Oden

Best known as a food cart meal intended for relaxing after a day of hard work, oden is a one-pot dish with numerous ingredients such as fish balls, fish cakes, konnyaku, deep-fried tofu, eggs, and vegetables, simmered in a light, soy sauce-based broth.

Oden is extremely popular during the winter, and it can often be found in Japan around September or October. Although it can be found at street stands, oden is also often made at home, bought in convenience stores, and served in some specialty restaurants.

It is said that the dish has its roots in the Muromachi era, and that it is an evolved version of a dish called dengaku, referring to tofu and konnyaku pieces that were coated with miso paste and grilled on skewers. The name oden is the first part of the word dengaku, with the polite 'o' added as a prefix.