage and Atsuage
Place the aburaage in boiling water and boil for 1–2 minutes, then drain in a colander and let cool slightly. Alternatively, place the aburaage in a colander and pour boiling water over it to remove the excess oil and let it cool.
Since aburaage is deep-fried, the surface has an oily film. This step removes the old, oxidized oil and allows the tofu to better absorb the seasonings and dashi, creating a tastier dish.
Instructions for Oden
| 1 |
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Mizuna and Aburaage Rolls Cut three sides of the aburaage open and lay it flat. Roll the boiled mizuna inside, then use a mizuna stem to tie it and cut it into bite-sized pieces. |
| 2 |
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Cabbage Rolls with Bean Sprouts and Carrot Spread the boiled cabbage leaves on a bamboo sushi mat. Place the boiled bean sprouts and julienned carrot inside, then roll them up with thinly sliced aburaage and secure the rolls with a strand of pasta. |
| 3 |
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Place the mizuna rolls (1), cabbage rolls (2), and the other prepared ingredients in a pot. Add the kombu dashi, the soaking liquid from the knotted kombu, soy sauce, mirin, cooking sake, and salt. Simmer gently over low heat until the ingredients are heated through, and then it’s ready to serve. |
Miso Dipping Sauce
Miso dipping sauce is a flavorful condiment that you can enjoy by dipping or drizzling it over oden.
Ingredients
Miso – 4 tbsp / 2.1 oz / 60 g
Sugar (white or cane sugar) – 1 tbsp / 0.53 oz / 15 g
Mirin – 2 tsp / 0.35 oz / 10 g
Cooking sake – 2 tsp / 0.35 oz / 10 g
Instructions
1. Add the sugar to the miso and mix well.
2. Add the cooking sake and mirin, mix again, and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute. That’s it!
Top Spots in Japan We Recommend — Convenience stores
There are many long-established oden specialty restaurants in Japan, each offering their own unique and delicious take on this classic dish.
The atmosphere in these oden shops is often very local and authentic, and because many don’t offer English menus, it might feel a bit intimidating for travelers to enter.
In that case, trying oden at a convenience store could be a good alternative. At convenience stores, you can simply point to the ingredients you’d like, and the staff will pick them out for you. Recently, more stores have adopted a self-serve style as well.
Convenience store oden offers a surprisingly wide variety of ingredients and is delicious—often rivaling even specialty restaurants in flavor.
While many convenience stores stopped serving oden during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s gradually making a comeback. If you happen to visit a convenience store, definitely try some oden!
Just keep in mind that oden is generally only available during the colder months, so plan accordingly.