Natto Gohan Ochazuke {cha-cha gohan natto}

O-cha, means tea in Japanese, and it is the hidden star of this recipe. This is why the name for natto ochazuke, or natto chazuke, is also called cha-cha gohan natto (natto with tea and rice).

One of the tastiest leftover dishes of Japanese cuisine

In almost every culture and cuisine, there are very popular dishes whose origin comes from making a meal using leftovers. For example, in France you have pain perdu, which is litterally “wasted bread”. In Italy, you have the minestrone soup, made of vegetables left in the fridge with some added pastas, to make a brand new dish as if we bought these ingredients to make it. But in fact, people did the other way around: they looked at what they had left, and cooked something delicious with it. Natto chazuke is one of these recipes for the Japanese cuisine. It is often made with cold rice, natto available, and a hot tea poured on top to revive these ingredients, in the most basic version.

Natto gohan ochazuke can be served cold, in the original tradition and custom. However, if you are making this recipe from scratch as I did today, the rice can be freshly cooked and therefore, be served at hot temperature. The tea of choice for natto ochazuke is usually a variety of green tea. For this particular dish I decided to use jasmine green tea to add extra flavor, which added a tad of sweetness to the overall taste.

I initially thought of cooking brown rice, but speaking with Layla, she mentioned having sushi rice, so it was the occasion to make sushi rice for this dish and for other uses for the family in the next meals. The nice thing is, there will be rice leftover, so we will then think “what can we do with this rice?”. Leftover dishes sow the seeds for new leftover meals, and it’s a good thing. When at least part of the dish is already cooked and in the fridge, the rest becomes easier.

Vegetables and spices for natto gohan ochazuke

I added a couple of vegetables to this natto ochazuke recipe. The base preparation of rice, natto and tea is fine, but this was a main lunch, so I wanted additional flavors, some wholesome fats from the avocado and its micronutrients. The same line of thinking applied to the diced tomato and the cilantro. They added colors as well. I topped the dish with my friend Motoko’s spicy wasabi and soy sauce, and as a French cook I could not resist sprinkling a little bit of olive oil, which are the small bubbles on top of the tea. The resulting flavor was tasty, spicy, and all ingredients used qualify this natto gohan ochazuke as vegan!

Motoko’s spicy wasabi soy sauce recipe, ideal sauce to add to natto ochazuke

Enjoy the cha-cha gohan natto recipe!