Ochazuke (Green Tea Over Rice)

• servings: 1 serving
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 fillet Homemade Japanese Salted Salmon (or ½ fillet regular salmon and a pinch of salt; you can also use any leftover cooked salmon) ½

1 cup cooked Japanese short-grain rice

1 tsp bubu arare (crispy puffed rice pellets) (or crushed Japanese rice crackers)

1 tsp shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori)

¼ tsp toasted white sesame seeds

2 sprigs mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (or ⅛ scallion, cut into small pieces) ⅛

wasabi (optional, to taste)

1 cup dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)

1 tsp mirin

1 tsp soy sauce

⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt

2 tsp Japanese green tea leaves (I used genmaicha, but sencha, hojicha, and mugicha also work; use 3 g, 1 tsp tea leaves per 100 ml, about ½ cup hot water)

1 cup hot water (see the tea leaves package for the appropriate water temperature to use)

½ tsp soy sauce (optional)

Directions

Gather all the ingredients. The ingredients are pictured for Ochazuke with Dashi on the left and Ochazuke with Green Tea on the right.

To Prepare the Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 425ºF (218ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Bake 1 fillet Homemade Japanese Salted Salmon for 20–25 minutes until the skin and flesh are blistered and charred (Japanese salted salmon is always cooked until firm and well done). Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones and break up the salmon flesh into flakes. Set aside. Tip: If you’re using regular salmon, season it with a pinch of salt and set it aside for 10 minutes before baking. You can also substitute any leftover teriyaki, grilled, or pan-fried salmon for a slightly different flavor.

If you don’t have 1 tsp bubu arare (crispy puffed rice pellets), crush Japanese rice crackers into small pieces (you can also use a bag to crush it).

To Prepare the Dashi or Tea

Ochazuke with Dashi: Combine 1 cup dashi (Japanese soup stock), 1 tsp mirin, 1 tsp soy sauce, and ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Pour the soup into a small teapot and keep warm.

Ochazuke with Tea: Put 2 tsp Japanese green tea leaves in a pot or teapot. Bring 1 cup hot water to the appropriate temperature for your tea and pour it into the pot. Set aside for 1–2 minutes (follow the directions on your tea package).

To Serve

For each serving, portion 1 cup cooked Japanese short-grain rice in an individual bowl. Add the flaked salmon on the rice and sprinkle 1 tsp bubu arare or crushed rice crackers, 1 tsp shredded nori seaweed, and ¼ tsp toasted white sesame seeds on top. Serve tsukemono (pickles), such as Pickled Cucumber, on the side as a part of the meal.

Ochazuke with Dashi: When you‘re ready to eat, pour the hot dashi into the bowl to cover the rice halfway and top with 2 sprigs mitsuba and wasabi. Enjoy!

Ochazuke with Tea: When you‘re ready to eat, pour the hot tea into the bowl to cover the rice halfway and top with 2 sprigs mitsuba and wasabi. Add ½ tsp soy sauce, if you‘d like. Enjoy!

For Ochazuke in the Summertime

You can use cold rice and cold dashi or tea (I love mugicha or barley tea) in the summertime to enjoy a cool and refreshing version of Ochazuke.

Nutrition

• Calories: 335 kcal
• Total Fat: 3 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Cholesterol: 19 mg
• Sodium: 414 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 60 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1 g
• Total Sugars: 1 g
• Protein: 13 g