Chagayu (Yamaguchi Bancha Rice Porridge)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 23 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 5 servings
- Ingredients
- 3
About this dish
Chagayu is a loose rice porridge from Yamaguchi made by simmering unwashed rice in strongly brewed bancha until the liquid turns amber and the grains lose their hard centers.
Read more
Tea is first simmered in a cloth or paper bag and removed once sufficiently dark; rice then cooks at the strongest heat that will not make the pot boil over for 17 to 18 minutes. Frequent stirring releases starch and makes the porridge sticky, so it is left largely undisturbed for a light, flowing texture. The dish reportedly spread through Yanai, Suo-Oshima, Iwakuni, and Hagi after the Iwakuni lord encouraged it to conserve rice in the early seventeenth century. It is eaten hot in winter and often chilled in summer.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Place the bancha leaves in a paper tea bag or a thin cloth pouch and close it securely.
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large, deep pot and add the tea bag.
- 2Control
Simmer the tea bag until the water becomes a deep amber color.
Lift it out and let it drip briefly without pressing it with a ladle or tearing the bag.
- 3Control
Inspect the rice for debris but do not wash it, then add it to the boiling tea.
Keep the heat as high as possible without boiling over and leave the pot uncovered for 17 to 18 minutes. Avoid frequent stirring and turn off the heat when the grains have no hard center. Divide rice and liquid evenly among five bowls.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Bancha simmers in a tea bag until the water turns deep amber.
- Finish cue
- Inspect the rice for debris but do not wash it, then add it to the boiling tea.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official food safety guidance.
This recipe
23min, 3 ingredients
Category median
38.5min, 8 ingredients
Based on 214 recipes
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