Last month felt as painful as giving birth to a baby sumo wrestler. No, I’m not pregnant, but for the amount of pelvic pain I had to endure, I could’ve busted a baby out. During one week in September, I felt like a baby Sumo was side-kicking me from inside my belly. During the last week of September, my interior design team called a taxi to take me to the nearest hospital.
Over the past few months, I’ve struggled in communicating with various Japanese doctors; I’ve had plenty of “Sorewa nandesuka? What is that? Ow, F-!” moments. The pain I feared most was being alone, completely covered in curtains, with unknown objects being inserted into places of pain in me I can’t see… by people I can’t understand. Yet I’ve learned over the years that the time of being in excruciating pain is the ultimate worst time to be afraid and frustrated. That is the crucial time to be strong and patient. Thanks to this old Japanese doctor with her magic drugs and support from my design team and you friends, I’ve slowly and surely recovered.
My previous coworker, Japanese brother Senda-san shipped to me this gorgeous chazutsu (tea container) and dashi (Japanese soup base) packet from Tsukishima. I decided to stay at home and stir Senda-san’s dashi broth in a 1:1 ratio with my genmaicha (green tea with roasted rice). And now, I’ve used this soothing broth to make something more flavorful and comforting for my belly and your belly. It’s called ochazuke.
Although this is a traditional get-well soon/cold-weather dish, anyone at anytime can benefit from ochazuke お茶漬け. The dish’s name consists of two words: Ocha (お茶) meaning tea, and zuke (漬け) meaning submerge…. Ochazuke is the healthy and delicate Japanese comfort meal that consists of green tea and dashi broth being poured on rice.
There are so many variations of this classic and the toppings are limitless. These ingredients can also be found in your local Japanese supermarket. Since I’m a devout fan of precise measuring, stacking objects, and consuming sake-ikura (salmon caviar) I’ve created this recipe to help heal and comfort our bellies.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Short grain rice
- Furikake
- 200g Salmon filet with skin on
- Lemon salt (or kosher salt)
- 2 cups Komatsuna (or other dark leafy vegetable)
- Dashi broth packet
- 1 cup Genmaicha or hojicha (types of green tea)
- 1 Strip of nori (seaweed)
- Sake-ikura (salmon caviar)
Directions
Teapot and dinnerware from 4th market, kitchen towel from Lino e Lina, and wooden spoons delicately hand-crafted by and given from Tim Roberts.
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