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1
Cook the short-grain rice by the absorption method. The rice must be freshly cooked and at serving temperature — cold rice hardens into clumps and will not soften correctly when the tea is poured. The rice is ready when it is tender throughout, slightly glossy, and holds its grain structure.
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2
Brew the chosen green tea and bring it to 80–90 °C. Do not allow the water to boil: temperatures above 90 °C will cause the rice to dissolve rather than soften, and will drive off the aromatic compounds of the tea. The liquid is at the correct temperature when steam rises steadily but no turbulence is visible at the surface.
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3
Divide the freshly cooked rice between four deep bowls, forming a mound that fills approximately two-thirds of the bowl's depth. Arrange the chosen toppings — umeboshi, flaked salmon, ikura, nori, wasabi, or a combination — directly on top of the rice before any liquid is added. Toppings placed on the dry rice receive gentle warmth from the incoming tea without overcooking. The bowl is ready to receive the liquid when the toppings sit in place and the rice is still steaming.
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4
Pour the hot tea steadily over the rice until the liquid reaches approximately two-thirds of the rice's height — the rice is partially submerged, not floating. This is where the dish lives or dies: too much liquid produces soup and the rice loses its integrity; too little produces merely wet rice and the fluid-solid balance — the defining character of ochazuke — is lost. The correct level is visible: grains at the surface remain exposed while those below soften into the tea.
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5
Serve immediately, with tsukemono on the side. The pickles provide the textural and flavour contrast that ochazuke alone does not supply. The bowl is correct when the rice at the base has softened into the tea while the grains above retain their structure — the spoon should meet yielding resistance, not dissolving porridge.