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1
OKAYU — Cold start: place the rice and measured cold water together in a heavy pot. Set over medium heat and bring slowly to a bare simmer. Do not rush this stage; the gradual rise in temperature begins the controlled starch release. The surface will show the first gentle shudder of movement.
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2
OKAYU — Reduce heat to the lowest possible setting the burner will hold. Cook, uncovered or with the lid ajar, for 40 to 50 minutes. Stir once or twice only — this is where the dish lives or dies: over-stirring at this stage breaks the starch network into a gluey, undifferentiated mass, and aggressive boiling reduces the rice to mush. The correct result is a porridge in which individual grain character is still perceptible within a creamy, binding liquid. The surface should tremble gently, never roll.
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3
OKAYU — Season at the end with a small amount of fine salt or white miso, keeping the profile gentle. The porridge is ready when it pours slowly from a spoon and the grains are completely soft but the whole has not collapsed to paste. Ladle into bowls and place chosen garnishes — umeboshi, tsukemono, salted salmon flakes — at the centre without stirring them in.
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4
ZOSUI — Bring the leftover nabe broth to a steady simmer in the pot used for the hot pot. Rinse the cooked rice briefly under cold running water to separate the grains. Add the rinsed rice to the hot broth. The rice, already cooked, needs only 5 to 7 minutes; it is done when the grains have absorbed the broth and swollen visibly, the liquid reduced to a loose, unified porridge.
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5
ZOSUI — In the final 60 seconds, drizzle the beaten egg in a slow, thin stream across the surface. Close the lid immediately. The egg is set when the ribbons have turned from translucent to just-opaque — silky, not scrambled. Remove from heat. Scatter green onion, drizzle sesame oil, and serve at once directly from the pot.