Leftover Green Tea Leaf Salad

Name: Leftover Green Tea Leaf Salad
Prep time: PT0D0H0M
Cook time: PT0D0H2M
Total time: PT0D0H2M
Yield: 1
Ingredients: ⅓ cup dried bonito flakes; ¼ cup leftover green tea leaves; 2 tsp. light soy sauce; Steamed white rice and mayonnaise, for serving

Spent sencha leaves stand in for blanched greens in this riff on the popular Japanese side.

Serves
1
Time
2 minutes

PHOTO: HEAMI LEE • FOOD STYLING: JESSIE YUCHEN

By Junichi Uekubo

Published on May 9, 2024

A 7th-generation tea farmer in Nara, Japan, Junichi Uekubo always has spent green tea leaves in his kitchen, so he uses them to whip up a version of ohitashi, a blanched-greens dish often made with spinach. Uekubo likes to serve his leftover green tea leaf salad recipe simply, over a bowl of steamed rice.

Featured in “Meet the Makers Preserving the Past in Nara” by Megan Zhang.

Ingredients

⅓ cup dried bonito flakes
¼ cup leftover green tea leaves
2 tsp. light soy sauce
Steamed white rice and mayonnaise, for serving

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Instructions

Step 1

In a small bowl, stir together the bonito flakes, tea leaves, and soy sauce. Fill a small bowl with white rice, mound the ohitashi on top, drizzle with mayonnaise, and serve.