Oden (おでん), or fish cake stew, is a classic home-style Japanese dish that represents comfort and affordability. It is generally served as a small dish to accompany an alcoholic beverage. Oden consists of fish cakes of various shapes and types, along with boiled eggs, daikon radish, and konnyaku (konjac). This Oxtail Oden (テールおでん), boosted up with rich oxtail broth, is the ultimate comfort food that is best enjoyed with a chilled beer or hot sake!
Enjoy Oden at Yatai (Street Food Stall)
When we visited Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu, we had our first experience eating at food stalls called Yatai (read more about it in this post). Before then, I had only seen yatai featured in Japanese movies, dramas, and manga. So I was super excited that one of the most well-known characteristics of Fukuoka is yatai, with over 150 yatai throughout the city. As you see in the picture above, oden is always kept simmering, ready to serve and enjoy at anytime. This humble, mostly brown dish may not look so exciting or fancy, but it is a dish that warms you on cool mornings and nights. Its also rich in nutrients and helps boost your immune system, keeping you healthy during the cold season.
Cooking Oxtail Oden in Slow Cooker vs. Pressure Cooker
After making oxtail broth using the pressure cooker mode of my Instant Pot with success, I was curious to find out if I can use the same function to make Oden since it takes lesser time. If you are not familiar, Instant Pot comes with both ‘slow cook’ mode and ‘pressure cook’ mode. To make sure I didn’t shortchange the accuracy of the results, I made the Oden in both methods (two times each) and here are the results: Oden made in Slow Cooker Pros:
The textures of the fish cake stay tender yet firm with a nice bounce.All the ingredients absorb flavors really well.If you are using Slow Cooker mode in an Instant Pot, you can fill the liquid and precooked food more than 2/3 for larger batch cooking (do no fill pass the MAX line).
Cons:
Requires to cook for 5-6 hoursNeed to plan ahead
Oden made in Pressure Cooker Pros:
Cook fast, in less than 15 minutes
Cons:
The textures of the fish cakes are altered (too soft and soggy), and some even break into pieces.Fish cakes don’t seem to absorb enough flavor.Mochi in tofu pouch comes out.Fish cakes expanded in size when you use Pressure Cooker mode (higher temperature).If you are using Pressure Cooker mode in an Instant Pot, the total amount of precooked food and liquid should never pass 2/3 of the inner pot capacity, which means you have to cut down this recipe in half.
The Result… After this experience, I am convinced that oden is best to be cooked in a slow cooker for a long period of time, just like how oden has always been prepared in all the oden shops in Japan – slowly simmered in the broth over low heat. The biggest drawback for cooking oden in a pressure cooker is how it affects the textures. When the fish cakes and the rest of ingredients turn soggy and too tender, the oden is essentially not attractive and palatable. Even though the “short cooking time” in a pressure cooker is a strong appeal for many busy home cooks, the result is not worth it. Instead, I would suggest preparing everything on the previous night, put them in the slow cooker in the morning, and go to work. By the time you come home, the food is ready for you to enjoy!
Alternative Cooking Method – Cook Oden over Stovetop
If you don’t own an instant pot or a slow cooker, you can still prepare oden over a stovetop. You just need to place most of the ingredients in a clay pot (or a large pot) and cook covered over low heat for over 2-3 hours (or longer if you are at home). Then add in the fish cakes and mochi pouch and cook for another 30 minutes. For this cooking method, check out my regular oden recipe for reference. I hope you enjoy making this Oxtail Oden with your instant pot or slow cooker. It is a great tool for flavorful fish cake stew that you and your family are happy to come home for. Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
