Tsukudani shio kombu for ochazuke

Because of its strong flavor, tsukudani has been served with steamed rice since the Edo period (1600s-1800s) and is called Gohan no Okazu or rice side dish because it is eaten with steamed rice for flavor.
Tsukudani is always served and eaten fresh from the refrigerator and is not annealed before eating.
Kombu tsukudani is one of the most common tsukudani.

Shio kombu is made from julienned kombu, usually soaked in soy sauce, mirin and sugar, and then dried in the oven.
Shio kombu means « kombu salt ».
Recipes vary according to each family or artisan. Flavor and aroma are intensely sweet or iodized.

Ochazuke is a simple, one-bowl dish of steamed rice with an assortment of flavorful ingredients, partially immersed in green tea.
Ocha refers to green tea, and zuke means "immersed".
Instead of a real meal, Japanese people enjoy it more as a quick meal or at the end of a meal to satisfy themselves.
It is soothing to eat and easy to digest. For ochazuke, it is possible to use different kinds of green tea like Genmaicha, Sencha, Hojicha.
However, traditionally, it is prepared with dashi broth instead of green tea.
Ochazuke served with green tea tends to be bland and depends on savory toppings to add flavor.
Our tsukudani shio kombu is particularly suitable for this purpose.

Tsukudani shio kombu will also work well as a condiment for meat or fish tartars, pasta, stir-fried rice, mixed salads, goat cheese, omelets, fried eggs, scallops, white fish...