Breakfast at Yumcha's: Sencha

All Photos by Wrongfu Cha

Now that our Sencha's are in, I haven't stopped brewing potfuls of our selection and I've also been cooking with it. I couldn't wait to have company over and share a couple of my favorite tea dishes. I love to make the traditional Japanese dish, ochazuke. It's a rustic rice bowl that is usually topped with cooked salmon and half submerged in a refreshing sencha broth. The used tea leaves then get mixed into a chilled, sesame tofu dish and they can be served together.Summer is the perfect time for a breakfast like this; light, refreshing and it won't weigh you down.
Brandon of WrongfuCha came over for a weekend of teas and eats and documented the antics. You can see the rest of his photos on WrongfuCha's Flicker page.

I used the SaeMidori for this dish but the OkuMidori or Kagoshima Master Blend would also taste great. The only one I wouldn't use is the Premium Grade Tenryu because the flavors are so soft and delicate. While the rest are bold and hearty enough to hold up to strong taste of salmon, I would just pair the Tenryu with a simple wagashi and nothing heavier than that.

Ochazuke is great for a late weekend brunch. In the morning I have time to cook up some short grain, Japanese sticky rice. The flavors are few and simple so the ingredients have to be stellar. I use premium grade, new crop rice that will be plump and sweet. I chose wild Alaskan King salmon that I salted and pan seared. (Incidentally, Mr. Yumcha and I did visit a friend in Alaska one summer and got to go fishing for Halibut and Coho Salmon. The goal had been to catch a King but the opportunity never presented itself. We did bring back a hundred pounds of cleaned, filleted fish to New York.) I don't see the salmon as a main component. It adds a beautiful color contrast and complements the sweet but savory sencha. One 8oz fillet can generously serve three. Place pieces of salmon over the mound of rice. I like to garnish with white sesame seeds and finely sliced scallion.
Once you have your bowls assembled, you're ready to make tea. With my alcohol burner I can make the tea right at the table where we dine. (It's a small Brooklyn apartment so our little tea table also doubles as a dining table.) Prepare the sencha as you would for a regular tea session. Find tea tips at: Brewing Sencha.

Once you're ready to pour out the tea, divide the infusion between the bowls. I made three servings and ended up using two steeps amongst them. I like to let the tea- broth fill the bowl half-way. I know others who like it more or less soupier. Some may think this is a hot dish but if you brew the tea correctly, this shouldn't be the case. It also cools quickly and you have a nice meal that actually cools you down. The taste is sweet and mild with a nice umami kick. Mr. Yumcha added salt to deepen the flavors but Brandon and I found the salted salmon was enough to season the tea and rice.

While my brunch companions ate, I quickly moved on to the next part of the meal: my chilled tofu dish with sencha leaves. Prepare the ingredients and assemble the dish before hand so all that's necessary is to toss in the spent sencha leaves and mix until evenly incorporated. This way I can finish it at the table, right after I've prepared the ochazuke. A few more seconds and I have a second dish that's ready to eat.
While the rice is cooking for the ochazuke, get out the ingredients and prepare the second dish. I like to use soft tofu because I prefer the texture over the firm or silken varieties. Leave it out in a shallow bowl with a heavy plate on top so some of the moisture is squeezed out. Using a fork, I simply mash up the block of tofu until it has a scrambled egg appearance and there no large chunks.Add a spoonful of grated, fresh ginger; an ounce of toasted wild, Korean sesame oil; some sesame seeds and salt to taste. You can adjust these ingredients, depending on your tastes. It's why I haven't used specific measurements. I like to play around and use what's available in my kitchen. It should be well seasoned with the sencha adding a spinach like flavor, while the tofu is a nice creamy foil for the nutty sesame and umami notes.

Judging by the empty bowls after our Sunday brunch, I think my meal went well. All thanks to sencha.

Brewing Sencha

This week, Winnie and I want to answer your questions about brewing techniques for Japanese Sencha. There is more than one appropriate way to brew and I'm sure some will disagree with the information in this post. There's lots of instruction available online but we just wanted to share some of the tips we've picked up from other tea masters. We also encourage every one to experiment and decide what works best for their own preferences.

The heated water is first poured into a cooling vessel.
Water temperature is judged in stages and this is the first part. The rising steam is beautiful to look at as it curls and dances away from the water. But it also tells us the temperature is too hot to start brewing. Usually, the water is then poured into the empty teapot to warm up the clay and then returned to the cooling pitcher. This helps to dissipate some of the water's excess heat. Many people brew sencha at 175-185 degrees Fahrenheit but I feel that cooks the delicate, fresh leaves. Then you end up with broth, not tea. Lower is always better for me and I usually wait til the water temp. is at least 140 -150 degrees (F). A basic rule for green tea is "to brew longer, not hotter". Brewing with lukewarm or room temperature water is a different matter entirely.

The Asatsuyu sencha is poured into the heated teapot. The warmed tea leaves give off a soft and savory aroma.

So the tea leaves are ready and we want to double check the heat of the water. We often run the cooled water very quickly over our fingertips to help us gauge the heat level and calculate how long the brewing time will be. Sane people use a thermometer. Let me just add, we are NOT pouring scalding water over our skin. The water is already cooled a bit and we are using the sensitivity of our fingertips to judge if it's ready to brew tea. It should feel like dipping a toe into a fresh hot bath. Almost too hot to bear but endurable. You know what... just get a thermometer. I do not want to receive emails from people with scalded body parts.

I think the terracotta color of the tokoname ceramics complements the emerald green of the tea. The water is now poured over the leaves and the lid is placed on the pot. It's only a matter of seconds before the first brew is ready for us.

Now it's time to serve the tea. Some pour the tea into the cooling vessel and serve from there. But is also acceptable to pour directly into the cups, provided that each cup only receives a little at a time as illustrated. The timing is important for this part. Especially for the first brew, the initial pour looks more like water but by the time you've emptied the teapot, each teacup holds a beautiful shade of green.
While you are serving tea in this manner, the start and stop effect keeps the tea leaves in constant motion. The idea is not to agitate the leaves but to gently swirl them around and keep them suspended in the water. This prevents the smallest particles that get bitter very quickly from settling at the bottom of the pot. Instead, they usually pass through the teapot's strainer into the cup. You can strain out the particles if you wish but we like the depth of flavor and texture they add.

I know it's far easier to show a brewing technique rather than explain the process in words. So I did a quick and terribly executed video of Winnie brewing sencha. The quality's just so-so (used the new IPhone video tool) and the lighting is worse but I figure it saves me some words. Also, I hope this answers some of the other aspects I did not really address. This video is a first for us and a spur of the moment thing. So please don't judge too harshly.
I should mention that Michael was not around when I did this. Otherwise, there would be proper lighting, stable camera work and it would be a million times better. In fact, I know he's going to cringe when he sees this. Fortunately for me, my vacation starts tomorrow and I can deal with it when I get back.
Happy Independence Day.