Ochazuke (ocha meaning tea and zuke meaning submerged...


KILLING THYME


Ochazuke

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THIS RECIPE IS SPONSORED BY ARBOR TEAS | OPINIONS ARE MY OWN
Much like the Okonomiyaki I made back in December, I’d never tried Ochazuke until I whipped it up for this series. If this series has taught me anything, it’s that if you find yourself intrigued by a dish you’ve never had before, you can still attempt it at home and totally nail it. So okay, you lack the satisfaction of a proper comparison, but when you dig in and take that first bite you will definitely know whether you’ve done the dish justice or not. Just follow a solid recipe from a trustworthy source! *ahem*…
Ochazuke (ocha meaning tea and zuke meaning submerged) is like nothing I’ve ever had before, and I mean that in the best way. It’s a fuss-free lazy day fave amongst the Japanese (and now me) that is typically served in an overly large bowl, because let’s face it: the bigger with some foods, the better. This is why bowl meals are trending, folks. But a large mug, cereal bowl or soup bowl will work just fine. The idea is to be able to curl up and get comfy with this bad boy, so if you have a vessel that allows you to do that, all is right in the world of Ochazuke.
Common toppings include savory ingredients like salted salmon, shredded nori, wasabi, pickled vegetables, mitsuba, toasted sesame seeds and broken Japanese rice crackers for a salty crunch; it’s all about preference.
Two major things drew my attention to this recipe while researching dishes:
  1. Comfort food. Everything I’d read about this dish suggested that it was total comfort food and, seeing that it’s February and winter is still daunting us, that’s what we’re after. Best of all, it’s a cinch to make — so if you’ve had a long day or simply want to bask in some weekend laziness, Ochazuke is where it’s at.
  2. Tea as a broth. I would have never thought to use straight up green tea, or any tea, as a broth for a savory dish — but here we are. Part of me feared the green tea would drown the dish in a sea of muted flavors, but as long as you use a quality tea like Arbor Tea’s Organic Genmaicha (pronounced GEN-my-cha), you’ll end up with an earthy flavor that is cozy and soul-soothing.
There *is* another variation of Ochazuke that replaces green tea with dashi stock, but between the Spicy Shoyu Ramen and the Okonomiyaki in this series, we’ve seen dashi aplenty. I wanted to honor the simplicity of this dish and, even more so, give this wholegreen tea as a broth thing a whirl.
I’m thrilled to report that it. was. ah-mazing.

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