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1
Brew the hōjicha very strongly — use more leaf than usual and allow a longer steep. The liquor must carry sufficient roasted-grain character to remain the primary flavour after the rice is cooked into it. The brew is ready when the colour is a deep amber-brown and the roasted aroma is pronounced.
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2
Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Bring the full litre of brewed hōjicha to the boil in a heavy pot. Add the rinsed rice. Stir once. This is where the dish lives or dies: the tea must be the cooking liquid in its entirety — no water added, no dilution — so that the roasted-grain flavour penetrates the rice from the first minute of cooking.
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3
Reduce heat to the lowest possible setting. Cover the pot and simmer for 30–40 minutes, disturbing as little as possible. Lift the lid at 30 minutes: the grains should be fully expanded and beginning to dissolve at their edges, releasing starch into the surrounding liquid.
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4
Test the consistency: tip the pot slightly — the chagayu must flow freely toward the rim. Visible intact rice grains should be present, but the mass must move as liquid, not as paste. It should be looser than congee and more substantial than broth. If it is thick enough to hold a spoon upright, it has been cooked too long or with too much rice — it is kayu, not chagayu.
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5
Ladle immediately into warmed deep bowls. The chagayu should be served at 75–80 °C. Add one or two toppings only — one umeboshi, a pinch of sesame, or a small quantity of natto or tsukemono — placed at the edge of the bowl, not mixed in. The first spoonfuls are very hot; the final spoonfuls are a different temperature experience. This cooling arc is part of the dish.