This is one of the recipes we make at least once a month, all year long. I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to actually write it up to share with you all, but sometimes you just get distracted by the new and shiny things instead of the old and reliable ones (such is life!) So here I am, with a piping hot bowl of salmon ochazuke!…What is it? Well, it’s a comforting dish that hails from Japan, and it’s essentially the easiest dinner you can possibly make. It involves putting frozen salmon fillets in a rice cooker with rice and water, then letting the rice cooker do it’s thing. As it’s steaming in there, the juicy fat from the salmon seeps into the rice and makes it very rich and flavorful, and the salmon cooks completely. Then you flake it all up with a fork when it’s done, put the salmon rice mixture in a bowl, pour some brewed green tea over it, and add flavorful toppings like soy sauce, rice vinegar, green onions, avocado, and whatever veggies you like. And voila! You have a nice hot bowl of nourishing and flavor-packed salmon ochazuke.
I know you may be concerned about putting a frozen salmon filet in a rice cooker. Will it cook completely? Will it be over cooked? The answer is that yes, it will cook completely. I have made this salmon ochazuke *dozens* of times and it’s always cooked through. That being said, I have a zojirushi brand rice cooker (not sponsored, but I have had this thing for like 13 years and it’s still going strong), and just cook it at the “normal white rice” setting, so depending on your rice cooker it’s always good to flake the salmon with a fork when it’s done cooking to make sure. If it flakes easily with a fork, it is most certainly done! As to whether or not it will be overcooked, it’s definitely cooked longer than it probably needs to be, but because it’s steamed you don’t notice a difference in taste or texture because it remains very moist. Whereas if you overcooked a salmon in a dry heat environment, like roasting in an oven, you notice the overcooking because it gets really dry.
The green tea itself acts as a broth, and then when you add the soy sauce and rice vinegar to it, it becomes this wonderfully savory, earthy, and complex flavor bomb. The green tea you use is fairly important, though. You don’t want to use a generic lipton’s green tea bag, since this will likely be a pretty bitter green tea and not great flavor-wise. Traditionally this is made with sencha green tea, which has a mild and almost floral quality to it. But I’ve also made it with a variety of different loose leaf green teas and it’s tasted really nice. The key is to use good quality tea, ideally loose leaf, since pre-bagged tea is often made from the dusty tiny bits of the tea leaves left over in the drying process, so they’re kind of over-dried and bitter. Also, in the recipe below please feel free to take liberties with the amount of soy sauce and rice vinegar, since everyone’s personal preference is different. I like mine on the salty and sour side, so I go a little heavier with the soy sauce and rice vinegar, but left it a little more mild in the recipe just to be safe!
As for the the toppings, I have included my favorites for salmon ochazuke in the recipe below, but part of what makes this recipe so wonderful it that it’s incredibly flexible. Whatever seasonal veggies you have on hand make a great topping! I personally love a little sour bite with this to cut the richness of the salmon, so I’ll just thinly slice up whatever veggie I have around, (carrots, radishes, or cucumbers are a go-to) and toss it in some rice vinegar and salt for a quick faux-pickle. The crunchy sour contrasts SO nicely with the soft rice and salmon. I also really love adding more Japanese flavors to the dish, like ripping up a sheet of nori to scatter on top. Nori is dried seaweed that’s pressed into a sheet, (it’s what sushi is wrapped in), and it has a SUPER savory salty flavor that you can’t really get anywhere else. You can find it in the Asian aisle of pretty much every major grocery store. I also like drizzling toasted sesame oil on top for a buttery toasted nutty flavor, and sprinkling some gomaiso spice blend on top. Gomaiso can be easily found in the spice or Asian aisle of the grocery store, and it’s a Japanese spice mix that has toasted sesame seeds and little pieces of seaweed all mixed together. I use it as a topping for pretty much every Asian dish we make at home (and also for popcorn!)
I really hope you give this a try, it’s one of our **favorite** dinners and I love how easy it is to put together (and it’s also pretty darn good for you, to boot!) And if you’re looking for another simple and tasty dinner in the Asian flavor realm, these drumsticks are another favorite. Have a wonderful week, dear reader, and I’ll be back with another recipe very soon 🙂
Salmon Ochazuke (Easy Rice Cooker Salmon with Green Tea and Rice)
This flavorful recipe has salmon and rice cooked together in a rice cooker, and is topped with a super savory green tea broth and lots of flavorful toppings, like fresh herbs, avocado, nori, and soft boiled egg.
Ingredients
Salmon Ochazuke
- 1 cup short grain rice brown or white, rinsed until water runs clear
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
- 12 ounces frozen salmon filets
Savory Green Tea Broth
- 3 cups brewed quality loose leaf green tea ideally sencha green tea (NOT matcha), with leaves strained out and discarded
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari can add more or less to taste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar can add more or less to taste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil can add more or less to taste
Toppings
- 6 Green onions thinly sliced
- 1 Avocado thinly sliced
- 2 soft boiled eggs cut in half (optional)
- 1 carrot thinly sliced into 2-inch pieces and tossed with a few tablespoons of rice vinegar
- 1/2 sheet Nori dried seaweed sheets, torn or cut into roughly 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons Gomaiso savory Japanese sesame seed and seaweed spice mix
- 1/2 cup Cilantro or thai basil leaves to taste
- Soy sauce or tamari to taste
Instructions
Salmon Ochazuke
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Add the water and rice to the rice cooker and nestle the salmon on top. Close and cook at the "normal" rice setting. If you are using brown rice and your rice cooker has a brown rice setting, use the brown rice setting (FYI this usually takes almost 2x as long as the white rice setting, just as a head's up). The cooking time varies for every rice cooker brand/model, but my zojirushi tends to take about 40 minutes for the "normal white" rice setting.
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Once the rice cooker is done, flake the salmon with a fork to ensure it's done. (If it flakes apart, it's done). Gently stir together the rice and flaked salmon to combine.
Savory Green Tea Broth
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In a large bowl, combine the brewed green tea, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil. Taste, and add more of the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and/ore toasted sesame oil as you'd like.
Assembly
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Evenly distribute the rice mixture between three bowls. Pour about 1 cup of the savory green tea broth over each bowl. Evenly distribute the toppings over the three bowls. Taste, and add more soy sauce, rice vinegar, or toasted sesame oil if desired. Enjoy!
