Craving for a dish that is light yet comforting? This easy, homemade Ochazuke with green tea, steamed rice, and simple savory ingredients will hit the right spot.
Ochazuke (お茶漬け) is a simple one-bowl dish featuring steamed rice with an assortment of savory ingredients, partially steeped in green tea. Ocha refers to green tea, and zuke means “submerged”. Instead of proper mealtime food, the Japanese enjoy it more as a quick meal or at the end of the meal to fill up.
Ochazuke – The Comfort Food
Soothing to eat and easy on the stomach, Ochazuke is the kind of comfort food that I crave. When I suffer from jet lag after a long plane ride from Japan, I would always make the 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.
We often eat Ochazuke when we feel under the weather or simply 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 Japanese student scarfing down a bowl of Ochazuke while burning the midnight oil, or a tired salaryman gets home from work and need something quick to eat before hitting the snooze button.
Ochazuke is a perfect quick meal to ease your hunger, as it’s light and can be quickly prepared. It also has the magic to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside after eating.
Types of Green Tea & Broth You Can Use for Ochazuke
You can use various kinds of green tea such as Genmaicha, Sencha, Hojicha, etc 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 flavors. But with good dashi, the dish can be very flavorful even with just a few simple toppings.
You can also make it with cold tea or broth in summer time.
Suggestions for 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 Ochazuke:
- Bubu Arare (tiny rice cracker balls)
- Japanese pickles like umeboshi (salted pickled plum)
- Nori seaweed
- Pollock roe (tarako & mentaiko)
- Salmon Flakes (recipe coming soon!)
- Salmon roe (ikura)
- Salted Salmon
- Scallion or mitsuba
- Sea Bream (tai) sashimi
- Sesame seeds
- Wasabi
There are instant ochazuke packets you can buy from Japanese/Asian grocery stores or Amazon. They include dried pickled plum, salmon, nori, rice crackers, and green tea, and all you need to do is pour hot water or tea over. It’s convenient, but you can’t beat the taste and flavor of homemade Ochazuke.
I often make the recipe when I have leftover salted salmon. It is especially comforting and delicious with homemade dashi broth! I wouldn’t even mind eating it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Watch How to Make Ochazuke
Craving for a light comforting dish? This easy, homemade Ochazuke with green tea, steamed rice, and simple savory ingredients will hit the right spot.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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- 1 salted salmon (or ½ fillet of salmon and pinch of salt)
- 1 cup cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- 1 tsp Bubu arare (crispy puffed rice pallets) (or use Japanese rice crackers)
- 1 tsp shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori)
- ¼ tsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 2 stands Mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (trefoil, or ⅛ scallion, cut into small pieces)
- Wasabi (optional, for taste)
- 1 cup dashi (click to learn more about this soup stock)
- 1 tsp mirin
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ⅛ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- 2 tsp Japanese green tea leaves (I used Genmaicha, but Sencha, Hojicha, Mugicha works as well)
- 1 cup hot water (see the tea package for appropriate temperature for your tea leaves)
- ½ tsp soy sauce (optional)
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Gather all the ingredients.
- Bake the salted salmon fillet (shiojake) at 400F degree for 25 minutes. If you’re using regular salmon, season the salmon with salt and set aside for 10 minutes before baking. When it’s cooked, remove the skin and bones and break up the salmon flesh into flakes. Set aside.
- If you don’t have Bubu Arare, crush rice crackers into small pieces (you can also use a bag to crush it).
-
Ochazuke with Dashi: Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Pour the soup into a small teapot.
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Ochazuke with Tea: Put tea leaves in the pot. Bring the 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 teabag).
- Now serve the cooked rice in the serving bowl. Place the shredded salmon and sprinkle the rice cracker, nori, and sesame seeds on top.
- 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.
Cook Time: If you use leftover salted salmon, the total time is less than 10 minutes.
Tea leaves: 3 gram (1 tsp) tea leaves for 100 ml (about 1/2 cup) hot water.
To Serve: Serve with tsukemono, such as Pickled Cucumber, as a part of the meal.
For the summer: You can use cold rice and cold dashi or tea in the summertime to enjoy a cool and refreshing version of Ochazuke.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on July 23, 2014. It’s been edited and republished in April 2020.
Nami,
OMG!!! Thank you soooo much!!!!! I hated those MSG laden ochazuke packets. Now I can experience real one at home! You are so creative <3
Hi Aiko! Make sure to try Dashi version! It’s so delicious!
I sure will! I am thinking of combining the dashi and green tea!! I can’t wait!!!
Sounds excellent! 🙂
Hubby was feeling under the weather so I made this for him with Dashi soup. What a treat! A lot of flavor yet easy and quick to make. Love you!
Hi Maggie! So glad to hear this recipe was comforting for your husband who was under the weather. Hope he’s fully recovered. Thank you for your kind feedback!
I grew up with those instant ochazuke packets, so I never knew there was a “real” version like this; it looks wonderful! Also, funny that I never heard of Bubu Arare but since I always have rice crackers, I’m eager to try it!
Hi Julie! The “real” version takes a bit more time than those packet ones, but it tastes 1000 times better. 🙂 Bubu arare are tiny little rice cracker balls in ochazuke packets. Hope you try with dashi version too!
I don’t much care for cooked fish, so I make this with bacon, ham or ajitsuke tamago and its delicious! I am going to try the unagi version as soon as I can get to Mitsuwa. I’d also like to try making it with tofu, any suggestions?
Hi Rei! I love your creative ochazuke! Unagi chazuke… yum! Tofu – we have “Tofu Chazuke” which you put silken tofu on top as a topping. Delicious!
I love Ochazuke when I feel like I’m coming down with a cold, or sometimes, as just a snack in between meals. I’ve never made my own from scratch, however. I will look forward to tasting what fresh Ochazuke is like (I’ll probably never go back to the packets!). Thank you!
Hi DawnM! Ochazuke packet is very convenient and I do keep one package in my pantry. 🙂 However, when I have leftover salted salmon or good pickles or ikura… I make dashi for ochazuke and eat fresh ochazuke. Ahh so delicious! 😀 Thank you for your kind comment!
Hi Nami,
お茶漬け is always a popular lunch choice to me whenever I don’t feel like cooking or just want a simple light meal. Sometimes I’d have 汁かけご飯 which was my childhood favourite. I later discovered it’s called 猫まんま/猫飯 in west Japan as it’s for cat apparently. Have you ever had 猫まんま before? Which version?
Hi Niu! How funny! I haven’t heard of ねこまんま for a loooooooooong time! Maybe because my mom grew up in Osaka, I did hear this word from my mom (but not commonly used in Tokyo area?). I remember (if my memory is correct), it was used more in the context that I pour miso soup over rice and my mom would say like “don’t eat like ねこまんま” or something like that. She wasn’t a big fan of pouring miso soup over rice… but I still remember (actually thanks to you I start to remember) cold miso soup pouring over rice… I like it when miso soup had onion and tofu… (and my mom wasn’t happy if I quickly do it while she was looking away. =P ). I didn’t know there are many version for that. 🙂
I grew up on a more simplified version of this, so I can’t wait to try this recipe! It brings back memories of my childhood!
Hi Mary! I hope you like this recipe, especially with dashi. Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe Nami! My dear friend (whose grandmother hails from Okinawa) introduced me to instant ochazuke packets and I have been obsessed with making my own ever since. I had gotten kind of close by pouring Genmaicha over rice topped with wakame chazuke furikake but it wasn’t the same. I am certain your recipe will be perfect as always! Thank you again and please keep up the excellent work. 🙂
Hi Veggie Pi! Glad to hear you’re interested in trying this recipe and hope you enjoy, especially with dashi this time! 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind words!
Both versions look so yummy! I don’t believe I’ve ever had ochazuke with dashi before.
Looking forward to trying that soon!
Thank you Donna! You must try with dashi next time. I really like it better. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Just want to say thank you so much for sharing your Japanese recipe. My family and I love Japanese food and with your recipe, it is indeed time saving and easy. I tried out the Ochazuke that you’ve shared but tweaked it a little. I grilled the salmon with salt and pepper and just added dashi stock (for my kids) and dashi and green tea for myself and hubby and WE LOVE IT. Thanks again. Just the right thing for a hot summery day as it’s not too heavy a dish for dinner. Looking forward to trying out some of your other recipes.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer! Aww thank you so much for writing and I’m happy to hear you enjoy Japanese food. Glad this recipe worked out for you, too! If you like unagi, you might enjoy Unagi Chazuke (https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/unagi-chazuke/). If you don’t have Kombu Cha (kelp powder), you can use regular tea and dashi instead, just like you tried. 🙂 Thank you once again!
Hi. I was wondering if unacha (うな茶) is similar to this, and if not, how are they different? If they are similar, what would you do differently to make it?
Hi Jane! Unacha means Unagi Chazuke, so you have to put Unagi (grilled/broiled eel) on the top. 🙂
I have a recipe for it in case you are interested:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/unagi-chazuke/
It is wonderful!!!! Thanks a lot.
Thank you Merline! 🙂
So my family and I have made ochazuke before with green tea and have loved it. Your recipe here is what we have used as a guideline to making it many times. One thing is that I often am making homemade pickles (whether using your salt & sugar recipe or soy sauce or rice vinegar & sugar), and we always love adding them into our ochazuke; Especially daikon always seems to taste amazing in it. Since its been a favorite, we decided to try the dashi you recommend here. I’m not sure if it was the addition of the pickled cucumber and daikon or whether it was the added salt on top of soy sauce in the dashi, but it was way over the top salty. Add the salted salmon and it was almost unedible. Peesonally, I think we’ll stick to the green tea. The flavors are amazing and it is always lovely and it feels like every bite has a new combination of flavors to enjoy. I did try it a second time with dashi by adding extra mirin and only adding a tiny bit of salt (for a 3 person serving size), but its still extremely salty. It was edible this time, but lack the nuance of flavor our family loves in the green tea version. If you have any ideas on how to make it better with the dashi, I’d love to hear them. Thanks as always for your great recipes!
Hi Emerald! Do you use dashi powder, maybe? It contains MSG and maybe salt. Homemade dashi uses just water and kelp/katsuobushi, and not salty at all. 🙂 If you use homemade dashi, then salt must come from somewhere but it’s not from dashi. Try making homemade dashi. It’s so delicious with real umami flavor. 🙂
Thanks for your fast reply. I usually am careful about the dashi I use. I try to stay away from msg as its very bad for you. I’m sure they must’ve added salt, but I tend to follow what many of your own recipes and other sites suggest for dashi (just buying the kind you can brew like tea into water). My major concern aside from the saltiness is the lack of nuances that the dashi gives. Its kind of flat (very umami) and lacks much interest for me. Green tea seemed like every bite had its own flavors. It was like a wonderful experience where each bite (depending if you got pickles, salmon, bubu arare, nori, shitake, or whatever else you added) blended differently. When the dashi was added instead, it seems more like a soup with a flat flavor. Will that also change if you make dashi yourself?
I understand the “bland” taste of dashi – it’s definitely subtle flavor. For example, shabu shabu made with kombu dashi is very subtle broth, and many people don’t really taste the flavor especially if they are used to spicy hot pot or more flavorful broth. I guess it is probably come down to preference. Green tea (although it has so many kinds) have stronger flavor than dashi, and it adds more flavor, while dashi not necessarily adds strong flavor to the dish. It’s more like background taste that you know it’s there. 🙂
Hi Nami-san,
Do you know of any recipes that uses bubu arare? I saw it in a bento book once with shrimp I think but I can’t seem to find it. I googled it and saw one for fried asparagus but unfortunately, my kids don’t like asparagus much : (
If you can think of any that would be great! I’m looking for bento fillers for my daughter. She doesn’t like egg which seem to be the most popular filler for bentos next to musubis.
Love your recipes!
Yuko
Hi Yuko! You have bubu arare? That’s awesome! You can use it like panko. If I have tons of bubu arare, I’d make chicken karaage with it. Like you said, shrimp is perfect. I use coconut flakes and the recipe is here:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/coconut-shrimp/
Bento filler can be small side dishes from your dinner menus. Typical dishes include: Kinpira Gobo, Spinach Gomaae, Nishime, to name a few. Have fun making bento!
Is it possible to use raw salmon in this dish instead of cooking it? I’m thinking of trying this recipe as I’ve enjoyed testing and creating some of your other recipes (which were wonderful!).
Hi Emi! Yes you can, but make sure the raw salmon is sashimi grade. 🙂 So happy to hear you enjoy my recipes!
Can I use matcha for this recipe?
Hi San! Do you mean matcha like this thick and creamy matcha drink?
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-matcha-japanese-green-tea/
Hmmm I had never seen this mixed with rice… it’s a bit too strange for the Japanese’s taste. It has to be soupy and liquidy, not creamy like this.
I was watching the show Hyori Bed and Breakfast (it’s a korean show) and they were cooking this dish (and it looked delicious so I looked online for a recipe) and I had the feeling they used matcha powder to make the tea (but it wasn’t thick) and then mixed it with soy sauce (actually I think they used tuna extract instead of soy sauce), so I was curious if it’s good with matcha but I think I’ll make it with sencha tea for my first try.
Hmm interesting! Let me know how it goes. 😀
Hi Nami, looks delicious!
Quick question, do you reheat the rice before serving or does the broth heat it sufficiently?
I know reheating rice is supposed to be risky.
Hi Max! Where was the rice stored? I usually store my rice in the freezer (even I would use it the next day: here’s my post: https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-freeze-rice/), so I would microwave till warm.
In summer we eat Ochazuke with cold tea with room temp/cold rice etc… so there is no need to reheat it unless you want to eat ochazuke hot. 🙂
Why reheating rice is risky?
Just want to leave a helpful tip for Americans or other non-Japanese looking for the bubu arare (tiny rice cracker pellets). There is a product that I’ve seen in at least a few of my local Asian supermarkets called Wakame Chazuke, which has the wakame (dried seaweed) and bubu arare for putting on ochazuke conveniently in a single glass shaker. It is found next to furikake (rice toppings) and sold in the same containers those come in.
Here is an image of the one I’ve seen: https://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/asian-food/sauces-seasoning/furikake-seasoning/wakame-chazuke-furikake-rice-seasoning-1-7-oz
Hi Lion! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome tip!
Hi, Nami! It’s raining in San Diego today and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate lunchtime than with this recipe. It’s my first time having ochazuke, and I had been dying to try it. I’ve always been wanting a quick and easy way to have more salmon in my diet, so this is a Godsend. I used both the dashi and green tea since it’s for lunch. I’d probably stick to the dashi alone for dinner. It’s comforting, delicious, and so light. Thank you!
Hi Marilu! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Ochazuke! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! My 4 and 2 year old ate it up.
Hi Clarissa! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
I’ve made this twice while I was sick. I used dashi both times, not tea. It is fantastic. Don’t skimp on the bonito flakes when making your dashi, -it won’t overpower the broth. I had to use a scale to measure for the recipe but it was worth it. The dashi also augments a miso broth quite well. This is a very gratifying and nourishing meal.
Hi SD! I’m glad to hear you enjoy ochazuke. I’m recovering from cold myself and this definitely sounds tempting for tonight… 🙂 Thank you for sharing your tip with us!
Nami, which version do you normally have? Dashi or green tea?
Hi Cathy! I make ochazuke with both. When I don’t have dashi handy, I make it with green tea. I even make it with Mugicha (Barley tea) which we keep at room temperature all the time. 🙂 I definitely recommend trying both. Different tastes/feelings!
Hi, and to all good healthy.
With things going on, my local Asian food store is offering delivery. Asked about arare and got told they have MASAGO arare (for breathing). I’m not to keen on crushing big crackers out of getting more dust than bits, and add them for the temporary crunchiness. Can they work with the tea/broth or would I just get stuck wish soagy texture??
Hi José! Interesting. I’ve never heard of it before (must be American Japanese thing).
https://azumafoods.com/product/839/
It says rice crackers (instead of fish, despite it calls “Masago” which is so confusing!). I think it should work.
Only if you are using it for commercial use, you can get Bubu Arare from Japan: https://anything-from-japan.com/bubu-arare-unflavored-500g-x-14
Hi, Nami!
So, I just finally got the Masago Arare crackers to try on. Figured if it didn’t work, I could use it for the other recipes that were on the link you sent.
YUP, it was the exact same presentation and brand.
Anyway, I gambled on it and just tried it today. I’m sad to inform they don’t hold their crunchiness. They are really small, like amaranth seeds, and quite porous. They fizzled like rice cereal and became soggy really fast.
Anyway, thought I should let you know the results. I’ll stick to wracking some snack crackers for now.
Hi Jose! Thank you so much for your honest feedback! This is very helpful!!! 🙂
Need to provide a hardback paper copy of tour cookbook..
Hi Kent! Thank you for your interest! Maybe one day when there is a good opportunity! 🙂
I will be making this as a proper meal for my family tomorrow, although it feels a little foolish to do so since the proportions of protein and vegetables to carbs is so off 😅 Do you think Tenkasu would be fine as a replacement for rice crackers? Thank you! I’ll be updating this with my review when I have it
Hello! Ochazuke is more like a savory snack, I think? Although you can serve this instead of steamed rice to the main meal. You would still want to serve some big portion of protein and veggies. 🙂 It’s a perfect midnight snack for those who came home late from work/school, etc. Hmm Tenkasu is oily, so not sure if you want to add that, plus it gets soggy. But feel free to try different toppings!