Ochazuke (お茶漬け) is the kind of comfort food that I crave. When I suffered from jet lag after a long plane ride from Japan, I would always make this rice dish to satisfy my midnight hunger pangs. The warm tea and rice were well received by my exhausted body and tasting it immediately comforted my homesickness when I was younger. In today’s Ochazuke recipe, I’ll teach you the core ingredients that you’ll need to prepare this dish. I’ll also give you suggestions for toppings that you can customize your own bowl of comforting green tea over rice.
What is Ochazuke?
Ocha refers to green tea, and zuke means “submerged.” Ochazuke is a simple one-bowl dish featuring steamed rice with an assortment of savory ingredients, partially steeped in green tea or dashi (Japanese soup stock). Instead of proper mealtime food, the Japanese enjoy this dish more as a quick meal or to fill up at the end of the meal. Soothing to eat and easy on the stomach, we often eat ochazuke when we feel under the weather or perhaps when there are no other ingredients to cook with. It’s the easiest meal to put together! All the ingredients are the usual staples from a Japanese pantry. In Japanese manga and drama, you’ll find scenes of a Japanese student scarfing down a bowl of ochazuke while burning the midnight oil, or a tired salaryman who returns home from work and needs something quick to eat before hitting the sheets. Ochazuke is a perfect quick meal to ease your hunger because it’s light and can be quickly prepared. It also has the magic to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside after eating it.
Ingredients You’ll Need
cooked Japanese short-grain rice Japanese Salted Salmon (shiozake) – you could use a regular salmon fillet and a pinch of salt, or use any leftover cooked salmon bubu arare (crispy puffed rice pellets) – or substitute crushed Japanese rice crackers shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori) toasted white sesame seeds mitsuba (Japanese parsley) – or use scallion/green onion wasabi – optional, to taste
For Ochazuke with Green Tea:
Japanese green tea leaves – genmaicha, sencha, or hojicha; or use non-caffeinated mugicha (barley tea) for cold ochazuke hot water – to brew the tea soy sauce – optional
For Ochazuke with Dashi Broth:
dashi (Japanese soup stock) – you can use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi mirin soy sauce kosher salt
How to Make Ochazuke
Types of Tea & Broth for Ochazuke
You can use various kinds of green tea such as genmaicha, sencha, and hojicha to make ochazuke. However, when you order ochazuke in Japanese restaurants, it is typically made with dashi broth instead of green tea. The ochazuke served with green tea tends to be bland and relies on salty toppings to add more flavor. But with good dashi, the dish can be very flavorful even with just a few simple toppings. For ochazuke in the summertime, you can also make it with cold rice and cold dashi or tea. I love using cold and caffeine-free mugicha (barley tea) to enjoy this cool and refreshing variation.
Suggestions for Ochazuke Toppings
I know some of the ingredients are quite hard to get outside of Japan, so feel free to change it up. You can keep it simple by using leftover rice and whatever you have from the fridge! Here are the ingredients commonly used to make green tea over rice: I often make the recipe when I have leftover salted salmon. It is especially delicious with homemade dashi broth! I wouldn’t even mind eating this Japanese comfort food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on July 23, 2014. It’s been edited and republished in April 2020.
