Ochazuke with Murchie's Genmaicha

J A - June 13, 2024


Author: Layla Osberg
A simple and cozy dish to enjoy with Dad on Father's Day

A box of Murchie’s tea has inspired us to make many meals, including this latest one, Ochazuke. A one-bowl dish of steamed rice and savoury toppings in a broth of green tea that we think would hit the spot for you and dad to enjoy together on Father’s Day. It’s a simple and soothing Japanese recipe, one that utilises Murchie’s Genmaicha and ingredients that you may already have on hand, or are easily found - and is a good one to have up your sleeve for companionable slurping.

The “genmai” of Genmaicha is brown rice in Japanese and “cha” means tea, so the literal meaning is brown rice tea. Genmaicha is a blend of Sencha leaves with toasted brown rice, which gives it its nutty and slightly sweet flavour, perfect for Ochazuke, which means submerged in tea.

Ochazuke is the kind of homemade food that feels like a warm hug. The humble ingredients and simple preparation are not suited for serving guests at a dinner party, but they make for a great comfort food to share in the familiarity of home with a loved-one: Dad. Gift him his own box of Murchie’s Genmaicha so he can prepare it whenever he wants! It’s perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a late night snack.

Ochazuke with Murchie’s Genmaicha

A simple and cozy dish to eat with Dad on Father’s Day

INGREDIENTS - Serves 2. Ingredient substitutions or additions are common for this dish (try with Japanese pickle!).

  • 2 fillets of baked salmon, flaked (can be leftover salmon or canned salmon in water)
  • 2 cups of cooked Japanese short-grain rice
  • 2 tsps of shredded dried nori seaweed
  • 2 tsps of toasted sesame seeds
  • Finely chopped parsley or green onion, as garnish
  • 4 Murchie’s Genmaicha tea bags or 4 teaspoons of loose tea
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1 tsp soy sauce

METHOD

  1. Flake the cooked salmon with a fork and set aside. You can use leftover salmon or canned salmon in water. Add salt to the flaked salmon, if needed.  If you’re baking the salmon for this dish, bake generously salted salmon fillets for 20-25 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Remove the skin and flake with a fork. Marinating the fillets in sake before salting is traditional.
  2. Gather the toppings, like salmon, nori, sesame seeds, parsley, green onion and soy sauce.
  3. Place 4 tea bags or loose tea into a pot or tea pot and steep in 2 cups of boiled water for 3 minutes. 
  4. To serve, scoop 1 cup of rice in each bowl and add the salmon, nori and sesame seeds. Pour the tea into the bowl to cover the rice halfway to the top. Garnish with parsley, or green onion and soy sauce.

Also try this recipe with cold, leftover rice and iced Genmaicha on a hot day.

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