Oden anyone?

Inari, Oden, and Espresso

A closer look at one piece of my oden.

Dish: Oden, Inari, and canned Espresso

Restaurant: 7-11 (Not so much of a restaurant.)

Location: Fukuyama, Japan

Price: 451 Yen

Description: The inari (Fried tofu pocket stuffed with rice and sometimes carrots and mushrooms) was a nice start. The outside is sweet and the inside was a touch salty. The oden was filling. The oden consisted of fried tofu, one hard-boiled egg, and another piece of fried tofu that contained carrots and mushrooms. The oden was nice and hot and perfect for today's cold weather. The tofu was tofu - not much flavor without the Japanese mustard. The hard-boiled egg was tasty, but a little rubbery. The other piece of tofu with vegetables was ok, but I do not think I would get it again. Adding the Karashi (Japanese mustard) took it up a notch. The mustard packs quite a punch as it contains wasabi. The canned espresso was not sweetened, but it was hot. 

Fun facts: Oden is a dish found during winter in Japan. It's in most convenience stores and you can usually help yourself. You can choose from tofu, hard-boiled egg, daikon (think really big radish), konnyaku (a traditional Japanese health food made from a kind of potato), or even fish cakes. All of these things are placed in a soy flavored broth and usually served with Karashi (Japanese mustard). There are many oden variations depending on your location in Japan.  I have heard that 7-11 has the best oden, but I have yet to make that conclusion.

This was a nice lunch. I wanted something warm, healthy, and filling. I felt comfortably full, but was disappointed when I was hungry 3 hours later. Maybe I should have had one more piece of tofu? Actually selecting the items from the oden pot was a little intimidating.There were many selections and I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting. It was not expensive and perfect for a cold day. I did struggle with my chopsticks and the hard-boiled egg. I actually dropped the egg in the oden broth and made a bit of a mess, but also provided a laugh for everyone in my office.