Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Hot and Soupy #4: Ochazuke! Suehiro Cafe, Little Tokyo

Being the holidays, I ended up spending a lot of time watching Japanese dramas. And those, well, they make me crave Japanese food.

So one day, while watching Shinya Shokudo, I found myself craving Ochazuke.

Ochazuke, or chazuke, is a simple dish, really, and if I had the ingredients I probably could make it myself. It is made with rice served in a green tea and dashi broth. The toppings vary but the typical ones are salmon, tarako (cod roe), ume, nori (seaweed), etc.

Not having much luck locating a place that serves it in Pasadena, I dragged a friend to Suehiro Cafe in Little Tokyo. Suehiro Cafe is a popular place serving cheap comfort food like katsudon. I ordered the mixed chazuke with salmon, tarako, and nori for $6.30.

The bowl camed with a dollop of wasabi.Mixed Chazuke - $6.30
While it isn't as 'gourmet' and impeccable as the chazuke I had during my kaiseki meal at Wakuriya, this one is all about slurping it down. Warm, soupy rice full of dashi flavor would hit the spot any day. Oh, and I think tarako adds a great texture to the dish, so I recommend you get that topping next time you try chazuke.


Suehiro Cafe
337 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-9132
Suehiro on Urbanspoon

4 comments:

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EatTravelEat

Love all these little Japanese cafes that serve comfort food. I like Mitsuru cafe for its udon but haven't been to other cafes in Little Tokyo yet. I've never heard of chazuke so this is something new to me :). Sounds yummy on any day though!

Anonymous

Never heard of any of these little Japanese restaurants! I'll have to go find them because I love Japanese soups!

SinoSoul

I like ochazuke too!. FYI: Shin sen gu mi in Monterey Park serves a version, and I THINK that's closer. Torihei's version is pretty darn nice as well, but surely you already know that. Best version has to be Raku's in Vegas tho...

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