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Black hanpen

Black hanpen

If you eat hot dogs, blood sausage (any kind of sausage really), then a fish cake shouldn't make you squeamish. The softness of the cake and the melt-in-your-mouth almost buttery fish cake is often used in such dishes as oden. It's usually white, square-ish, and lovely in its own way.

In Shizuoka, the hanpen looks like this. Not your typical white hanpen, it's truly flavorful. Add it to your oden, or fry it up and dip into soy sauce and you'll find true happiness.

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