Japanese Rice Porridge or Okayu is so simple and easy to make. All you need is water and rice to make this traditional healing food. Add your choice of toppings to this warm and comforting dish that soothes the body and restores energy.
During this time of year, when the cold and flu season is at its peak, my children usually take turns bringing home a few rounds of sicknesses from school. Last weekend, we caught a cold while traveling back from Utah, and our whole family came down with fevers and coughs.
We didn’t have much of an appetite, so I decided to make some warm Japanese Rice Porridge (Okayu) for the family. It is the Japanese cold remedy I rely on most to soothe a weak stomach.
Table of Contents
Japanese Rice Porridge: A Healing Food
Rice Porridge, or as we call it, okayu (お粥), is a simple dish made with rice and water. The rice is simmered in a pot with water until it disintegrates. Because the rice is tender, soft, and easily digestible, it is considered a healing food in Japan. We typically serve okayu to people who are recovering from sickness, the elderly, or babies.
For those of you familiar with Chinese cuisine, you probably know that rice porridge (or congee), as a comfort food, is enjoyed in various ways. Chinese versions are often topped with julienned ginger, chopped scallions, fried garlic, or fried shallots. Sometimes, congee is topped with additional proteins like shredded chicken, ground pork, seafood, or Chinese sausage, making it suitable for lunch or dinner.
In contrast, the Japanese don’t consume porridge as frequently as the Chinese do for regular meals. Okayu, in particular, is served as a healing food, meant to soothe the body and restore energy. The toppings are kept simple, resulting in a light and mild-tasting meal.
How to Make Japanese Rice Porridge
The Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Japanese short-grain rice
- Water
- Optional toppings: chopped green onion/scallion, salted salmon, egg, kimchi, shredded nori, or pickled plum (umeboshi)
Cooking Tips
- Adjust water ratio for desired consistency. For this recipe, I use a 1:5 rice-to-water ratio to yield a thicker consistency. We refer to this ratio as zen-gayu (全粥). You could add more water for a lighter porridge. There is even a whole range of rice-to-water ratios that the Japanese follow, and each one comes with a specific name. You could read more on this in the Recipe Note below.
- Use dashi (Japanese soup stock), chicken stock, or miso for a more flavorful broth.
- For extra substance and nutrients, feel free to serve the porridge with proteins, veggies, or pickles.
Cooking Rice Porridge with Donabe (Earthenware Pot)
We use a donabe, the Japanese earthenware pot when making the rice porridge for the people we care for. It is a traditional way of preparing the dish as the pot cooks the porridge evenly and retains the heat well.
I suppose you can use a rice cooker, instantv pot, or a regular pot to make the porridge, but donabe has always been the preferred method.
I hope you give this Japanese home remedy a try when you’re under the weather, or in need of something light and healthy.
More Healthy Recipes You’ll Enjoy:
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Japanese Rice Porridge (Okayu)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice
- 250 ml water (1 cup + 2 tsp; for cooking the rice)
For the Suggested Toppings
- green onion/scallion (chopped)
- umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums)
- toasted white sesame seeds
- shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori)
- Homemade Japanese Salted Salmon (flaked)
- mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (for garnish)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. I follow a rice-to-water ratio of 1 to 5 for a thicker consistency in this recipe; to adjust for a runnier consistency, please see the Notes at the end of the recipe card.
- Rinse ¼ cup uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice in water, then drain. Repeat until the water runs clear. Drain into a colander and shake off the excess water.
- Add the well-drained rice and 250 ml water to a heavy-bottomed pot or a donabe earthenware pot, as I have here. If cooking in a donabe, use a towel to wipe off any excess water on the bottom of the pot (or else it may crack under heat). Tip: Select a cooking pot with plenty of room for the rice and water to cook without boiling over.
- Soak the rice for at least 30 minutes.
To Cook the Rice Porridge
- Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, lower the heat to the stove’s lowest setting (make sure to use the right size of stove burner for your pot size). Open the lid and gently mix with a spoon, making sure the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Then, cover with the lid and gently simmer the rice for 30 minutes. During this time, I do not open the lid or mix the rice. Tip: With a good size pot and the lowest heat on the stove, the water should not boil over. If you cook with more water or your pot is smaller than mine, you may want to leave the lid slightly ajar so the water doesn’t boil over. Tip: If you are worried, you can take a quick peek to make sure there’s enough water so the rice doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot. If necessary, you can stir the rice or add a bit of hot water. Otherwise, don’t stir the rice because that may break the rice grains.
To Steam and Serve
- After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and let it steam with the lid on for 10 minutes. The rice porridge should be soft and thick. If you want to add a beaten egg or salt, this is the time to mix it in. I keep this recipe plain and simple. Serve in individual rice bowls and garnish with toppings of your choice. Common toppings include chopped green onion/scallion, umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums), toasted white sesame seeds, shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori), Homemade Japanese Salted Salmon, and mitsuba (Japanese parsley).
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them for 2 days in the refrigerator or for up to a month in the freezer.
Notes
- Zen-gayu – 1 : 5 (50 grams : 250 ml)
- Shichibu-gayu – 1 : 7 (50 grams : 350 ml)
- Gobu-gayu – 1 : 10 (50 grams : 500 ml)
- Sanbu-gayu – 1 : 20 (25 grams : 500 ml)
Equipment
- donabe (earthenware pot) or heavy-bottomed pot
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on January 30, 2013. The content has been updated in March 2020.
thank you so much for the reply. I love your blog and videos and have learned so much from them!
I have a new NS-LGC05 model and the interior bowl has settings for: long grain, Steel Cut Oats, White/Mixed, Sushi, brown, but no porridge. I even looked at the Zojirushi website and could not find a recipe. I know it takes more water, I just need to find out the proportions of rice to water.
Sorry for the trouble,
thank you,
Michele
Hi M,
I see… I looked it up the website and found out that the Steel Cut Oats setting and Porridge setting is similar, according to the Zojirushi. So if you follow Namiko’s recipe and use the setting, it should work! If you would like, try with 50 grams of rice and the amount of water for Zen gayu or Shichibu gayu first and watch the rice cooker while it cooks, as it may overflow. If the rice is not soft as you wish, you may leave it with the lid closed (keep warm setting if you have one) for 10 minutes or so, just like Step 9 in the recipe.
Rice-Water Ratio
Zen-gayu – 1 : 5 (50 grams : 250 ml)
Shichibu-gayu – 1 : 7 (50 grams : 350 ml)
Gobu-gayu – 1 :10 (50 grams : 500 ml)
Sanbu-gayu – 1 : 20 (25 grams : 500 ml)
We hope this works for you! Please let us know how it goes if you try it.😉
can you please provide instructions for making okayu in a rice cooker? I do not have a donabe pot but Ido have a new Zojurushi rice cooker. Arigato!
Hi M.,
The newer Zojirushi rice cooker should have a setting for making “Rice Porridge.” Do you see the selection on your rice cooker?
You simply follow the water line indicated inside the rice cooker and push the “Rice Porridge” button. (It should be more water than you normally make steam rice)
We hope this helps!
I made this yesterday in my college dorm room. I live in central New York, so I didn’t have access to all the traditional Japanese ingredients, but it was still delicious! It reminded me of cooking at home with my dad when I was younger–I always used to help him out in the kitchen. It was also a great dish to warm me up in the rainy NY weather.
Hi Hannah! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! And thanks for sharing your sweet memory with your dad. It’s always so nice to remember happy moments with delicious food. 🙂 I hope you and your family stay healthy at these difficult times. xo
We used to eat a similar dish in Mangalore, India. Every morning at 10am before going to work in the rice fields. Also, when we had a fever. We called it pez in konkani. Rice congee in english.
Hi Joylan! Thank you for sharing the story with us! It’s really interesting how we eat rice porridge when we’re sick, even though we live in different countries. 🙂
My O-Kasan used-to (Over 70 years ago) prepare Okayu for us when we were ill.
Unfortunately, I don’t own a Heavy-bottomed pot nor a Donabe.
I believe Donabe are used on gas stoves (we have an electric stove).
We have several sauce-pans, Dutch-ovens, etc. but they’re not the Heavy-Bottom variety.
But.. I’ll use my Revere Ware sauce-pan to make some… just for old times sake. 😀
Hi Doug! Thank you for sharing your story. You remember your okaasan’s okayu! I also remember too how she prepared okayu when I was sick (and how much I didn’t like, haha). You have to use what you have, and it’s okay to use a saucepan. It may have a hot spot, so just be careful not to burn. 🙂
She would add an ume-boshi or two to it.
The saltiness made the dish more palatable to me.
Great Memories of days gone by.
Perhaps when your children are in their 70’s…
they’ll fondly recall you making Okayu for them.
Hey.. it’s finally raining:
Ame ame fure fure kaasanga…..
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC4-Oytm2MA)
Hi Doug! I agree, and we’ll never forget sweet memories with delicious food. 🙂
And those songs we listened to growing up! Natsukashii!
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Can you suggest how this recipe would be adapted for the instant pot?
Hi Michelle! I had never made the porridge with IP before so I can’t give you specific measurement at this time… I’m sorry. 🙁 Maybe one day I’ll test and share the recipe. 🙂
Have you tried the chicken okayu at Stonemill Matcha in San Francisco? It is quite complex but delicious. Wondering what the recipe is for their version…
Hi Peter! Is it like Zosui or Okayu? I have never been there yet. I’d love to check it out. 🙂
It is more like Okayu I think. Toppings include a poached egg, chicken skin cracklings,
shredded nori, pickled wakame, green onions and mushroom. Definitely check it out!
Hi Peter! Oh that sounds good! Thanks for letting me know! Maybe during fall after we come back from Japan. 🙂
Is it okay to soak the rice overnight and then make the porridge in the morning? I would love to make this, but I don’t think I have enough time to make it in the mornings.
Hi Anne! Sure! 🙂
[…] on top of plain steamed rice or Okayu […]
My Japanese grandmother used to make “chagai” for me. I believe she would put a bag of genmai-cha with the rice. Have you heard of this? I’m wanting to make this, but I don’t know how much tea or for how long the tea should be included. I would think the long boil might make it bitter.
Hi Brian! Ohh Chagayu (茶粥), and locally called Okaisan (おかいさん). Basically you would cook porridge with tea, like Hojicha or Bancha (lowest grade green tea, brownish), instead of water. You make tea first (regular way) and cook the rice with the tea. Did she cook the rice with tea, or she pour the tea over steamed rice. Latter one is called Ochazuke, and often use Genmaicha or green tea. But Chagayu is usually brown color from Hojicha. 🙂
Thanks for the correction. I was very young so never knew just how she made it. It must have been with bancha as it came out brown. I’ll have to try it!
I often have ochasuzke when I feel homesick but I will admit to “cheating” and buying the packaged version from the local Japanese market.
Hi Brian! Haha we all do for the convenient and nostalgic taste (my college days snack… LOL). 😀
Thank you for not only this beautiful recipe but also the memory of having my mother fix rice porridge/soup when under the weather. When I was growing up, we always called it ojiya, and it was usually made with a miso base. I have also heard of a rice porridge/ soup called zosui that’s looks very similar. What is the difference between ojiya, okayu, and zosui?
Either way, I still have this when I’m ill and make it for my family when they feel poorly. It reminds them of a hug from my mother, Babachan (Obachan). She will always be with us. Thank you all at JOC!
Hi Michael,
Great question!
Ojiya and Zosui are made from pre-cooked rice, and Okayu is made from uncooked rice.
As for the difference between Ojiya and Zosui, please read the attached Nami’s post. She explained it and posted a Zosui recipe as well.😉https://www.justonecookbook.com/zosui-japanese-rice-soup/
We hope this helps!
[…] like Miso Butter Salmon or Ginger Pork. On a cold day, you can serve the pickled vegetables with okayu (rice porridge). It could not be any simpler, healthy and full of […]
[…] 2. Add a Dash of Story Incorporate “Sweet Porridge” into a math or science lesson by measuring and cooking porridge. A quick Google search produced this simple recipe. Be aware it does use rolled oats and milk, so you may need a substitute for any gluten or dairy allergies. Consider preparing a rice porridge instead, such as this Japanese version. […]
We Americans call it rice soup. We don’t cook it until the rice disintegrate. However, being a Louisiana born country girl foodie I have made Chinese style congee. Today in Louisiana it’s cold and wet so I wanted rice soup ????
I am a fusion cook. Today’s fusion extravaganza is Japanese congee style rice flavored with fish sauce with Vietnamese flavored fish sauce and toasted sesame seed oil, Top with Louisiana spicy ???? Cajun seasoned roasted pigtails. I needed the rice to water ratio for 1/4 cups of rice and Reading your blog addressed my needs! Recipe ratio was ????????
Thank you ????????
Hi PJ! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I was fascinated to read about your story! I love your fusion cooking! Thank you for writing!
Awwww ???? Thank you for responding and your kind words! ????????
Enjoy your holiday and keep your beautiful food blog active.????
Thank you, PJ! Happy Holidays to you!