Yaki Onigiri and Dashi Green Tea Broth (Ochazuke)
A comforting Japanese ochazuke: pan-fried soy-glazed rice balls topped with miso-marinated salmon flakes and furikake, submerged in a broth of green tea and dashi. Any green tea works, but genmaicha (green tea with roasted brown rice) balances the grassy flavour with toasty, nutty aromatics.
Ingredients
| — | cooked plain hot sushi rice, shaped into triangles | |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | soy sauce (for onigiri glaze) |
| 1 1/2 tbsp | 23 ml | mirin (for onigiri glaze) |
| 2 | salmon fillets with skin (about 200g each) | |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | sake |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | mirin (for marinade) |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | white miso paste |
| 1 1/2 tbsp | 23 ml | sugar |
| — | Japanese green tea (e.g. genmaicha) | |
| 3 cups | 720 ml | water (for dashi) |
| 1 | kombu (dried kelp), 10cm square | |
| 3 tbsp | 45 ml | katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) |
| — | furikake, to sprinkle | |
| — | salt, to taste |
Instructions
Yaki Onigiri:
- Shape cooked hot sushi rice into triangles using an onigiri mould or your hands (pack the rice in, insert the top of the mould, press down and release).
- Mix the soy sauce and mirin for the glaze. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry each side of the onigiri until the rice forms a crisp, lightly browned skin. Brush each side with the soy-mirin mixture and continue frying over low heat until a nice crust forms. Watch carefully after brushing, as the glaze can burn.
Grilled Salmon (Nobu style): 3. In a small saucepan, bring the sake and mirin to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and whisk in the miso until dissolved. Raise to medium, add the sugar and whisk until just dissolved. Transfer the marinade to a baking dish and cool. 4. Add the salmon fillets and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate 2-3 days. 5. Preheat oven to 200C. Wipe excess marinade off the fillets and pat dry. In an oiled hot pan, cook skin-side down over medium-high heat until browned (1-2 minutes), flip and cook 10-20 seconds, then roast on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Break the salmon into flakes.
Dashi Stock: 6. Snip the kombu a few times with scissors. Place the water and kombu in a saucepan and soak at least 30 minutes. 7. Heat over medium; just before boiling, remove and discard the kombu. Add the katsuobushi, boil 30 seconds, turn off the heat and steep 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve without squeezing the flakes.
Broth and assembly: 8. Brew the green tea per its packet (2 tsp per cup of hot water, steep 60 seconds, strain). To serve, combine 1 cup green tea with 1 cup dashi stock and season with a little salt. 9. Place a yaki onigiri in a bowl, top with salmon flakes and a sprinkle of furikake, then pour in the dashi green tea broth to submerge the onigiri.