Konnyaku Oden (おでんこんにゃく, konnyaku simmered in dashi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy pot
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment
• •Small sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Score the konnyaku

   Rinse the konnyaku and pat it dry. With the tip of a knife, score both broad faces in a shallow lattice, about 3mm deep, then cut each block into triangles or thick rectangles. The cuts are small doors for the broth. Without them, the surface stays too smooth and the seasoning clings only to the outside.

   Do not cut too deeply. You want a scored face, not a block that falls apart in the pot.
2. 2

   Parboil it

   Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the konnyaku, and boil for 3 minutes. Drain well. This step removes the sharp lime-water smell from the coagulant and leaves the konnyaku cleaner, so the dashi can taste like itself.

3. 3

   Season the broth

   In a wide pot, combine the dashi, soy sauce, usukuchi, mirin, sake, sugar, and salt. Bring it just to a gentle simmer and taste. It should be savory and a little stronger than soup you would sip, because konnyaku is mild and needs time to take the seasoning in.

   For a meatless table, use konbu and dried shiitake dashi. That is honmono in the temple kitchen line, not a consolation prize.
4. 4

   Simmer quietly

   Add the drained konnyaku to the broth in one layer. Set a wooden drop-lid, or otoshibuta, directly on the surface, or use a circle of parchment with a small hole in the center. Simmer gently for 35 to 40 minutes. The drop-lid keeps the pieces bathed without stirring, and stirring is how you make a calm pot look busy for no reason.

5. 5

   Rest in broth

   Turn off the heat and let the konnyaku rest in the broth for at least 20 minutes, or up to several hours. The rest is when the seasoning settles into the scored face. Rewarm gently before serving, never at a hard boil, or the broth loses its clean edge.

   Oden often tastes better after waiting. Time is not decoration here. It is part of the cooking.
6. 6

   Serve simply

   Lift the konnyaku into small bowls with a little clear broth. Add a thin strip of yuzu peel if you have it, and serve karashi mustard on the side. Use only a dab. The mustard should wake the konnyaku, not bully the dashi.

Chef Tips

• •Buy konnyaku that feels firm and springy, not mushy, with no sour smell beyond its usual mineral scent. If it smells harsh after rinsing, parboil it a minute longer and drain it well.
• •Use real dashi here. Powdered stock makes this taste salty before it tastes deep, and konnyaku has nowhere to hide that flatness.
• •The lattice score is the first secret. It makes a plain surface catch broth, and it gives the finished piece that pleasing bite under the teeth.
• •Oden welcomes company in the pot, but add ingredients by their needs. Daikon goes early, eggs after they are boiled and peeled, and delicate fish cakes near the end so they don't swell and dull the broth.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made two days ahead and kept refrigerated.
• •The konnyaku can be scored and parboiled a day ahead, then kept covered in fresh water in the refrigerator.
• •Finished konnyaku oden keeps three days refrigerated in its broth and improves after a night. Rewarm gently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 365g)