What is "chazuke"

Chazuke (茶漬け, ちゃづけ) or ochazuke (お茶漬け, from ( o)cha ' tea' + tsuke 'submerge') is a simple Japanese dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice, roughly in the same proportion as milk over cereal, usually with savoury toppings.

Common toppings include Japanese pickles ( tsukemono), umeboshi, nori (seaweed), furikake, sesame seeds, tarako and mentaiko (salted and marinated pollock roe), salted salmon, shiokara (pickled seafood), scallions and wasabi.

Chazuke provides a good way to use leftover rice as a quick snack because this dish is easy to make. It is also known as cha-cha gohan.

This dish first became popular in the Heian period, when water was most commonly poured over rice, but beginning in the Edo period, tea was often used instead.

In Kyoto, ochazuke is known as bubuzuke. When a Kyoto native asks if a guest wants to eat bubuzuke, it may really mean that the person has overstayed and is being politely asked to leave.

Since the 1970s packaged "instant ochazuke," consisting of freeze-dried toppings and seasonings, have become popular.

with umeboshi and chicken fillet by jetalone.jpg|Chazuke with umeboshi and chicken filet with umeboshi and chicken fillet, closeup by jetalone.jpg|Close-up of the same dish