Ochazuke (Rice with Green Tea or Dashi)
A comforting Japanese dish of steamed rice topped with savory garnishes, over which hot green tea or dashi broth is poured. A great way to use up leftover rice. Various green teas (Genmaicha, Sencha, Hojicha) are common, but restaurants often use good dashi broth, which makes it very flavorful even with just a few simple toppings. Common toppings include Japanese pickles, salted plum (umeboshi), pollock roe (tarako/mentaiko), salmon roe (ikura), salted salmon, sea bream sashimi, tiny rice crackers (bubu arare), nori, sesame seeds, scallion or mitsuba, and wasabi.
Ingredients
| 1 | Salted salmon (or 1/2 fillet salmon and a pinch of salt) | |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | Cooked Japanese short grain rice |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Bubu arare (crispy puffed rice pellets), or Japanese rice crackers |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Kizami nori (shredded seaweed) |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | White sesame seeds (roasted/toasted) |
| 2 strands | Mitsuba (Japanese parsley) or 1/8 scallion, cut small | |
| — | Wasabi (optional, for taste) | |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | Dashi (for the dashi version) |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Mirin (for the dashi version) |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Soy sauce (for the dashi version) |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.6 ml | Kosher salt (for the dashi version) |
| 2 tsp | 10 ml | Japanese green tea leaves (Genmaicha, Sencha, Hojicha, Mugicha) (for the tea version) |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | Hot water (for the tea version) |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | Soy sauce (optional, for the tea version) |
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Bake the salted salmon fillet (shiojake) at 400°F for 25 minutes. If using regular salmon, season with salt and set aside for 10 minutes before baking. When cooked, remove the skin and bones and break the flesh into flakes. Set aside.
- If you don't have bubu arare, crush rice crackers into small pieces (you can use a bag to crush them).
- Ochazuke with dashi: combine the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the soup into a small teapot.
- Ochazuke with tea: put the tea leaves in a pot. Bring the water to the appropriate temperature for your tea and pour into the pot. Set aside for 1-2 minutes (follow the directions on your tea).
- Serve the cooked rice in a bowl. Place the shredded salmon on top and sprinkle with rice cracker, nori, and sesame seeds.
- Ochazuke with dashi: pour the dashi until it covers half of the rice and top with mitsuba and wasabi. Enjoy!
- Ochazuke with tea: pour the tea until it covers half of the rice and top with mitsuba and wasabi. Add soy sauce if you like.
Notes: If you don't cook salted salmon, the total time is under 10 minutes. Tea leaves: 3 g (1 tsp) per 100 ml (about 1/2 cup) hot water. Serve with tsukemono such as pickled cucumber. For summer, use cold rice and cold dashi or tea for a cool, refreshing version.