🍢Seasonal Kitchen Nourishment: A Day Balanced by Morning Oden | A Gentle Start to the Morning with a Little Effort the Night Before
🍢Seasonal Kitchen Nourishment: A Day Balanced by Morning Oden | A Gentle Start to the Morning with a Little Effort the Night Before
“I’m so busy in the morning that I don’t have the time to
prepare a meal for myself.”
I often hear people say this.
But in reality, the morning table is a precious time that determines the state of your mind and body for the day.
In the philosophy of kitchen nourishment, the morning is considered a time to fill yourself with yang energy, and by consuming even a little something warm,
your blood flow and circulation are balanced.
Today, I’d like to talk about how to spend even a busy morning comfortably with
oden that you simply prepare the night before to feel “balanced” in the morningas well as
the story behind it.
🌙1. Just leave it to the Hot Cook at night
On a whim, last night before going to bed,
I layered the oden ingredients I had at home in the pot.
There was no need to make dashi; I just set the timer and
left it to the Hot Cook.
Using a base of kombu and shio-koji, I layered
daikon radish, boiled eggs, thick fried tofu, and chicken wing sticks, and
pressed the switch at the same time I said, “Good night.”
The next morning, when I stood in the kitchen, the scent of dashi drifted softly.
The sight of steam rising in the cold air as I opened the lid
felt as if it were saying, “Good morning,” to me.
🍲2. Why it’s perfect for morning nourishment
At first glance, oden might seem like a hearty dish, but
from the perspective of medicinal cooking,
it is a dish that “replenishes the center and boosts energy” by warming the core of the body.
Daikon radish clears stagnation in the digestive system and aids digestion
Eggs nourish vitality and replenish energy from the core of the body
Thick fried tofu and chikuwa generate “qi” as high-quality protein sources
Chicken wing sticks warm the body and replenish qi and blood
With just this,a morning energy chargeis
achieved.
Furthermore, because it was cooked the night before,
the dashi has soaked into the ingredients, creating a flavor that gently
permeates the body.
🍃3. Create a “time for steam” on busy mornings
That moment when you ladle it into a bowl in the morning kitchen.
The time spent gazing at the rising steam relaxes the tension in your heart.
“Kitchen nourishment” is not just about food; it is also
a time to balance yourself through the five sensesaccumulated over time.
Scent, color, sound, touch, and taste.
While wrapped in the steam of the oden,
I quietly whisper in my heart, “May today be a good day, too.”
Just doing that should help your breathing become a little deeper.
🫕4. Making it sustainable with effortless habits
“Trying hard” at cooking is not the goal.
If you push yourself too hard and get exhausted, the purpose of wellness is lost.
That is why I use my Hot Cook as my “nighttime partner.”
With just one switch, the next morning becomes a little gentler—
With such effortless kitchen wellness,
both your body and mind will feel lighter the longer you continue.
☀️5. The magic of “ease” that morning oden brings
I used to be chased by time in the morning, feeling constantly rushed.
But just having warm oden in the morning
has made me feel like I am “properly taking care of myself.”
Holding a bowl in my hands and smiling with my family as we say, “This is delicious.”
Such peaceful moments have changed the way my day starts.
🌼Prepare one thing starting tonight
Every time you stand in the kitchen, do it with the feeling of “giving a gift to my future self.”
Why not spend just 10 minutes tonight
preparing to welcome tomorrow morning with kindness?
May your day today be a wonderful one.
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