Ryuji Recreates "Chilled Hojicha Chazuke," a TV Recipe from Seven Years Ago

The ingredients are chilled hojicha, canned mackerel in water, shiso leaves, toasted sesame seeds, umeboshi, and packaged rice. Ryuji says the shiso is something you can "skip in a pinch," and that green onions are fine if you don't have any. He notes that it is unusual for him to use umeboshi, but this time the umeboshi is the key to the flavor.

Ideally the rice would be freshly cooked, but since he hadn't made any, he used two packs of Sato no Gohan. Partly because viewers will likely use the same thing, he first heats them once in the microwave. Although the recipe involves hardly any cooking, he admits he uses a knife a little, only to pit the umeboshi and lightly mince the flesh.

The umeboshi he used had a salt content of 8%. According to Ryuji, most umeboshi sold in supermarkets are around 8%, but something around 11% is really better. He also likes a roughly 20% umeboshi he once bought somewhere, but used the easier-to-find 8% kind. If you can't find saltier umeboshi, adding a pinch of salt will raise the saltiness, and he honestly says that's fine too.

Ryuji explains that umeboshi used to be saltier because they came from an era when food was preserved by salting. Now that preservation technology has advanced, 8% is considered sufficient, which also makes it easier to cut back on salt. He jokingly sums this up as "human progress."

He says this recipe was previously introduced on the TV program "Soredame!" and was very well received. From there, the conversation turns to the realities of TV appearances.

According to Ryuji, YouTubers generally aren't eager to appear on TV, because the pay is low. His own appearance fee is about 30,000 yen. While he hears that talent such as Yoshimoto comedians are paid well, cooking researchers are treated as "cultural figures" who comment like academics, so their fees are extremely low, sometimes covering little more than transportation.

Even so, the reason he gives for appearing is that being on TV makes it easier to land work. Many of the decision-makers at companies are older people from the TV generation, and they tend to make hiring decisions based on "which shows you've been on." Since Ryuji used to appear on TV a lot, they think, "I've seen this guy on TV, let's use him," he says. Partway through, he laughs at himself—"What am I even talking about?"—and although the staff tries to stop him, he continues, saying he isn't causing anyone trouble, people are just learning what goes on behind the scenes. He adds that TV pays 30,000 yen, but YouTube earns more.

The most surprising step in this recipe is putting the heated rice in a colander and rinsing it with water. Because this is a chilled chazuke, pouring hojicha straight over warm rice would make it lukewarm. Rinsing cools the rice and also removes its stickiness. When he introduced it on TV, the reaction—"You wash the rice?"—apparently left an impression, and Ryuji has the staff say, "You're washing cooked rice?" and uses it at the start of the video.

Tap water alone doesn't cool it much, so ice water is better if possible. But since that's a hassle, he skips it this time and instead says he'll add ice when serving later. If you're using cold leftover rice, you don't need to rinse it, but rinsing makes it lighter and easier to eat, he says. He recalls that it's something you can eat even when you have no appetite, and that it was well received on the show.

He divides the rinsed rice between two bowls and layers on shiso, canned mackerel, and umeboshi in that order. The canned mackerel is a cheap one, with about half a can per person as a guideline. He says it's good because you get protein, and mentions that mackerel is apparently rich in DHA (at first he misspoke and said "DHC," then laughed that it's the name of a supplement company).

At one point, he compares the dish with an old recipe photo. In the earlier version, the shiso was laid over the rice with the toppings placed on top, and Ryuji admits, "The old one looks tastier." He says this recipe dates from about seven years ago, back when he was frequently featured on TV. One whole umeboshi goes on top per person.

Prepare about 240 cc of chilled hojicha for two servings. Add Hondashi Kombu Dashi at 1½ teaspoons per serving—1 tablespoon this time for two servings—then add about half of the liquid from the canned mackerel. Ryuji says you should include the mackerel liquid because it's packed with umami. Granulated dashi doesn't dissolve easily in cold tea, so stir well until it's completely dissolved. Finally, add two pinches of salt, confirm the dashi has fully dissolved, and pour it into the bowls.

The rice bowl couldn't hold all of it, but he says you can just top it up later if needed. To finish, he scatters toasted sesame seeds by crushing them between his fingers, adds ice for a refreshing touch, and the dish is done.

After one bite, Ryuji repeats "delicious" over and over, surprised that it's his own recipe: "Was it always this good?" "Did I make this? I'm a genius." Since he had just recreated a different ramen right before filming and was full, there was some talk of skipping the second shoot, but once he started eating, he laughs, he finished the whole thing. The staff also raved about it, saying, "I want to eat this every day this summer."

Ryuji stresses that this recipe uses hojicha "on purpose." In his view, the roasted aroma of hojicha suits this combination well; barley tea would make it taste like barley, and green tea might leave it lacking. He says that hojicha, canned mackerel, and kombu dashi come together to make a good soup, and that every ingredient has a reason to be there.

The kind of canned mackerel you find at a convenience store is plenty, and this time too he bought the cheapest mackerel in water. Eaten on its own it has a slight fishy smell, but the umeboshi, shiso, and hojicha eliminate all of it, Ryuji explains. The staff agreed that they didn't notice any fishiness.

He also mentions that tearing the shiso by hand avoids using a knife, and that with some ingenuity the umeboshi might just barely be doable without a knife as well. If you don't have shiso, green onions work, and if you don't have kombu dashi, regular Hondashi is still tasty, he says. He also says natto as a flavor change would "definitely go well," but since he had already finished eating, he didn't try it in this episode.

In closing, Ryuji repeats that as long as you have umeboshi, canned mackerel, and hojicha, you can make it with what's at home, and wonders aloud, "Why didn't I do this in a video before? It seems like it'd catch on." He says he plans to make it again for breakfast the next morning, and wraps up by encouraging viewers to give it a try.