Prepare Ochazuke for a Traditional Japanese Breakfast

Ochazuke (????) literally means "soaked in tea" and is a traditional Japanese breakfast food that's somewhere between a soup and a porridge. Unlike most porridge the rice isn't cooked in a liquid. Instead, it's heated by pouring boiling water over it and then draining off the starchy water to ensure the tea stays clear when it's added.

While there are a lot of toppings that can be used such as konbu, pickled um? or pollack roe, the idea is to use something salty and flavorful, so that the tea is able to make a broth by drawing flavor from the toppings. For the tea, I like using genmai-cha (roasted brown rice green tea) because of the toasty flavor the rice imbues, but a standard sen-cha (green tea) or even hojicha (roasted tea), will work fine. It's worth noting that there are some versions of this dish that use a dashi broth instead of tea, but I've always found this a little odd since it contradicts the name of the dish.

This sake chazuke is one of the simplest and tastiest incarnations of this dish, using nothing more than some grilled salmon and some fresh herbs. The tea draws flavor from the cured fish, making a light broth that seasons the rice. If you make the salmon ahead of time and use leftover rice, it comes together in less than five minutes making it a marvelous way to start the day with an easy warm breakfast.