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–+ servings

Salmon Ochazuke (Japanese Tea on Rice)

Cook Time10 minutes
Resting Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 2 portions

Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • Pat the surface of 200 g salmon fillets dry with kitchen paper and rub ½ tsp salt over both sides. Cover and rest at room temperature for 20 minutes (or 5-10 in warm environments).
    salmon fillets in a steel container sprinkled with salt
  • Preheat the grill or broiler on medium-high. Pat the salmon dry once more, rub 1 tsp sake over the flesh side, then place it on a wire rack with the skin-side facing the heat source.
    salmon fillets skin-side up on a Japanese fish grill
  • Grill until the skin is golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and flip the salmon over. Grill the flesh side for 3-4 minutes or until pale and opaque.
    salmon fillets flesh-side up on a Japanese fish grill
  • Remove the salmon from the grill and peel off the skin.
    salmon fillet and skin separated on a wooden chopping board
  • Thinly slice the skin, and place the flesh in a container.
    crispy salmon skin cut into small pieces
  • Break the flesh into flakes using a spatula, checking closely for bones as you go. Remove bones with chopsticks or tweezers.
    grilled salmon broken into flakes
  • Heat 300 ml dashi stock to approximately 80 °C (176 °F) and then add 1 green tea bag. Steep for about 1-2 minutes, longer if you prefer it strong.
    green tea bag steeping in a jug of hot dashi
  • Remove the tea bag and stir in 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu).
    strongly brewed green tea in dashi
  • Divide 2 ptns cooked Japanese short-grain rice into serving bowls and sprinkle the top with ground sesame seeds.
    a bowl of rice sprinkled with ground sesame seeds
  • Heap the salmon flakes and salmon skin on top of the rice, then sprinkle with finely chopped green onions.
    rice topped with grilled salmon, green onions and crispy salmon skin
  • Pour the dashi tea over the rice just before serving and sprinkle with kizami nori (shredded nori). Add a small blob of wasabi paste if you like. Enjoy!
    salmon ochazuke made with green tea and dashi topped with nori

Notes

Pour at the table and eat straight away: The rice starts drinking the moment the liquid lands. Once the grains swell, the texture is gone and there is no way back to it. Pour into the bowls at the last second.
Brew the tea stronger than you would drink it: A bowl of rice pulls the flavor a long way back. A cup that tastes balanced on its own arrives at the table tasting of almost nothing.
The rice has to be hot: Cold rice pulls the heat straight out of the pour and leaves you with a lukewarm bowl. Warm leftover rice through properly before it goes into the bowls.
No grill or broiler: Cook the fish with the pan method in my salmon flakes recipe and spoon those over the rice instead. Everything else in the bowl stays exactly the same.