Saba Ochazuke
This saba ochazuke (mackerel fish Japanese tea rice) was made with cooked marinated saba fish from the supermarket as a short-cut, so the total recipe time is less than 15 minutes. My family member who is recuperating from a minor day procedure at the hospital requested to eat ochazuke for 3 days (lol). It’s a great choice since ochazuke (お茶漬け/Japanese tea rice) is known to be easy to digest, improve one’s appetite, and particularly good for people who are sick or in recuperation. It’s also good for me because it is so fast & easy to make :P
See Also:
This ochazuke consists of white rice (simple carbs is more suitable during a period of recuperation), chunks of de-boned cooked fish meat, ikura and ochazuke toppings (soup granules, rice cracker & seaweed). And a hot pot of freshly brewed tea, of course.
INGREDIENTS
SHORT-CUT 1: COOKED MARINATED SABA FISH
I bought this cooked marinated saba fish pouch from Kuriya supermarket. It was on sale at 3 pouches for $10. It was really convenient because I just had to remove the fish from the pouch and it was ready to eat. I removed the bones and then broke the saba fish meat to small chunks. What a great and inexpensive short-cut for a lazy cook :P
If you can’t find this, you can use frozen saba fish fillet from the supermarket and either pan-fry or bake it in the oven. Saba fish is a delicious and affordable fish, so I liked it very much.
SHORT-CUT 2: INSTANT OCHAZUKE MIX
I tried a new brand of ochazuke mix this time. I bought this packet from Daiso SG. Unlike the previous ochazuke mix which is individually packed, you scoop the amount you need from the bag, so this is great if you love to adjust the soup to taste, or are making an odd-sized bowl. The rice cracker is the longish type. The ‘soup base’ granules also contained some green tea powder, so if you don’t have tea, just add hot water.
STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS (SABA OCHAZUKE)
Prepare the ingredients. Debone and fillet the saba fish, prepare the rice, pit & dice the umeboshi , prepare toppings (ikura & scallions) & get ready the ochazuke mix.
Add cooked rice to the bowl. Top the rice with the ochazuke mix. I added the soup granules & crackers first. (I added the seaweed last as I didn’t want them to wither since I was taking photos).
Add the saba fish chunks, ikura (if using) & umeboshi. Add tea leaves into the teapot.
Add boiling water to the tea pot and let the tea brew for 1-2 minutes. (I added the seaweed and spring onions here).
Pour hot tea into the rice bowl.
Stir with a spoon to dissolve the granules and it is done! Enjoy immediately while it is hot & soupy!
Saba Ochazuke (Japanese Tea Rice)
This recipe uses an ochazuke instant premix pack as a shortcut. You can also easily make the ochazuke mix yourself – recipe in the cooking note below.
This is another brand of ochazuke premix that is individually packed.
Ingredients:
- 1 pouch cooked marinated saba fish (or pre-cooked)
- 80g cooked Japanese rice
- 1 tbsp ochazuke premix see cooking note 1 to make your own
- 1 umeboshi (dried pickled plum) pitted & diced
- 1 tbsp ikura optional
- 1 tbsp spring onions or Japanese scallion (negi) thinly sliced
- 1 tsp Japanese tea leaves (such as hojicha)
Directions:
- Prepare the saba fish. Remove the bones from the saba fish and break the fish meat to bite-sized chunks. You need 50g fish meat for each bowl of ochazuke.
- Prepare the bowl. In a rice bowl, add the cooked rice. Sprinkle the ochazuke mix sachet evenly over the rice. Then top with saba fish chunks, umeboshi, ikura and scallions.
- Make the tea. Add tea leaves into the filter sieve of the tea pot. Pour boiling water into the tea pot and let it brew for 1 minute.
- To serve, pour 150ml freshly brewed hot tea over the rice. Stir gently to dissolve the granules and serve immediately.
Cooking Note(s)
- If you don’t have instant ochazuke mix, you can make your own ochazuke mix: 1/2 tbsp shredded seaweed, 1/2 tsp dashi granules & 1 tsp tiny rice cracker (bubu arare, which can be purchased from Japanese supermarkets).
- Eat this immediately, otherwise the rice will soak up all the broth in no time.