Oden-Curry

As I was walking around Akihabara I found this retoruto curry (long shelf-life curry) with the words, “Oden Curry” on the box. And I knew I had to try it because for some reason I have an affinity for Japanese emergency food (like retoruto goods and cup ramen) as they actually taste really damn good, oftentimes, better than restaurants in the States. Plus, oden and curry is a combination I had never seen before.

For those of you who are not familiar with oden, it is a Japanese hot pot with soy flavored dashi and consists of daikon radish, chikuwa (tubular fish cake), hard boiled eggs, and konnyaku (yam cake) among other things. The ingredients vary by region and household. It is extremely popular during the winter season to the point where even though it requires a lot of time for simmering it is sold as fast food in yatais (mobile food stands).

And now you’re probably thinking, “Okay, so why are you writing about food you bought in Akihabara?? WHERE ARE ALL THE GADGETS/TOYS/MAID CAFES!!??” Well, Akihabara is actually also famous for its abundance of curry restaurants and for its oden cans sold in vending machines, hence the combination of oden and curry.

And of course, because it’s specific to Akihabara the packaging looks like the aftermath of a moe explosion. They have even included a journal entry of your imaginary sister that says, “clumsy little sister tries to make curry! The mysterious taste, different from her sweets, made the clever, freeloading, cat-type-species, IMO throw in the leftover oden from last night. The oden ingredients that have a clear taste of dashi and the mild curry make quite an interesting match!? Now brother, get ready to eat it. Mi☆”

Yes, quite an interesting match… I mean it was definitely edible. Surprisingly, the curry didn’t manage to seep in through the oden, so I did get the subtle taste of dashi, but it wasn’t all that great eaten together. Makes a great gift though!