S&B Japanese Seasoning and Soup Mix vs. Dashi Granules
As winter is around the corner, most convenience stores in Japan are beginning to offer “Oden (おでん)” near the checkout counter.
As you know, Oden is a Japanese winter hot pot dish or Nabemono made of various ingredients simmered in a pot of light soy sauce-based dashi-rich broth.
WIth dashi granules, like Ajinomoto Hondashi, or using S&B’s Japanese Seasoning and Soup Mix, the dish is actually easy to prepare and often eaten during the wintertime at home in Japan.
S&B Japanese Seasoning and Soup Mix
In Japan, S&B Japanese Seasoning and Soup Mix is sold by the name of “Oden no Moto (おでんの素)”.
Oden no Moto is the soup base powder for the dish Oden, which a number of Japanese food companies are producing and selling.
Among such items, this product from S&B was released in 1968 and now has become the most loved Oden no Moto.
Although having the name of Oden no Moto, S&B Japanese Seasoning and Soup Mix is actually a versatile, multi-purpose seasoning, not limited to Oden.
Using the powder, you can easily make over 50 dishes, including Oden, Yosenabe, and Udon, as seen on the official recipe site.
But how does S&B Japanese Seasoning and Soup Mix differ from dashi granules like Ajinomoto Hondashi?
How it differs from Dashi granules like Hondashi
If you want to make the broth of Oden with dashi granules, you need to season the granules dissolved in hot water with soy sauce, sake, sugar, and salt, as seen in this recipe.
But S&B Japanese Seasoning and Soup Mix is an all-in-one seasoning, and if you want to make Oden with it, you just put the powder in a pot of water and cook prepared ingredients, as seen in this post.
Ingredients
In fact, while Ajinomoto Hondashi only consists of salt, sugars, Katsuobushi bonito powder, Katsuobushi extract, yeast extract, fermented yeast extract, and amino acid seasoning,
this Oden no Moto soup base is made up of salt, soy sauce, Kombu seaweed extract, yeast extract powder, sugar, dextrose, bonito extract powder, corn oil, powdered vinegar, powdered soy sauce, processed starch, amino acid seasoning, caramel pigment, and acidifier.
