Oden Ingredients and How to Order: Daikon, Egg, Konnyaku and More

Oden (おでん) is a pot of ingredients simmered slowly in a light soy-flavoured broth, and you order it one item at a time. Name what you want and add kudasai: Daikon to tamago o kudasai, daikon and an egg, please.

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Oden Ingredients and How to Order: Daikon, Egg, Konnyaku and More

Oden is the smell of Japanese winter: a steaming pot in which thick slices of daikon, boiled eggs, fish cakes and tofu sit in broth. You meet it in three places: at convenience stores in the colder months, at oden shops and izakaya, and at yatai street stalls. In all of them the menu is simply a list of items, and many of the names give a newcomer no clue. This guide explains the items you are most likely to see, shows how to order them by name and number, how to ask for more broth and mustard, and which regional styles change the flavour.

Oden is ordered by item: name each one and say how many.

Daikon and tamago are the classic first choices; chikuwa and hanpen are fish cakes, atsuage and ganmodoki are fried tofu.

Tsuyu is the broth and karashi is the hot mustard served on the side.

Tsuyu ōme de asks for extra broth in your bowl.

Four words that get you a bowl

Oden has no set dish. Everything simmers together in one pot and you choose pieces from it, so the Japanese you need is short: the item, the number, and the broth. The items are called gu (具) or tane (種), and the broth is tsuyu (つゆ).

Four picture cards: an oden skewer, a boiled egg, a tied tofu pouch holding mochi, and a bowl for extra broth.
Oden is chosen piece by piece; the last card is the request that fills your bowl with broth.
JapaneseRomajiMeaning
おでんOdenItems simmered in broth
卵TamagoBoiled egg
餅巾着Mochi kinchakuMochi in a tofu pouch
つゆ多めでTsuyu ōme deWith extra broth, please
大根と卵をください。Daikon to tamago o kudasai.Daikon and an egg, please.
からしKarashiJapanese hot mustard

On menus the egg is written 卵 or 玉子. Both are read tamago.

The items in the pot

Here are the pieces you will find in almost every pot. Daikon is the favourite for many people because it absorbs the most broth.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
大根DaikonThick slice of white radish
こんにゃくKonnyakuFirm grey konjac jelly
しらたきShiratakiKonjac noodles tied in a bundle
ちくわChikuwaTube-shaped grilled fish cake
はんぺんHanpenSoft, fluffy white fish cake
厚揚げAtsuageThick deep-fried tofu
がんもどきGanmodokiFried tofu patty with vegetables
牛すじGyūsujiBeef tendon on a skewer
昆布KonbuKnot of kelp

Fish-paste items as a group are nerimono (練り物). Ganmodoki is often shortened to ganmo. In Tokyo-area pots you may also see chikuwabu (ちくわぶ), which looks like chikuwa but is a chewy tube of wheat dough with no fish in it.

Three places to eat oden

An oden shop is an oden-ya (おでん屋) and a street stall is a yatai (屋台). The words on the menu are the same in all three places; only the way you order changes.

PlaceHow you orderGood to know
Convenience storeTell the clerk each item and number, or serve yourself where tongs and cups are providedSold mainly in the colder months, and not at every shop
Oden shop or izakayaOrder a few items at a time from your seat; the cook lifts them from the potItems come on a plate with a little broth and mustard
Street stallSit on the bench and order across the potSeats are few, so eat, pay and make room

Ordering by item: the exchange

Use to (と) to join items and the general counters hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu for numbers. At a shop the cook opens with a short question; at a convenience store you speak first.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
何にしましょう。Nani ni shimashō.Staff: What will you have?
大根を二つと、ちくわを一つください。Daikon o futatsu to, chikuwa o hitotsu kudasai.You: Two daikon and one chikuwa, please.
おすすめは何ですか。Osusume wa nan desu ka.You: What do you recommend?
つゆ多めでお願いします。Tsuyu ōme de onegai shimasu.You: With extra broth, please.
からしはお付けしますか。Karashi wa otsuke shimasu ka.Staff: Would you like mustard?
はい、お願いします。Hai, onegai shimasu.You: Yes, please.
同じものをもう一つください。Onaji mono o mō hitotsu kudasai.You: One more of the same, please.

Nani ni shimashō is friendly shop speech, less formal than the set phrases of chain restaurants. Your side stays in ordinary polite Japanese. If you do not know a name, pointing and saying Kore o hitotsu kudasai (これを一つください), one of these please, works perfectly.

Tsuyu and karashi

The broth is dashi seasoned with soy sauce, and it is meant to be drunk. Broadly, eastern Japan favours a darker, stronger broth and western Japan a paler one, though every shop guards its own recipe. Ōme (多め) means a little more than usual; its opposite is sukuname (少なめ).

Karashi (からし) is Japanese mustard and is much hotter than it looks. Put a small dab on the rim of the bowl and touch each bite to it; do not stir it into the broth.

Regional oden worth knowing

Oden changes as you travel. Around Nagoya, miso oden (味噌おでん) is simmered in or dressed with a sweet, dark miso sauce. In Himeji, oden is eaten with shōga jōyu (しょうが醤油), soy sauce with grated ginger. Shizuoka is known for skewered oden in a dark broth, dusted with fish powder and green seaweed flakes. In Kansai you may still hear oden called kantō-daki (関東煮).

These are general tendencies and shops differ, so the best question in any new town is the simple one below.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
味噌おでんMiso odenOden with sweet miso sauce
しょうが醤油Shōga jōyuGinger soy sauce
この店の名物は何ですか。Kono mise no meibutsu wa nan desu ka.What is this shop's speciality?

Saying how it tastes

A comment or two keeps the conversation going across the counter, and oden gives you an easy one: shimiru, to soak in. Well-simmered daikon is praised with this verb.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
味がしみていますね。Aji ga shimite imasu ne.The flavour has soaked right in.
熱いけど、おいしいです。Atsui kedo, oishii desu.It is hot, but delicious.
体が温まります。Karada ga atatamarimasu.It warms you up.
Key points

A practical way to improve

Oden is perfect counting practice, because every order is a list. Write six item names on cards, turn over two or three, and order them aloud with numbers: Daikon o futatsu to, chikuwa o hitotsu kudasai. Then add the two extras, Tsuyu ōme de onegai shimasu and Karashi mo onegai shimasu. Record yourself and check that tamago, hanpen and ganmodoki each keep an even rhythm, one beat per kana. On Unihongo you can ask the AI Sensei to play the clerk beside the oden pot, or run the Convenience Store Checkout mission to rehearse the questions that come at the register. The session report afterwards lists corrections and vocabulary from your conversation.

  1. 1

    Choose one clear goal

    Focus each session on a situation or skill you can actually use.

  2. 2

    Practice actively

    Say complete answers aloud instead of only reading or recognizing Japanese.

  3. 3

    Review and repeat

    Keep useful corrections and revisit the same skill until it feels natural.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is in oden?

The core items are daikon radish, boiled eggs, konnyaku, fish cakes such as chikuwa and hanpen, and fried tofu items such as atsuage and ganmodoki, all simmered in a dashi broth seasoned with soy sauce. Shops add beef tendon, kelp knots, potatoes and their own specialities.

How do you order oden at a convenience store in Japan?

Where the pot sits by the register, tell the clerk the items and numbers: Daikon to tamago o kudasai. Some shops let you serve yourself into a cup with tongs and bring it to the register. Not every store sells oden, and those that do usually offer it only in the colder months.

What is the white fluffy fish cake in oden?

That is hanpen (はんぺん), a very soft fish cake made from white fish paste whipped with grated yam until it is light and airy. It is often cut into triangles, soaks up broth like a sponge and floats on top of the pot.

What is mochi kinchaku?

Mochi kinchaku (餅巾着) is a piece of mochi rice cake sealed inside a pouch of thin fried tofu and tied shut, often with a strip of dried gourd. Kinchaku means a drawstring purse. The mochi melts inside, so bite carefully: it is very hot.

Is oden only eaten in winter?

It is strongly associated with cold weather, and convenience stores treat it as a seasonal item. Specialist oden shops and many izakaya serve it all year.

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