What is Oden?
Oden (おでん) is a Japanese dish of fish surimi, egg and vegetables, simmered in a broth. Each region has different recipe, like Tokyo area tend to use dark color soy sauce with more fish Surimi, while Osaka area uses light color soy sauce with beef meat and tendon. The resource of the broth also can be different depend on the region, but what is common is that Oden is not a very Muslim-friendly dish, because fish cake and broth can contain alcoholic seasonings and animal-derived ingredients.
Then, Muslims cannot enjoy the dish? hanoji (はの字食品) is a company from Shizuoka, whose main product is fish cake. They have succeeded in obtaining a Halal certificate for their Oden, which Muslims can enjoy without being worried about the ingredients!
Tell us about the story of their Oden.
hanoji was established in 1921 in Yaizu, Shizuoka prefecture. Yaizu is a port city where there were a lot of fish. Fish surimi has been one of the main industries, because it preserves the quality of fish better.
The reason why they have started making Halal product is because of the Muslims live in the city. The company has a factory where they produce fish cake, and there are many Muslim workers. As mentioned, fish cake usually contains alcohol and Mirin seasoning.
Although there is no alcohol when fish cake is ready, still Muslims were not happy to consume the product. This was the reason why everyone could not enjoy having a meal, all together.
The company made an effort in understanding the Islamic culture and stopped producing items that had pork, and finally obtained a Halal certificate. As they aimed to export their product to Malaysia and Indonesia, the taste is a bit sweeter than normal Japanese Oden.
Now the product is sold at Don Quijote in Indonesia and Malaysia. If you are around, you can find them in your country, too.
How to warm up the dish?
The product is made super easy to serve. All the ingredients are in one plastic bag, and it can be cooked either in a microwave or in a hot water! On a plastic package, there is a description how you can warm up the dish.
What is important is that you place a plastic bag in the right direction on a microwaveable plate. There is a small hole on top of the plastic bag, which should be on top. This is to let the steam out to avoid the bag being into burst. Choose 600W power and let it warm up for 3 minutes. If it is in a hot water, boil for 5 minutes.
What is interesting is that the paper box itself can be used as a plate! After the dish is warmed up, the meal can be plated inside the tray.
What is inside the dish and how is the taste?
There are various ingredients, such as white radish, egg, konjac potato, deep fried fish cake, steamed fish cake, beef meat and broth. When you open the box, the broth may look very dark. This is because they are using dark color soy sauce, but don’t worry, it is not salty! The dish is a bit sweeter than normal Oden and the flavor of soy sauce is stronger, because the reaction from many Muslims were better in this way.
There is a packet of brown powder as a topping. This is a powdered dried bonito and seaweed. When eating Oden, this powder can be topped onto the dish, to strengthen Umami and to change the flavor with seaweed.
Fish cake is actually very soft. Usually, fish Surimi is chewy and jiggly, but the ones in the Oden were more like fish itself. The ingredients absorb the broth very well, and we all may feel the Umami of the soup.
Other benefits of hanoji Oden.
The great thing about the product is that they can be stowed for a disaster. The expiry date of the food is about a year after production date, and the paper tray itself can be used as a serving plate! As you may know, Japan has so many natural disasters, and it is extremely important to be ready for emergency. The dish is very easy to be served, and it is relieving to eat something steaming hot when we are in emergency situation.
Oden is also a super healthy food, because it has no carbs at all. Fish cake, though it is high in sodium, is made from protein and rich in calcium. Konjac and radish have almost no calories but rich in fiber. Altogether, the meal has only 152 kilo calories.
Where can we buy the product?
The product is available at their branch, as well as online shopping. The price of each package is 1,050 yen. If your purchase at a time exceeds 5,000 yen, then the shipment will be free.
Address: 1-353 Hofukujima, Yaizu, Shizuoka 425-0087 静岡県焼津市保福島353-1
Tel: 0120-804-248
Closed on: Sundays, Wednesdays and Bank Holidays
