Cha-gayu (Roasted Tea Rice Porridge)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 25 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 10 servings
- Ingredients
- 4
About this dish
Cha-gayu is a rice porridge from the Yamato area of Nara made by simmering cooked rice and salt in strongly brewed hojicha until soft and loose.
Read more
It spread as a way for households that cooked rice in the evening to warm leftover rice for breakfast the next day. Roasted tea gives the pale broth a nutty aroma and gentle bitterness while the grains soften without disappearing completely. Steamed sweet potato or grilled dried rice cake may be added for more substance, but the basic bowl remains spare: rice, tea, and salt.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Control
Bring 1000ml water to a full boil in a wide pot.
Add 30g hojicha, simmer over low heat for 4 minutes, turn off the heat, and steep for 2 minutes more.
- 2Heat
Strain out every tea leaf and return the clear tea to the pot.
Loosen 330g cooked rice with one quick cold-water rinse and drain to remove clumps and surface starch.
- 3Control
Bring the tea back to a simmer over medium heat and add rice and 1 teaspoon salt.
Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring gently every 2 minutes so it does not stick.
- 4Step
Stop when the grains are soft and enough broth remains for the porridge to flow loosely.
Rest for 2 minutes, then ladle promptly so each bowl receives both rice and tea broth.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Clear broth from strongly brewed hojicha
- Finish cue
- Stop when the grains are soft and enough broth remains for the porridge to flow loosely.
- Avoid this
- Limit the tea simmer to 4 minutes to avoid harshness, and stir rice gently to preserve a clear, loose texture.
- Storage and reheating
- It spread as a way for households that cooked rice in the evening to warm leftover rice for breakfast the next day.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
25min, 4 ingredients
Category median
40min, 8 ingredients
Based on 309 recipes
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