i. Gently wash your cold leftover rice in cool water to remove any gummy starch.

ii. Then drain thoroughly before transferring to your serving bowl.

i. Arrange all your toppings over the clean rice: umeboshi plum, instant dashi granules, katsuobushi (bonito flakes), shredded nori seaweed, finely shredded shiso leaf, salt, sesame seeds, wasabi, and a sprinkle of tenkasu (crispy tempura bits).

ii. Don’t worry about perfect placement! Ochazuke is meant to be rustic and personal.

i. Pour chilled green tea directly over the arranged toppings and watch as the flavors begin to meld.

ii. For extra refreshment on sweltering days, add a couple of ice cubes, but remember that too much ice will dilute the overall flavor.

i. Add your shiso leaves, olive oil, roasted cashews, pine nuts, garlic (core removed), salt, white miso paste, grated Parmesan cheese, black pepper, white sesame seeds, and anchovy paste to your food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a chunky paste, then process continuously for about 30 seconds until you achieve a smooth, vibrant green sauce.

i. When the marinating time is almost finished, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add salt until it tastes like mild seawater (about 1% salt by weight). Add your pasta and cook for about 1 minute longer than the package directions suggest.

While the pasta bubbles away, prepare a large bowl of ice water and set a colander nearby. You want everything ready before that timer goes off.

ii. The moment your pasta finishes cooking, drain it quickly in your prepared colander, then immediately plunge it into the ice water bath. Swish the noodles around for about 30 seconds until they feel completely cool to the touch.

i. Transfer your well-drained pasta to a large mixing bowl.

ii. Add the shiso pesto, tossing gently but thoroughly until every strand glistens with that beautiful green coating.

iii. Divide between your chilled serving bowls and spoon the marinated tomatoes generously over the top, letting some of that bright marinade pool around the edges.

iv. Finish with a drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil.

v. If you want some meaty topping, I recommend using dry cured ham to keep the dish refreshing!

vi: A stunning plate of emerald-green pasta crowned with jewel-bright tomatoes, ready to impress your dinner guests or treat yourself to something special on a summer night.

Fill a medium saucepan with enough water to cover the abura-age and bring it to a rolling boil. Add salt and gently slide the aburaage into the water.

Place a drop lid (otoshibuta) or foil directly on top of the tofu pouches to keep them submerged, then blanch for exactly 3 minutes.

Lift the abura-age from the hot water and immediately rinse under cold running water until cool to the touch.

Gently squeeze each piece between your palms to press out excess moisture. You’ll feel the pouches deflate slightly as trapped water escapes.

Be firm but not aggressive here. You want to remove water without tearing the delicate tofu skin.

In a clean saucepan, combine the dashi stock, sugar, sake, and mirin. Stir everything together over medium heat, watching for the sugar crystals to completely dissolve.

Once the sugar disappears, pour in the light soy sauce and give it one final stir.

Heat your seasoning mixture until it just begins to bubble around the edges, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Add the prepared abura-age pieces and cover with a drop lid to keep them submerged in the liquid.

Let them simmer with drop lid on for 15 minutes, or until the cooking liquid reduces by about two-thirds.

Transfer the seasoned aburaage to a storage container along with any remaining cooking liquid, then let them cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours with either plastic wrap or paper towel for even marination.

Then, put the lid on.

Pour the dashi stock, light soy sauce, mirin, and light brown sugar into a medium saucepan and whisk until the sugar dissolves completely. Bring the mixture to a medium-heat boil and let it bubble for exactly 1 minute. This brief boil burns off the alcohol in the mirin while preserving its subtle sweetness.

Turn off the heat immediately and drop in several ice cubes to crash-cool the broth. This quick-chill method halts the cooking process while giving you perfectly balanced, ready-to-serve soup in minutes.

Boil the noodles according to the package, drain, and rinse under cold water until they feel springy and cool to the touch.

Toss them with a few ice cubes right in the colander for extra chill.

Divide the chilled soba noodles between two serving bowls and pour the cold dashi broth around them. Arrange your toppings in colorful sections:

• Julienned cucumber
• Thin slices of kamaboko fish cake
• Halved soft-boiled eggs
• Perfectly seasoned kitsune aburaage

Finish with a generous sprinkle of chopped green onions and a light dusting of shichimi togarashi for some gentle heat.

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Start by dicing your tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Sprinkle them generously with salt. Let them rest in a bowl or lounge in a colander for about 10 minutes, just enough for their juices to drip and flavors to concentrate.

Meanwhile, thinly slice cucumbers (aim for 2mm thickness).

Then, give them their own salt rub. Massage gently, then set aside to sweat out excess water.

While we wait, combine the sliced shiso, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, toasted sesame oil, and ground sesame seeds in a small food processor.

Pulse until the mixture forms a smooth, emerald-green dressing with tiny flecks of shiso throughout.

The toasted sesame oil adds a rich, nutty depth that balances the bright acidity of the rice vinegar.

After 10 minutes, you’ll see pools of liquid around your salted vegetables. Discard all the liquid that has accumulated. For the cucumbers, take this step further: gather them in a clean kitchen towel and gently squeeze to remove every last bit of moisture.

Combine the prepared tomatoes and cucumbers with any additional fresh summer vegetables (I used sweet corn kernels, edamame, and shredded shiso leaves) in a serving bowl.

Just before serving, drizzle the shiso-sesame dressing over the vegetables and toss gently to coat.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Start by removing the pits from the umeboshi (pickled plums) and finely chopping the flesh with a knife until it forms a smooth paste. If you can’t find whole umeboshi, store-bought ume paste is a convenient alternative and works well for this recipe.

Look for it in the Japanese section of Asian grocery stores, or you can find it online. The homemade paste from whole umeboshi tends to have a more complex, nuanced flavor.

In a mixing bowl, combine the paste with toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, miso, rice vinegar, and honey. Whisk everything together until smooth and well-incorporated.

Refrigerate the dressing until you’re ready to use it.

Cut the cucumber diagonally into thin slices. The increased surface area makes it easier to julienne.

Then stack and cut them into fine matchsticks.

Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, toss, and let sit for about 10 minutes to draw out excess moisture.

Remove the tough white tendon (also called the sinew) from each chicken tender. Make shallow cuts along both sides of the sinew, cutting about halfway through the length of the tenderloin. This creates access points that make removal much easier.

Flip the tenderloin so the sinew faces down against your cutting board. Hold the sinew firmly with your non-dominant hand. If it’s slippery, grip it through a paper towel for better control. Now use the back (spine) of your knife, not the blade.

Place the spine of the knife against the sinew and scrape it along the cutting board while maintaining downward pressure. Move the knife in quick up-and-down motions as you work from left to right.

This motion prevents the meat from tearing and ensures clean separation.

If you find the sinew removal challenging, don’t worry. You can remove it after cooking when the meat is easier to handle. Simply shred the cooked chicken by hand and pick out any tough pieces you encounter.

First, use a knife to carefully shave around the cap (the area around the stem), removing the tough outer layer while being careful not to cut into the seed cavity.

Then, trim off the tough stem end of each okra pod.

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and add salt. This helps the okra retain its vibrant green color during cooking. Add the okra and blanch for exactly 2 minutes.

Blanching serves multiple purposes: it brightens the color, improves the mouthfeel, and reduces the natural mucilage that can make okra unpleasantly slimy. The brief cooking time also helps the okra absorb flavors better while maintaining its distinctive texture.

Immediately transfer the blanched okra to an ice bath.

Return the pot to a boil, then turn off the heat and add a splash of sake. Immediately add the chicken tenderloins.

Cover with a lid, and let them poach gently in the residual heat for 7 minutes.

After 7 minutes, transfer the chicken directly to the ice bath alongside the okra.

Squeeze the salted cucumbers thoroughly to remove excess moisture. This step is important to avoid a watery final dish.

Slice the blanched okra, then shred the poached chicken by hand. Combine the cucumber, okra, chicken, and shiso leaves in a bowl, and toss well with the chilled dressing.

Transfer to your serving plates and finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, freshly cracked black pepper, and delicate sprouts for color and a mild peppery bite.

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Place the edamame in a bowl and generously sprinkle coarse salt over them.

Using both hands, vigorously rub the salt into the pods. This “salt massage” serves a purpose far beyond simple seasoning.

It removes the fine fuzz (trichomes) from the pod surface, creating a smoother texture. If this fuzz remains, it creates an unpleasant, grainy texture that detracts from the overall experience.

If you have a minute to spare, I really recommend using kitchen scissors to cut about 1-2 mm off both ends of each pod. These small cuts allow the flavor to penetrate the beans more deeply. Don’t worry about cutting the beans inside; the pods are sturdy enough to protect them.

Bring a pot of water to a full, rolling boil before adding salt (aim for a salt concentration of about 4%). This concentration is the “sweet spot” for enhancing the beans’ natural sugars without drawing out too much moisture.

Add the edamame all at once a long with the salt used for rubbing. Turn the heat back up to high, then reduce it slightly so the water stays at a vigorous boil without spilling over.

Cook for 3-5 minutes, tasting one pod around the 3-minute mark. You should feel slight resistance when you bite into it. Then, let the residual heat finish cooking it off the stove.

For large pods with firm texture, aim for about 5 minutes, for or smaller pods or softer texture, 3+ minutes works well.

Overcooking is the enemy because it creates mushy, waterlogged beans. Stir the beans occasionally during cooking to ensure even heat distribution.

Immediately drain the cooked edamame through a colander, removing as much cooking water as possible. It is critical that you never rinse them with cold water or use an ice bath. These methods will wash away the salt and umami that were carefully built up, leaving you with watery, bland beans.

Instead, spread the drained edamame on the colander and use a fan to cool them quickly. This quick cooling prevents overcooking from residual heat while preserving their vibrant green color.

Even if serving warm, a quick 10-20 second fan session helps set the color. Taste and adjust seasoning with a pinch of coarse salt if needed.

Keep in mind that edamame can sometimes taste a bit bland when it’s hot, but it gets really tasty as it cools, so don’t go overboard with the salt from the beginning.

The umami and saltiness of the seawater-like flavor that fills the inside pods is simply irresistible.

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Start by thinly trimming the bottom of the bok choy stem, then make a crosswise incision. This helps the vegetables cook evenly, reduces blanching time and makes it easier to separate the leaves from the core later.

Bring water to just before boiling, and add salt. The ideal temperature is just below the boiling point. This heat can preserve the bok choy’s texture and vibrant color while still softening the fibers.

First, immerse only the thicker stems for 30 seconds, as they’re denser and require a little more cooking time. Then add submerge the rest of the tender leaves and continue blanching for an additional 15 seconds. This two-stage blanching method makes sure the texture is perfect all the way through-crisp stems without overcooked leaves.

Then, put the blanched bok choy in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. This “shocking” technique keeps the bright green color.

After cooling completely, gently squeeze the bok choy to remove excess water. Excess moisture will dilute the flavorful dressing and potentially make your final dish watery.

While the bok choy cools, gently rinse the enoki mushrooms under cold running water to remove any growing medium residue.

Trim away the tough base of the enoki cluster, then separate the delicate strands.

For the umeboshi plums, remove the pits and finely chop them until you have a paste-like consistency.

Once the bok choy has cooled enough to handle, squeeze it well and pat dry with paper towels. Excess moisture is the enemy here!

Starting from the base we cut earlier, peel the leaves apart by hand, then cut roughly in half with a knife to separate the tender leaves and thick stems. This will create textural contrast in the final dish.

In a saucepan, combine the dashi stock, mirin, salt, soy sauce, and let it boil for about 1 minute. Then, add the enoki mushrooms and gently simmer this mixture over low-medium heat for about 1-2 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the bok choy to the pan. Give it a quick mix and and then remove it from the stove.

Transfer the warm mixture to a mixing bowl and allow it to cool for 2-3 minutes.

Once slightly cooled, crush the bonito flakes into the bowl-these will partially dissolve, adding another layer of umami complexity.

Now, add the pasted umeboshi and wasabi paste. Store-bought wasabi paste contains volatile compounds that dissipate quickly, especially when heated. Adding it at this last stage preserves its characteristic pungency and aroma.

This versatile wasabi-ae can be enjoyed two ways: serve immediately while still warm for a comforting side dish, or refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for a refreshing cold option. If you go for the cold option, you can add wasabi paste right before serving for a more pronounced flavor.

Upon serving, garnish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and crushed nori seaweed. Enjoy!

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First, rinse the ayu under cold running water. Then, use the back of a spoon to gently remove the natural protective coating from the skin.

Just be careful not to damage the delicate flesh beneath, and you’ll get a nice, clean flavor without any muddiness.

After cleaning, hold the fish with its belly facing outward and gently press from just below the gills toward the tail using your thumb and index finger. This removes any digestive contents and prepares the fish for cooking.

Pat the fish thoroughly dry with paper towels.

Poke a bamboo or metal skewer through the fish’s mouth and guide it through the body until it comes out at the yellow spot near the tail (that’s called “oiboshi” in Japanese).

Make a slight curve in the skewer to copy the fish’s natural swimming motion. This isn’t just for looks; it helps make sure the fish cooks evenly.

In Japanese cuisine, the fish’s head is always on the left when it’s served. This is based on traditional presentation aesthetics, so keep that in mind when you’re preparing your skewers.

Here’s an important Japanese technique called “Kesho Jio (化粧塩)” that makes all the difference. Just stretch the tail fin a bit and apply a good amount of salt. The salt acts as a protective barrier that prevents the delicate fin from burning during grilling.

For salting the body, first sprinkle sea salt on a surface, then gently press the fish onto the salt to coat the underside evenly. Hold your hand about 30 cm (12 inches) above the fish as you sprinkle salt over the top side. This height allows for even distribution of salt across the entire surface.

Make sure your grill is nice and hot before you start cooking. If you’re using a Japanese fish grill, set it to medium-high heat. For Western-style grills, aim for about 375°F (190°C).

Tip: Wrap the end of the skewer with foil to prevent burning.

Start with medium heat for the first 4-5 minutes, just until the skin starts to look nice and colored. Then, reduce to medium-low heat to allow the interior to cook gently without burning the exterior.

For single-sided grills, cook it until the edges are golden (about 5 minutes), then carefully flip and repeat.

But the time really depends on the type of grill you use, so it’s better to judge by appearance rather than cooking time.

Serve it right away with a slice of citrus fruit (I used sudachi). The bright acidity really brings out the rich, slightly bitter flavors of the grilled ayu.

Since Ayu no Shioyaki is usually served as street food, it can eaten straight off the skewer, bones, head, guts, and all. This is totally optional and I personally don’t eat the head or guts.

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