Matcha Ochazuke Hot Dog Rice #SundaySupper
Adventures abroad are eye opening and exciting. Even if the desire to travel burns in your bones, don’t you appreciate a taste of home once in a while? Green tea ochazuke rice is what many Japanese turn to when missing home. Matcha ochazuke is the au courant rice bowl. The meal is simple. Thanks to the millions of Chinese restaurants around the world, Japanese travelers can easily make matcha ochazuke rice. All that is required is a bowl of sticky white Japanese (short-grain) rice, green tea or matcha and a packet of ochazuke.
What’s in an ochazuke packet? Seasoning tossed with dried seaweed and small rice crackers. The Japanese characters for ochazuke read as “steeped in green tea.” But refers to rice soaked in green tea and sprinkled with seasonings, seaweed and small rice crackers plus pickles.
Matcha ochazuke rice is a simple but splendid feast for the palette. Delicate crunchy crackers accent soft rice. The slightly bitter tea balances the mildly sweet nori seaweed. Japanese pickles add a salty, savory element. Some may argue that an authentic matcha ochazuke rice bowl requires Japanese pickles. Shopping for Japanese pickles at some American markets may prove challenging. Solution: Hot dogs! That’s right.
All-American Fourth of July hot dogs. If this is your first foray into matcha ochazuke rice, why not skip the Japanese pickles and add familiar and flavorful hot dogs? After all, in America, July is National Hot Dog Month.
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