I Haz Coffz: O-chazuke for a Cold

umeboshi-chazuke:  a popular snack

There's nearly always some rice in the rice cooker--and heaven forbid throwing any of it away!  Every grain of rice has seven gods, as the saying goes.  Mottainai!...as my mother-in-law goes;-))  That means "don't waste", and O-Baasans say it a lot (and moms, too, for that matter).  My husband introduced me to this just after we got married.  It took no getting used to--I liked it right away.

What is "it"?  O-Chazuke!  This is one of the simplest and most popular, homey snacks in Japan.  Leftover rice (still warm, or cold, it doesn't matter)... and hot green tea poured over it is the basic way to make it.   But there are also dry packaged versions, as in the top photo, containing the green tea in dry form, plus nori and sprinkles (the little brown balls) and sometimes a flavor--umeboshi (pictured), or salmon.  I'm personally fond of the umeboshi (pickled plum like you see sometimes on top of rice)...

Dekiagari!  (ready!)

....boil some water, sprinkle one pack on top of your leftover rice, pour hot water over.  Oishiiiii!  This tastes particularly good to me when I have a cold--which is why I ate this today for lunch.  Not much appetite, coughing, sneezing--O-Chazuke is soothing to a raw throat or a cough, and it's a hot liquid that helps a stuffy nose.  This may sound weird, but--trust me, it's GOOD!  If you have an Asian market nearby, look around for that packaging--even if you buy some and don't use it often, it has a nearly infinite shelf-life.