Oden at the airport? Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a recipe for success. We arrived at New Chitose Airport very early and was hoping to get something to eat before we boarded our flight. Unfortunately, all the shops are still closed. We’re too used to 24 hour service in our (relatively) large, bustling airports but a lot of the airports around the world aren’t open all the time. This one at Hokkaido only had a stall open but they serve oden, which I was keen to try.
Oden (おでん) is a winter food in Japan. It’s made with a whole bunch of stuff in a flavored clear dashi broth. The usual ingredients are daikon, boiled eggs, konjac, and processed fishcakes. I love the texture of the shirataki (白滝) which is a noodle made from konjac – the transparent bunch you see in the photo. There’s also a nice chunk of konjac and despite not containing regular sources of carbohydrates, the konjac elements tricks you into thinking you’re consuming starch.
I also got a Snow Miku 2016 (translated from Hatsune Miku) drink made in partnership with Pokka Sapporo. The oden was 600 JPY (about RM 25). My better half got herself a box of noodles with some karaage to go with it. The oden was surprisingly decent. I would have thought it’ll taste pretty bad since it’s airport food but it’s actually rather good. I’ve seen oden being sold in konbini like 7-Eleven but there are so many things to eat that I’ve put it quite low on the priority list.
That bowl of oden sure looks appetizing. I’m sure that it’ll help provide warmth against the snowy winter of Hokkaido. =)
I actually never thought that we have 24-hour shops in KLIA, always thought that they’d close at like midnight and open at 6 am. (I know that the shops in the former LCCT open at 6 am, cause I had to catch a flight to Taipei at 8.30am some years before.)
Some airport food can be pretty ok but at the ones here, they can be highly overpriced and mighty expensive. Ok in Japan?
That’s why I am always keen to try japanese food. There are so many different intriguing elements in almost every japanese dish! Interesting! But wait, what’s actually snow miku?
Oh..Oden! I like it too but seldom ordered it as it felt like ‘yong tau foo’ to me…hahaha.
But I love the raddish in hot soup. Maybe at times I will have it.
I like shirataki during steamboat session too, make me feel like eating some noodles but without the calories 😛
I like to eat oden but have never eaten any during my previous 3 trips to Japan mainly because oden in a restaurant is expensive and I couldn’t locate those pushcart oden. ;( I have eaten so called oden in Taiwan 7-11, they are very tasty to my surprise!