This is called Ochatuke in Japanese. It literally means to pour tea over rice, but it is so much more. The idea is that you layer the flavors you want with the tea you have and I made a video tutorial about it – there is no one recipe for it, ochazuke is working with what you have and what you know of flavors. For example, Ume Ochazuke is
1/2 cooked white rice
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed (for fragrance)
1 umeboshi (pickled plum) for sweetness/sourness/saltiness
1 tablespoon green scallion for flavor
top that bowl off with green tea and salt and you have a simple lunch done in just a couple of minutes.
Another version is
1/2 cup brown rice cooked with mushroom stock
1/4 -1/2 cup slice shiitake mushrooms (whatever cooked mushrooms will work)
a pinch of wasabi for bite
a crumble of rice cracker for texture and salt
top that bowl off with green tea or hojicha (roasted green tea) and you’re off.
The idea in making the video and posting about it here is to make people re-think what soup is and what they can do with tea and leftovers.
Ochazuke is under appreciated outside Japan. It’s quick, flexible, and healthy.
Usually I make this when I want to cook some quick lunch with some leftover rice, a stronger taste tea like sobacha or strongly brewed green tea is more suitable than a subtle green tea.
Once I had it in shop, they included some tuna sashimi in the bowl.
Husband doesn’t like it at all. He found it blend.
As for umeboshi, they’re everywhere here (in Japan) so I’ve never had to make them. I’ve seen them made on TV and it’s more time than difficulty – you could do if you can find the plums.
The “tastes” vary from very sweet to salty to bitter. I like 'em between sweet and salty, myself.