Craving a dish that is light yet comforting? This easy, homemade Ochazuke with green tea or dashi, steamed rice, and simple savory toppings will hit the 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 more flavor. 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 the summertime.
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; Amazon sells it)
- 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.
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.
Ochazuke (Green Tea Over Rice)
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)
- 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)
- wasabi (optional, to taste)
For Ochazuke with Dashi
- 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
For Ochazuke with Green Tea
- 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)
Instructions
- 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
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on July 23, 2014. It’s been edited and republished in April 2020.
Delicious and easy! I prepared salmon flakes earlier today and made this tonight with Hojicha. So comforting and simple. 😄
Hi, TheNeals Meals!
Thank you very much for trying many of Nami’s recipes and for your kind feedback!
We are so glad to hear you enjoy this Ochazuke with your pre-made Homemade Salmon Flakes!
What a great combination!😋
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!
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! 🙂
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!!! 🙂
Hi Nami! In your 1st reply to Jose Olivera you noted “Only if you are using it for commercial use, you can get Bubu Arare from Japan”. Are you saying that bubu arare can’t be purchased in the US in person or purchased from a US-based online store? In the San Francisco Bay Area I called Marukai and Mitsuwa. Neither carries it. I then Googled “bubu arare” and couldn’t find any US-based online stores that sell it. The link to the bubu arare retailer that you posted sells it in very large quantities since it’s for commercial use. I was looking for a smaller quantity for home use.
Hi M,
We found one in the Amazon store.
We add the link to the ingredient, Bubu Arare in the recipe card, so please check it out!😊
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!
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!
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! 🙂
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! 🙂
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!
Thank you! This is just the comment I was hoping to find in here!
[…] very simple to make! You can make this dish entirely from scratch like Just One Cook with cooked salmon flakes, rice seasonings, green tea, and […]
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?
[…] add a protein dish like Miso Cod or Chicken Tempura. I also love adding the pickled vegetables on Ochazuke for a quick, simple, and healthy […]
[…] Toppings for Ochazuke […]
[…] Maki has a good set of recipes with stronger roots in Japan. […]
[…] they are enjoyed throughout Japan. One of the favorites ways of enjoying this pickle is with Ochazuke – steamed rice with tea poured over the […]