Just Hungry

I just discovered your writing about food site. Exquisite. I agree with your comment on Julia Child's The Way To Cook book.

As a person with little technical knowledge (so far) about how to creatively design a blog, your site makes me want to learn. Please come visit my piney woods northwest Florida site when you have a moment.

Sincerely,

Beth W.

Dear Maki,

Please excuse me. Maggie's paw hit the enter button when and resent my post. She was trying to get a bite of my dark chocolate. She's a chocolate lab and doesn't buy my insistence that chocolate is not a healthful food choice for dogs.

Zelnox:
It's up to you, I tried it the other day and since I like brown rice very much, it was still good.

Thank you so much for your lovely and delicious blog. I enjoy reading about food, especially what my grandmother called furrin food. (She didn't hold with it.)

i love ochazuke!! when i am sick, it is still the only food that makes me feel better. and when i have had a 'not so good day' it makes me feel like my obaasan is hugging me. i grew up calling it cha-cha rice. i never knew you could make it from scratch - i am also accustomed to the the little ready-made packets. i have tried to entice my kids w/ hello kitty and pokemon - i think it needs to be prepared with more love and less marketing.

ah~ Konnichiwa!
Ochazuke is very yummi! one of mai favorites wen it's realli cold and ur just lazy to make sumthing..maybe onigiri is better but..oh well..'x'
have funn~
ah matte...hm...noo..jaa ne!
miyu-chan

Hmmm, this went wrong for me, perhaps I did the rice wrong tough I couldn't find a pan with a tight fitting lid and the bottom of the pan hyad rice burnt on, it was strange cause the rice stuck together until the tea went on it, did I perhaps make my tea too hot?

i quote the recipe "Put the rice in a bowl, Put on the toppings, and add a bit of salt to taste. Pour over hot green tea.", LOL

Maki San,
O hajime mashite.
I learned about O chazuke in Yokohama in the late 60s. I was teaching English in a Japanese school. After enjoying most everything available, O Den, Katsu don, nigiri and such, I was introduced to O Chazuke. I loved it, especially with smoked Salmon, nori, and white pepper. Genmai cha was my favorite tea. I, unlike some of the other posters, was not aware the packets even existed. I'll give it a try. I might add for other Gai jin, short grain rice is the way to go for asian food.

Hi,

I've been eating Ochazuke ever since I was a child (out of those aforementioned black, red, green and yellow packets), with Japanese rice. It's good to see your blog on it. I like it best with Ame, so if you haven't tried it that way - I advise you do so.

the picture looks so appetizing… but i feel a bit cynical. adding salty stuff to tea makes me squirm

You said that Gunpowder wasn't suitable for ochazuke. Why? It's a Chinese leaf green tea, and (if I remember correctly) tastes quite similar to Japanese varieties. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_tea .)

this is one of my favorite dishes. i first discovered it at a natural foods tea house in sebastopol, ca. since then i have it a few times a week. it is also a great dish at small dinner parties and gatherings. my favorite variation is as follows;

quinoa (red or white)
thinly julliened carrots
thinly juilliened daikon radish
sliced spring onion
sprouts
hijiki seaweed
sometimes a bit of diced tofu

white miso paste
umeboshi plum paste
wasabi powder
dash of cayene
sesame oil

hoijicha tea.

the greatest thing about it is it is fun and easy to prep ingredients, set on the table and let folks create their own experience. i have a friend who does it with avacado.