Recipe: Mochi Kinchaku

Did you know that you can make oden (the vegetables, tofu, eggs and other ingredients you see simmering in a hot broth in convenience stores) at home? This recipe is for a popular oden dish consisting of a pouch of fried tofu with a ball of sticky rice inside. It is named after a kinchaku, a type of traditional Japanese purse.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 sheets of abura-age (pre-fried tofu)

1.5 tablespoons sugar

1.5 tablespoons soy sauce

1.5 tablespoons mirin

200 milliliters dashi

4 pieces of dried mochi (rice cake)

40 centimeters of kanpyo (かんぴょう or 干瓢; dried shavings of calabash)

Method: 

1. Soak the kanpyo in water. Meanwhile, cut the abura-age in half, then boil in water for one minute. Drain the water. Open the abura-age to make it into bag. Place a ball of mochi in each bag and tie closed with a kanpyo strip.

2. Place the abura-age bags in a pan with the sugar, soy sauce, mirin and dashi, and cook partially covered for about 20 minutes.

3.  Serve the mochi kinchaku with a little of the broth and boiled vegetables.