Featured Comment:
“It was delicious and so easy to make. It tastes just like the delicious homemade ochazuke I had at a restaurant in Japan. Thank you!”
– Tran
What is Ochazuke?
Ochazuke (お茶漬け) is a simple dish made by pouring hot tea over cooked rice and adding a variety of toppings. It’s a quick and easy dish to make and a common way to use up leftover ingredients.
While ochazuke is most commonly made with Japanese green tea, in recent years, it is not uncommon to see ochazuke made with things like oolong tea, soup, and dashi (Japanese soup stock) too. This shows that despite the name, “ochazuke” doesn’t necessarily have to be made with “ocha” (green tea) at all.
In summer, it is sometimes served with chilled tea. This way of eating ochazuke was introduced on TV during the Showa period (1926-1989).
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Salmon Fillets Skin-On: I recommend using skin-on salmon fillets for this recipe.
- Sake (Optional): Unsalted drinking sake is ideal for its pure flavor. If you’re using cooking sake, just adjust the salt in the rest of the dish. For more information on different types of sake and their uses, a ‘Sake 101‘ article can be very helpful.
- Dashi Broth: This is the key to the dish’s flavor. You have the choice of simple awase dashi or a vegan version. For a quicker alternative, instant dashi granules or packets are useful.
- Green Tea Bag: Use about 2g per teabag. This is an essential ingredient for the dish.
- Soy Sauce: Refer to my comprehensive soy sauce guide for a deeper understanding of different types and brands.
- Cooked Japanese Short-Grain Rice: Short-grain Japanese rice is the best choice for donburi dishes. For recommendations on brands available in the U.S. and instructions on how to cook it in a pot, consult the ‘How to Cook Japanese Rice Recipe.’
- Toppings: Garnish with ground sesame seeds, shredded sushi nori seaweed (kizami nori), finely chopped green onions, and wasabi paste. These toppings add layers of flavor and texture to the dish.
Ochazuke most commonly comes with a variety of toppings. Here are some other popular examples:
- Umeboshi (pickled plum)
- Tsukemono (pickled vegs)
- Mentaiko (spiced cod roe)
- Tai (red snapper)
- Kombu (seasoned kelp)
- Baby sardines…etc
It’s nice to add ingredients with different textures like soft, crunchy, crispy. In this recipe, I make crispy salmon skin and use it to sprinkle on the top of the dish.
Jump to Full Recipe Measurements
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Salmon Ochazuke at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
Preheat the grill on medium-high.
Dry salmon fillets with kitchen paper, season with salt, and optionally, rub with sake.
Sprinkling a small amount of sake on the salmon before grilling not only removes the odor, but also makes the meat soft and tender.
Grill skin-side up until crispy, then flip and cook until done.
Remove skin from grilled salmon and slice thinly.
Break salmon into flakes and set aside.
Heat dashi stock and steep green tea for 1 minute.
Remove the tea bag and add soy sauce.
Divide cooked rice and ground sesame seeds into bowls.
Top with salmon flakes, crispy skin, and chopped green onions.
Garnish with shredded sushi nori and optional wasabi.
FAQ
The definite history of ochazuke is not known for certain, but in the Heian period (794-1185), there was a dish called “yuzuke” (湯漬け) which was made by pouring hot water over cold rice. This was also found at formal banquets in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) as well.
While this could be considered the origin of the idea, yuzuke and ochazuke are not quite the same thing.
In the Edo period (1603-1868), ochazuke became a well-known dish amongst ordinary people. It is recorded that servants at merchant houses and other establishments ate their meals in between their extremely busy work schedule, and they preferred ochazuke as it allowed them to finish their meals in a short time.
In short, ochazuke was and is a fast food.
Around that time, toppings like pickled plums, salmon, nori (seaweed), tsukudani, cod roe, and many others started to be added to enjoy ochazuke. In those days, the basic rule was to cook rice once a day, so rice was cooked in the morning and eaten freshly cooked and hot, while the evening meal would consist of cold rice that was heated by pouring hot tea over it.
From the Genroku era (1688-1704), “chazukeya (ochazuke restaurant)” appeared and became widely popular as fast food for the common people. Chazukeya was not just a place to enjoy ochazuke, but also a place where you could enjoy simple and humble meals in general.
“Ocha” (お茶) is the Japanese word for tea, and we use this as an umbrella term for many types of Japanese green tea. Black tea is called “koucha” (紅茶) and Chinese teas are called by their full names. “Ochazuke” basically means “steeped in green tea”.
Ochazuke was traditionally made with Japanese teas such as:
Sencha
Hojicha
Bancha
However, these days, it’s not uncommon to use other kinds of tea.
One of the most common occasions to consume ochazuke these days is post late night drinking. We call this type of dishes “shime (〆)” and other example of shime is ramen.
After drinking alcohol, our bodies usually become dehydrated and crave salty foods. The beauty of “shime” in Japan is that they’re both salty and soupy, so things like ochazuke and ramen are a perfect way to curb that craving!
I hope you enjoy this Salmon Ochazuke recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Salmon Recipes
Salmon Ochazuke (Japanese Tea on Rice)
Ingredients
- 200 g salmon fillets skin-on
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sake optional
- 300 ml dashi stock
- 1 green tea bag approx 2g per teabag
- 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 300 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- ½ tsp ground sesame seeds
- kizami nori (shredded nori)
- finely chopped green onions to garnish
- wasabi paste optional
Instructions
- Preheat the grill or broiler on a medium-high setting. Dry the surface of 200 g salmon fillets with kitchen paper and rub ½ tsp salt over both sides.
- Once the grill is hot enough, rub 1 tsp sake over the salmon (optional) and place under the grill with the skin side facing up.
- Grill for 3-4 minutes or until the skin is golden and crispy, then turn down the heat to medium and flip the salmon over. Grill the other side for 3-4 minutes or until it's cooked through.
- Remove the salmon from the grill and peel off the skin.
- Cut the crispy skin into thin slices.
- Place the salmon flesh in a container and break it into flakes.
- Take teapot or jug and add 300 ml dashi stock (approx 80 °C (176 °F)). Place 1 green tea bag inside and brew for 1 minute.
- Remove the tea bag and add 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu).
- Take out one serving bowl per portion and divide 300 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice and ½ tsp ground sesame seeds into each bowl.
- Distribute the salmon flakes, salmon skin and finely chopped green onions evenly on top of each portion of rice.
- Pour the dashi tea just before serving and sprinkle with kizami nori (shredded nori) and a small blob of wasabi paste (optional).
- Enjoy!
It was delicious and so easy to make. It tastes just like the delicious homemade ochazuke I had at a restaurant in Japan. Thank you!
Hi Tran,
Thank you for the lovely comment and sharing your experience! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Yuto
Growing up, my family had Ochazuke often as we ate rice with every meal, even if we made potatoes for roasts(rice and gravy delicious). Homemade pizza, we ate with rice; can you imagine my shock when I got older and went to my first pizzeria and ordered a side of rice and they looked at me with shock and told me no pizzeria served rice with pizza Haha. I just wanted to share that for lunch my Dear Beloved Japanese Dad loved having his Ochazuke with grilled hotdogs, I smile and softly giggle when I think about that; I miss him Dearly! Thank You reminding me of that Wonderful memory! Now I have to go make some rice and I have a beautiful piece of Halibut to cook. Thank You So Very Much Yuto Omurasan
Hi Canako,
Thank you for your comment! What a beautiful memory—thank you so much for sharing it with me. I’m honored this reminded you of your good memories. Wishing you a cozy lunch with that halibut and rice! 🙂
Yuto