Oden from Japan

[Name_not_found]

I may be stretching it a little, but this is pretty close to a civilian ration, its ready to eat, portable and it even comes in a pouch

Its Oden!

No idea what it says

There are some interesting things floating around in there, some are plant some are animal

Another thank you to Laughing_man for translating the cooking instructions in another thread.

I boiled in bag, ration style

Let it go for about 5 minutes maybe a few more then plated

It was very tasty!
-Seaweed twist, good
-Broth was fish flavored
-Egg was pretty normal
-Tofu block it was a little chewy but not bad
-Radish i think of some kind, it was very soft and tasted like cabbage to me
-A roll with some meat inside it, this was tasty and i enjoyed the texture more than the tofu or radish.

The last two items i assume are animals of some kind,
-A triangle, squid judging from the texture, it was almost like a fish pork rind if you can image it, it collapsed in a strange way when chewed, destructing from the middle out, and retaining more shape and rigidity near the surfaces like a gel filled plastic piece of toast (in a good way)

-The tube thing with spots was a little chewy but much easier to eat than the triangle, mild flavor.

Laughing_man would you please identify the things in the oden for me?

Overall this was a good meal, very filling even without rice or bread of some kind, fish was the dominate flavor it was Not salty, just a pleasant soup with interesting critters to eat

[laughing_man]

Your imagination is interesting

(1) Boiled egg

(2) Musubi-konbu (Sea tangle)

(3) Daikon (Japanese radish)
This is the most popular by Japanese people in the items of oden.

(4) Yaki-chikuwa (Baked fishpaste tube)
This is the item which baked the minced meat of the fish.

(5) Gobou-maki (Burdock roll)
This is the item which fried the minced meat of the fish.
Vegetables are contained in it.

(6) Satsuma-age (Deep-fried fish balls)
This is also the item which fried the minced meat of the fish.

(7) Konnyaku
This is the food which mashed and boiled the konnyaku-potato.

Enjoy yourself

[housil]

I love it to see we have peolpes all over the world helping the others to read all languages

[Name_not_found]

Laughing_man thank you very much for the identification of these items.

It is great to have so many languages available from fellow members

I guess i was a little off on the Konnyaku
I would not have guessed this was a plant at all, the texture is indescribable but i tried.

[rationtin440]

One interesting thing that I noticed about the Japanese forces rations is that they seem (in my opinion) to concentrate more on essential nutrients and what is best for the soldier's health as opposed to many other countries, especially the U.S., who like to give more snacks and side dish items. Many people see the candy bars and pound cakes and similar snacks and dessert items as morale boosters, but different cultures have their customs and what might not be considered good "morale" food or even appropriate for, say, religion issues, might be just the thing to boost the spirits of soldiers of other countries. For example, many members of the armed forces of India would likely react very negatively to beef sticks in their rations due to their beliefs, just as IDF members would likely not tolerate anything made with pork. It seems that the culture and beliefs of many countries can help explain the choices in many of their military rations. laughing_man, I'm interested to know what cultural customs and beliefs are reflected in the rations of Japan if you'd care to discuss. Sorry to be so long-winded here.

[Bypah]

I love it to see we have peoples all over the world helping the others to read all languages

Yep, that's one of the reasons why I learned foreign languages back in my college days.
and combined it with education since I teach Spanish and World History.

[laughing_man]

One interesting thing that I noticed about the Japanese forces rations is that they seem (in my opinion) to concentrate more on essential nutrients and what is best for the soldier's health as opposed to many other countries, especially the U.S., who like to give more snacks and side dish items. Many people see the candy bars and pound cakes and similar snacks and dessert items as morale boosters, but different cultures have their customs and what might not be considered good "morale" food or even appropriate for, say, religion issues, might be just the thing to boost the spirits of soldiers of other countries. For example, many members of the armed forces of India would likely react very negatively to beef sticks in their rations due to their beliefs, just as IDF members would likely not tolerate anything made with pork. It seems that the culture and beliefs of many countries can help explain the choices in many of their military rations. laughing_man, I'm interested to know what cultural customs and beliefs are reflected in the rations of Japan if you'd care to discuss. Sorry to be so long-winded here.

I think that the operation concept of Japanese ration is unique compared with other countries.
JSDF provides a snack and a drink separately with ration.
It boils Type II in boiling water the whole pack.
Therefore, it can include neither chocolate nor a candy...

In Japanese ration, it is necessary to make it soft by heating rice.
Although there is a chemistry heater of an option in Type II, it is usually boiled.
In the case of disasters, such as a big earthquake, JSDF uses big time and effort to boil the canned food of rice.
Supposing Japan wars, I will be worried about the ability to provide the always boiled rations...
(Japan has not done war after WW2.)

However, the taste of Japanese ration is very good

[rationtin440]

Thanks very much for that explanation laughing_man! It certainly makes sense the way the rations are made. BTW have you checked out the WW2 Japanese rations page at http://www.reprorations.com ? They claim to be accurate but I'm curious if you notice any errors in what they offer as to authenticity.

[laughing_man]

BTW have you checked out the WW2 Japanese rations page at http://www.reprorations.com ? They claim to be accurate but I'm curious if you notice any errors in what they offer as to authenticity.

They are not so exact.

Japanese WW2 Boxed Rice
Although it is "Compressed Ration (Assaku Koryo)" in that explanation, it is "Kohbisyoku (emergency food)" and "Kareii (Dry rice)" by the picture.
Kohbisyoku is not military wording. And Kareii is not the ration of WW2. It is very old preserved food.
Genuine "Compressed Ration (Assaku Koryo)" is the food which curdled the popcorn of rice.

Japanese WW2 Hard Biscuits
Although it is "Kanpan" in that explanation, it is "Katapan" by the picture.
"Katapan" is not ration although "Kanpan" is ration.
"Katapan" of a picture is a type older than WW2, or resembles the naval type.
At the time of WW2, the shape of Army "Kanpan" was a small block.

[laughing_man]

This page is the wonderful information on the Japanese ration of WW2.
http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/japa ... index.html