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Odamaki Mushi
Odamaki mushi — udon noodles submerged in a large savory egg custard
Udon noodles are submerged in a generous savory egg custard, a dish said to have originated in Osaka. Its name is said to liken the coiled noodles to odamaki, a spool of wound thread, and it was once treated as a celebratory feast in Semba's merchant houses when eggs were still a luxury.
- Origin: Osaka City, Osaka
- About 400 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
This oversized chawanmushi, made with udon noodles folded in, is said to have originated in Osaka. The udon settles smoothly enough to be likened to odamaki, a coil of spun hemp thread wound into a round shape, and the smoothness of the egg custard along with the color of shrimp and kamaboko is said to add real flair. The characters used for odamaki are said to be a phonetic substitution, the name arising because the udon resembles spun thread, and it's said to have been treasured as a celebratory dish for special occasions.
How it's made
Beaten egg is mixed with dashi and seasonings, then strained. Udon, shrimp, shiitake, and other ingredients go into the bowl, and the egg mixture is poured in carefully to avoid bubbles. It's set in a steamer with rising steam, covered with a cloth and then a lid, and steamed before being finished with mitsuba and yuzu. Because it contains udon, it's said to be quite filling as well.
Why it took this shape
In an era when eggs were a luxury, odamaki mushi, made generously with egg, is said to have been cherished as a festive treat in Semba merchant households on special occasions. Its colorful mix of shrimp and kamaboko is said to suit an auspicious occasion perfectly, and because the udon makes it filling, it's said to have been valued as a dish for entertaining guests who came to pay New Year's respects. It reportedly appeared on the menus of local udon shops before the war, but it's said to have become less common after, as diets changed.
Before you go
- How to shop at a supermarketHow to choose prepared foods, sashimi, and packaged sushi, when discount stickers tend to appear, region-only specialties, buying by weight, the checkout and bagging flow, and sampling etiquette at a local supermarket.
- Osechi and zoni for the New YearA guide to the meaning behind osechi's tiered boxes, the regional differences in zoni (square vs. round mochi, clear vs. miso broth), and the nanakusa-gayu custom.
- Setsubun: ehomaki and lucky beansA guide to ehomaki, the uncut sushi roll said to be eaten facing a lucky direction on Setsubun, and to mamemaki, the bean-throwing custom with roasted lucky beans.
Dishes in the same style
- Agonoko UmaniThe roe of egg-bearing flying fish, caught only in early summer, is simmered in stock and soy sauce as an Oki bar snack. Its large grains and dense, sticky texture are prized as a delicacy said to be scarcer even than the fish's flesh.
- Funa MisoCrucian carp is simmered slowly with soybeans for around five hours, then finished in a sauce of red miso and coarse sugar. A freshwater fish dish of the Kiso rivers' lower basin, made with fatty winter carp simmered until the bones soften through.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Osaka
- AkanekoSteamed sticky rice pounded with wheat flour is dusted with sugar and soybean flour — also called hangesho mochi, for the rite marking the end of rice planting. The whole-ground wheat flour once left the mochi brownish, said to resemble a cat's round back and give the dish its name.
- BatteraThin slices of vinegared mackerel and white kelp sheet are pressed together in a wooden mold. A sushi shop in Minami-Senba is said to have devised it in 1891, naming it after the Portuguese word for a small boat because the original version, made with konoshiro, resembled one.
- Beni Shoga TenThin slices of red ginger, pickled in plum vinegar, are battered and deep-fried. The plum vinegar's tang and the ginger's bite are said to suit drinks well, and the fritter appears as a one-sen tempura in Sakunosuke Oda's 1940 novella 'Meoto Zenzai,' evidence of how long it has fed ordinary Osakans.
- Beni-zuiki to Aburaage no TaitanBeni-zuiki, reddish taro leaf-stalks that can grow to 2 meters tall, is soaked in vinegared water to remove its bitterness, then simmered with fried tofu in dashi and soy sauce — a summer obanzai dish. Its spongy cross-section is said to soak up flavor well, and it has been named a Naniwa specialty product.
- Dote YakiParboiled beef tendon simmers for a long time against a bank of miso and mirin piled around the pan's edge like a levee, or dote. Rich and sweet-savory, it pairs well with drinks and is said to be a beloved downtown Osaka food, with many shops concentrated in the Shinsekai district.