TOKYO -- As the weather turns chilly, many people crave "oden," a classic Japanese hot pot dish. But oden appears to be facing tough times. Thirty percent of respondents to a recent survey said they are making oden less often due to rising prices. What is behind this decline in oden's appeal?

Oden hot pot is made by simmering a multitude of ingredients -- everything from chicken balls, daikon radish, fried tofu filled with gooey "mochi" rice cake and ground meat to even sausages -- in an umami-rich broth.

The survey findings come from Kibun Foods Inc. When asked if the frequency of making oden at home had changed since feeling the effects of inflation, 62.9% said it was "unchanged," but 30.1% said it had "decreased." Only 7.0% said they were making it more often.

When asked why they were making oden less frequently, 59.3% said they "choose cheaper food ingredients," and 22.1% said they "opt for dishes that require less effort." While oden's appeal lies in the variety of ingredients, in times of high prices, that very variety seems to be a reason for avoiding it.

"Oden is often thought of as a time-consuming dish, but with a little creativity, it can be made quickly," said Kibun Foods.

For example, "surimi" fish cake products like "chikuwa" and "hanpen" are precooked, so they require no prep and only about 15 minutes of simmering. For ingredients like daikon and konjak (a firm, jellylike food made from konjac yam), which take longer to absorb flavor, precooking them in the microwave can save time.

From autumn through winter is peak oden season. In the same survey, when people were asked which hot pot dishes they had eaten at home during this period (multiple answers allowed), oden came out on top at 56.8%, ahead of other popular hot pot types like kimchi nabe (44.9%), sukiyaki (43.6%), shabu-shabu (40.9%) and yosenabe (40.4%).

The survey also asked about favorite oden ingredients (multiple answers allowed). The most popular was daikon (65.2%), followed by egg (56.6%), konjac (46.1%), mochi-filled pouches (44.6%) and hanpen (40.2%).

Regionally, hanpen ranked high in eastern Japan, while beef tendon was a favorite in western Japan. The fact that oden ingredients vary by region is one reason the dish remains beloved across the country. As the cold deepens, why not try making oden at home with some easy shortcuts?

(Japanese original by Yuko Shimada, Tokyo Business News Department)