Genmaicha Ochazuke: Japanese Rice With Tea

Have rice and Japanese tea, and want a warm bowl rather than a cup? This ochazuke pours tea over rice just before eating: it's the savory bowl among our Japanese tea recipes. Here, 2.6 oz (75 g) uncooked rice meets about 1 tsp (2 g) powdered genmaicha, green tea blended with roasted rice. Allow 37 minutes for one serving.

• Preparation 10 minutes
• Cooking 17 minutes
• Resting 10 minutes
• Total time 37 minutes
• Makes 1 bowl
• Tools a sieve, a small saucepan with a lid, a strainer, a kettle, a small bowl, a spoon, a knife, and a serving bowl

The roasted rice in genmaicha goes with nori and sesame. The powder stays in the broth; you don't steep it and remove it afterward. Kura-ge sells Genmaicha Présent in this form. Leaves would call for a different method.

Genmaicha ochazuke ingredients

• 2.6 oz (75 g) uncooked Japanese short-grain rice
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water for cooking the rice
• About 1 tsp (2 g) powdered genmaicha for the broth
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) water at about 176°F (80°C) for the broth
• 1 tsp (5 ml) soy sauce
• a sheet of nori (2 g)
• About 1 3/4 tsp (5 g) toasted sesame seeds
• 0.53 oz (15 g) scallion

How to prepare the rice and broth

1. Rinse 2.6 oz (75 g) Japanese rice in a strainer under cold water.
2. Put the rice and 1/2 cup (120 ml) water in a small saucepan.
3. Cover the pan.
4. Bring to a boil for about 2 minutes.
5. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting.
6. Cook the rice for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
7. Turn off the heat.
8. Let the rice rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
9. Sift about 1 tsp (2 g) powdered genmaicha into a small bowl.
10. Pour 4 tsp (20 ml) taken from the 3/4 cup (180 ml) water at about 176°F (80°C) over the powder.
11. Work the powder with a spoon until it forms a smooth paste.
12. Add the remaining about 2/3 cup (160 ml) hot water.
13. Stir to distribute the genmaicha through the broth.
14. Slice 0.53 oz (15 g) scallion into thin rounds.
15. Put the cooked rice in a serving bowl.
16. Pour 1 tsp (5 ml) soy sauce over the rice.
17. Crumble the nori sheet (2 g) over it.
18. Scatter about 1 3/4 tsp (5 g) toasted sesame seeds on top.
19. Add the scallion rounds.
20. Pour the warm genmaicha broth around the rice just before eating.

Keep the broth separate until serving. Poured too early, it softens the rice and nori. If your rice needs more than the stated 15 minutes, wait until it's actually cooked before adding the tea.

Ochazuke with sencha or matcha: what changes?

For sencha, a steamed Japanese green tea brewed from leaves, steep about 1 1/4 tsp (3 g) leaves in 3/4 cup (180 ml) water at 167°F (75°C) for 2 minutes, then strain over the same rice. For matcha, replace the genmaicha with about 1 tsp (2 g) powder: make a paste before adding the full 3/4 cup (180 ml) water. The rice cooking time doesn't change.

Which tea belongs in the broth?

We choose Genmaicha Présent for this broth without steeping: its powder stays in the bowl. For a clear, strained infusion, choose sencha leaves instead.

What if you'd rather drink the tea?

Genmaicha can stay in a cup too; here, it's poured over rice with nori and sesame.

Our tip. Pour the tea down the side of the bowl. A few nori pieces will stay dry and contrast with the warm rice.

Allergens. Soy and wheat in the soy sauce; sesame in the topping.