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  • 2 days ago
Salmon ochazuke is a comforting Japanese rice bowl recipe that combines warm rice, savory salmon, and light tea or dashi broth for a simple soothing meal. The salmon is usually grilled, baked, or pan cooked until flaky, then placed over steamed rice with toppings such as nori, sesame seeds, green onion, shiso, wasabi, arare rice crackers, or pickled plum. Hot green tea, hojicha, genmaicha, or dashi is poured over the rice so the grains soften slightly and absorb a clean savory flavor. The salmon adds richness while the broth keeps the bowl light, warm, and easy to eat. A little soy sauce, salt, or mentsuyu can deepen the umami without making the dish heavy. The final ochazuke is gentle, satisfying, and perfect for breakfast, lunch, late night meals, leftovers, or a calm Japanese-style dinner.
Transcript
00:00This dish has been saving tired Japanese workers for centuries. Hot dashi tea pulls over fluffy
00:05rice, releasing that soothing steam that makes everything hungry. That's my 20-minute Samo
00:11no Chazuke coming to life. For a printable version of this recipe, visit my website,
00:16just google Samo no Chazuke space that you'd find me.
00:20First things first, pat your salmon fillets dry with paper towels. I use about 200g, so
00:252 or 3 fillets depending on the size. In Japan, we sometimes use salt-cured or leftover salt-grilled
00:32salmon. If you do use these, you can skip the salting steps.
00:37Now, generously season both sides with a light layer of salt.
00:41The salt pulls out surface moisture, which is where most of those facial doors hide.
00:50Cover these fillets and let them rest for about 20 minutes. If your kitchen is
00:55particularly warm, 10 minutes is fine, or you can put them in the fridge.
01:00Around 5 minutes before your timer goes off, turn on your grill and set it to medium-high.
01:05When your salmon is done resting, use paper towels to dry it once more.
01:15Then drizzle about 1 teaspoon of sake over the salmon. This sake does two things.
01:21It gets rid of any odors further and makes the fish more tender.
01:27Now put your salmon on the grill with the skin side facing the heat sauce.
01:31Let it cook until the skin is blistered and crispy. Then flip the fillets over and cook them until
01:38they're done. If you don't have a grill or broiler at home, you can cook the salted salmon in a
01:43frying pan
01:44instead. How do you know when it's perfectly cooked? Look for the change in colour. When the translucent deep
01:50pink colour changes to a light opaque pink and you see little dots of white protein on the surface,
01:57your salmon is about done. When your salmon is cooked, carefully remove the crispy skin,
02:05but don't throw it away. Slice it into thin strips and set it aside. This will add wonderful
02:10texture contrast to our final dish. Now for the salmon flesh, wait until it's warm but not too hot,
02:21then gently break it into bite-sized pieces. Take your time and look carefully for any small bones.
02:29If you find any, use chopsticks or tweezers to pick them out.
02:36Let's move on to creating our dashi tea, which is really the soul of this dish. Traditionally,
02:42Ocheazuke is made with either green tea or dashi, but I like to get the best of both worlds.
02:47Heat 300ml of dashi stock to about 80 degrees Celsius, which is 175-180 degrees Fahrenheit.
02:58Then add the green tea bag and let it steep for 1-2 minutes.
03:14Remove the tea bag and mix in 2 teaspoons of soy sauce for more flavour and saltiness.
03:26Now it's time to put together our Ocheazuke bowls. Divide your cooked Japanese sugar and rice into
03:32bowls. For those wondering, about 150g of cooked rice per bowl is perfect.
03:39Sprinkle the top with ground sesame seeds for a nutty aroma. Then arrange your salmon flakes
03:45and those precious crispy skin pieces on top of the rice. Add a generous sprinkle of finely chopped green onions.
04:02Oil dashi tea mixture over the rice, letting it reach about halfway up the rice.
04:07Top with some shredded nori. If you like me and enjoy a bit of heat, add some wasabi paste.
04:17This dish is best enjoyed immediately while the rice still has some texture and the tea is hot.
04:23If you wait too long, the rice will keep soaking up liquid and turn moshy. And nobody wants that.
04:29And there you have it, salmon uchazuke. The ultimate Japanese comfort food that's perfect for those
04:34nights when you need something soothing yet satisfying. Want even more delicious recipes?
04:40Please grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
04:44Ok, let's go over the ingredients one more time. And if you're ready to cook, grab the written
04:49instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up on your screen.
04:55Here we go, the link to the full recipe is on the screen for you now. And if you want
04:58to watch more
04:59similar videos, don't miss my rice playlist popping up on your screen as well. Thanks so much for watching,
05:03and I hope to see you in the next one. Bye.
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