Ochazuke is one of the simplest, most comforting things you can do with Green Tea: hot tea poured over a bowl of warm rice, with a few savoury toppings on top. It is a Japanese home dish, traditionally a way to use up the rice left over from dinner. Here a bag of Dragonfly Organic Pure Green Mountain is brewed at 80C and poured straight over the bowl.
Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the Green Tea Rice (Japanese Ochazuke) recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/green-tea/green-tea-rice-japanese-ochazuke/
The toppings are up to you, but a few classics work best: torn toasted nori, a salty umeboshi plum or some flaked grilled salmon, a scatter of sesame and sliced spring onion. It sits somewhere between a soup and a light supper, eaten with chopsticks and a spoon, and is quietly restorative at the end of a long day.
You'll need
- 1 Dragonfly Organic Pure Green Mountain pyramid bag
- 200ml freshly drawn water (used at 80C, off-boil and stood 2 minutes)
- 150g cooked Japanese short-grain or sushi rice, warm (leftover rice from dinner is correct, reheated gently if refrigerated)
- 1 sheet nori seaweed, lightly toasted and torn into small pieces
- 1 small umeboshi pickled plum, OR 30g flaked grilled salmon, OR 30g shredded poached chicken
- 1/2 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 thin spring onion, finely sliced (the green parts work best here)
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- A small pinch of fine sea salt
Method
- Boil the kettle, then let it stand for two minutes to drop to around 80C.
- Meanwhile, put the warm cooked rice in the bottom of a deep bowl, filling it about a third of the way.
- Arrange the toppings on the rice: an umeboshi plum in the centre, or flaked salmon or shredded chicken scattered across, then the torn nori, sesame seeds and spring onion over the top.
- Drop the tea bag into a small heatproof jug and pour the 80C water over it.
- Cover and steep for two to three minutes, no longer, so the brew stays clean and bright rather than bitter.
- Lift the bag out and discard, without pressing it; a squeezed bag would make the broth bitter.
- Pour the hot tea over the bowl in a steady stream, filling it about three-quarters, so the brew comes up to just below the toppings rather than covering them.
- Drizzle the soy sauce or tamari over the surface and season with a small pinch of salt.
- Eat straight away: pick off the toppings first, then break the rice into the broth with your spoon and finish it like a light soup.
Want the background, not just the brew?
Brewed with: Dragonfly Organic Pure Green Mountain, 40 Tea Bags 80g
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