Taking the time and hassle out of preparing the simmered variety dish.

The days are getting shorter and the nights colder in Japan, which means more and more people are finding themselves craving the traditional dish called oden. A collection of stewed vegetables and other foodstuffs, a piping hot bowl of oden is one of Japan’s favorite ways to warm yourself up from the inside during the chilly part of the year.

Unfortunately, cooking oden yourself can be a time-consuming and ingredient-intensive process. Fans will tell you the most satisfying oden meal is a mixture of many kinds of tasty morsels, all simmered long enough to let the flavor of the broth really sink in. Luckily, there’s a quick and easy way to get your oden fix, thanks to Japanese food and beverage company Toyo Beverage.

The package for Toyo’s straightforwardly named Oden Wafu Dashi (“Oden with Japanese-style Broth”) looks like a slightly taller cup of cup ramen. It’s actually even easier to prepare than instant noodles, though, since you don’t even have to add any water to the broth that’s already inside. Simply peel back the paper lid part-way and pop it in the microwave.

▼ 90 seconds for 500-watt power settings, 80 seconds for 600 watts, and 30 seconds for 1,500 watts).

Once the time is up, your oden is ready to eat (though you might want to blow on it before you dig in, so you don’t burn your tongue). Toyo’s Oden Wafu Dashi has egg, daikon radish, roasted chikuwa fish cake, and the jiggly potato starch called konnyaku, and the broth is a flavorful mix of bonito and flying fish stock.

While oden has been popular in Japan for decades, Toyo says they developed their microwavable oden for modern fans who’re too busy to make a batch from scratch, especially if they live by themselves and won’t be able to use up all of the ingredients they’d have to buy. But for 322 yen (US$3.05) and 90 seconds of your time, you can have one of Japan’s favorite comfort foods to keep you full and toasty.

Source: Toyo Beverage via Japaaan
Images: Toyo Beverage
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