Japanese Rice Porridge or Okayu is so simple and easy to make. All you need is water and rice to make this traditional healing food. Add your choice of toppings to this warm and comforting dish that soothes the body and restores energy.
During this time of year, when the cold and flu season is at its peak, my children usually take turns bringing home a few rounds of sicknesses from school. Last weekend, we caught a cold while traveling back from Utah, and our whole family came down with fevers and coughs.
We didn’t have much of an appetite, so I decided to make some warm Japanese Rice Porridge (Okayu) for the family. It is the Japanese cold remedy I rely on most to soothe a weak stomach.
Table of Contents
Japanese Rice Porridge: A Healing Food
Rice Porridge, or as we call it, okayu (お粥), is a simple dish made with rice and water. The rice is simmered in a pot with water until it disintegrates. Because the rice is tender, soft, and easily digestible, it is considered a healing food in Japan. We typically serve okayu to people who are recovering from sickness, the elderly, or babies.
For those of you familiar with Chinese cuisine, you probably know that rice porridge (or congee), as a comfort food, is enjoyed in various ways. Chinese versions are often topped with julienned ginger, chopped scallions, fried garlic, or fried shallots. Sometimes, congee is topped with additional proteins like shredded chicken, ground pork, seafood, or Chinese sausage, making it suitable for lunch or dinner.
In contrast, the Japanese don’t consume porridge as frequently as the Chinese do for regular meals. Okayu, in particular, is served as a healing food, meant to soothe the body and restore energy. The toppings are kept simple, resulting in a light and mild-tasting meal.
How to Make Japanese Rice Porridge
The Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Japanese short-grain rice
- Water
- Optional toppings: chopped green onion/scallion, salted salmon, egg, kimchi, shredded nori, or pickled plum (umeboshi)
Cooking Tips
- Adjust water ratio for desired consistency. For this recipe, I use a 1:5 rice-to-water ratio to yield a thicker consistency. We refer to this ratio as zen-gayu (全粥). You could add more water for a lighter porridge. There is even a whole range of rice-to-water ratios that the Japanese follow, and each one comes with a specific name. You could read more on this in the Recipe Note below.
- Use dashi (Japanese soup stock), chicken stock, or miso for a more flavorful broth.
- For extra substance and nutrients, feel free to serve the porridge with proteins, veggies, or pickles.
Cooking Rice Porridge with Donabe (Earthenware Pot)
We use a donabe, the Japanese earthenware pot when making the rice porridge for the people we care for. It is a traditional way of preparing the dish as the pot cooks the porridge evenly and retains the heat well.
I suppose you can use a rice cooker, instantv pot, or a regular pot to make the porridge, but donabe has always been the preferred method.
I hope you give this Japanese home remedy a try when you’re under the weather, or in need of something light and healthy.
More Healthy Recipes You’ll Enjoy:
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Japanese Rice Porridge (Okayu)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice
- 250 ml water (1 cup + 2 tsp; for cooking the rice)
For the Suggested Toppings
- green onion/scallion (chopped)
- umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums)
- toasted white sesame seeds
- shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori)
- Homemade Japanese Salted Salmon (flaked)
- mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (for garnish)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. I follow a rice-to-water ratio of 1 to 5 for a thicker consistency in this recipe; to adjust for a runnier consistency, please see the Notes at the end of the recipe card.
- Rinse ¼ cup uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice in water, then drain. Repeat until the water runs clear. Drain into a colander and shake off the excess water.
- Add the well-drained rice and 250 ml water to a heavy-bottomed pot or a donabe earthenware pot, as I have here. If cooking in a donabe, use a towel to wipe off any excess water on the bottom of the pot (or else it may crack under heat). Tip: Select a cooking pot with plenty of room for the rice and water to cook without boiling over.
- Soak the rice for at least 30 minutes.
To Cook the Rice Porridge
- Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, lower the heat to the stove’s lowest setting (make sure to use the right size of stove burner for your pot size). Open the lid and gently mix with a spoon, making sure the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Then, cover with the lid and gently simmer the rice for 30 minutes. During this time, I do not open the lid or mix the rice. Tip: With a good size pot and the lowest heat on the stove, the water should not boil over. If you cook with more water or your pot is smaller than mine, you may want to leave the lid slightly ajar so the water doesn’t boil over. Tip: If you are worried, you can take a quick peek to make sure there’s enough water so the rice doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot. If necessary, you can stir the rice or add a bit of hot water. Otherwise, don’t stir the rice because that may break the rice grains.
To Steam and Serve
- After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and let it steam with the lid on for 10 minutes. The rice porridge should be soft and thick. If you want to add a beaten egg or salt, this is the time to mix it in. I keep this recipe plain and simple. Serve in individual rice bowls and garnish with toppings of your choice. Common toppings include chopped green onion/scallion, umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums), toasted white sesame seeds, shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori), Homemade Japanese Salted Salmon, and mitsuba (Japanese parsley).
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them for 2 days in the refrigerator or for up to a month in the freezer.
Notes
- Zen-gayu – 1 : 5 (50 grams : 250 ml)
- Shichibu-gayu – 1 : 7 (50 grams : 350 ml)
- Gobu-gayu – 1 : 10 (50 grams : 500 ml)
- Sanbu-gayu – 1 : 20 (25 grams : 500 ml)
Equipment
- donabe (earthenware pot) or heavy-bottomed pot
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on January 30, 2013. The content has been updated in March 2020.
Why is salt added when it’s already cooked? Does it make a difference compared to adding salt the moment I put it on the stove? I mean, does that affect the cooking process negatively?
Hello, Emilio. Thank you for reading Nami’s post.
You can add salt and cook the rice, but this is a traditional healing dish, therefore we add it later to avoid the salty taste.
Here is another rice porridge recipe that includes salt and other condiments while the rice cooks. We hope this helps!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/zosui-japanese-rice-soup/
Ah, I see. Thank you so much! This other dish looks interesting as well.
Hi, Emilio! You’re welcome!
We hope you try the other recipe as well! Happy cooking!🤗
Made 2 different batches over the last week or so, one with brown rice. Whole family was down with Covid to varying degrees of ‘ick’ and this helped get by some of the worst of the week.
Hello Michael, Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe.
We’re delighted to hear that Okayu helped with the healing process. We hope you and your family are in good health.💞
Hi! I’ve made this with white rice both on the stovetop per the recipe and in my rice cooker with great success, and was wondering if I could make brown rice porridge in my rice cooker as well? Thanks!
Hi Anna! Thank you for reading Nami’s post!
Some rice cookers have a setting for brown rice porridge, so we recommend checking your rice cooker manual.🙂
Hello all,
I’m practicing Rinzai Zen and had the opportunity to stay at Sogenji, my Zen teachers monastery in Okayama. During intense meditation weeks, which are called sesshins, we eat Okayu every morning as breakfast. We put sweet miso on top, which is the monastery’s self made miso paste mixed with some honey and peanutbutter, and goma, which is roasted and grinded white sesame seed. We also have some umeboshi and pickled daikons, but this last one also serves as a tool to clean our eating bowls with hot tea.
Very easy to digest, nutritious and oishiiiiiiiiii :)))))
Hi Fukuden! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and sharing your experience with us!🤗
Hi there,
I got an Virus and this recipe is not only good for flu, it’s the best, when you throw up from everything and you are empty for more than a day.
For this I put a bit of salt in, then cinnamon and before serving 1Tblsp Honey, it helps even out the electrolytes and it’s comfort food because it tastes sweet and like childhood (here in germany). The translation tells me we eat “cream of wheat”, that sounds bombastic for a mere porridge. Or semolina pudding. I guess the translation was made before the name porridge spreaded here too.
I’m so looking forward to it! I’m so hungry!!
Hello, Anna. Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and sharing your experience with us!
Cinnamon and honey should taste like rice pudding! That sounds great! We need to try your version soon. 😃
Hello Nami-san !
I have been using this recipe for three years now, and it is all thanks to you, since I discovered it right here on your website.
I mainly cook it for my mother, whenever she has a migraine : she cannot eat or drink anything and has violent nausea for up to 48 hours. She eats it after her migraine and she always says okayu re-energizes her and soothes her stomach. I now recommend it to most people I know who are prone to being ill.
I do not know if this is the right way to this, but I’ll try in any case : そのレシピ教えてくれてありがとうございます。Merci beaucoup !
Hi Lena! Aww.😍 Nami and all of us at JOC are so happy to hear that this dish has brought comfort to your mother.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and recommending this recipe to your friends.
Yes! Your Japanese is correct, and we will say ”喜んでいただけて、嬉しいです。メッセージをありうございます。”
Merci beaucoup! ☺️
I think that rice porridge could be successfully cooked in a crock-pot or slow cooker since they are a type of stoneware. I have made regular cooked rice in mine several times. I just keep an eye on it while it is cooking to make sure it does not dry out. That would probably not be a problem with the porridge as it takes so much more water than regular cooked rice. Thank you for your recipe and interesting notes.
Hi Audrey! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
Yes. It will take longer, and you’ll need to ensure that there is enough water in the pot, but you may prepare Okayu in a slow cooker/crock pot.
We hope you will give it a try! Happy cooking!
I come here every time I’m sick. Thank you for this recipe!!
Hi Kim, Thank you for your kind feedback!
We hope you are feeling better today. Take care.🙂
Memories! My mom and grandma served when we were sick. Usually popped umeboshi. Haven’t eaten it in ages but loved as a kid!
Hi, Lynn. Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and share your story with us.
We hope you will try this recipe to recreate the memorial flavor.🤗
Happy cooking!
My Japanese rice cooker has an okayu setting but i don’t understand the markers inside the bowl. Can you help?
For normal rice I put in X many rice cups and fill water to that same number on the bowl under 白米 and press start. There is a similar marker for okayu but there is a column under 全 (lines for 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5) and a column under 五分 (lines for 0.5, 1, and 1.5).
Based on how regular rice is, I presume those numbers are how many rice cups and then fill liquid to the matching line, but I don’t understand the difference between the columns since they’re both for okayu. Which column do I use? Their lines don’t match each other (0.5 under 五分 is the same height as 1 under 全 and so on).
I’d appreciate your help! Thank you.
Oh, perhaps they are markers for the Zen-gayu (1:5) and Gobu-gayu (1:10) you had mentioned in your recipe notes? If so, does that mean okayu cooked by the 全 marker would be thicker and the 五分 would be runnier?
Hi April! Thank you for reading Nami’s post!
Yes! The Zen-Gayu 全粥 (1:5) is softer cooked rice, whereas the Gobu-Gayu 五分粥 (1:10) is much runnier rice porridge.
To make them in the rice cooker, you can follow Nami’s recipes in the note section or follow the rice cooker line.
Your rice cooker appears to have three lines for making Gobu-Gayu. For example, 0.5 rice cooker cups of rice and the line for that amount of water, and these other lines for 1 and 1.5 rice cooker cups of rice.
We hope this was helpful!
Thank you so much!
My pleasure!
I’ve had a sore throat for the past week or so and swallowing food and water has been rather difficult and painful. This was not only comforting and delicious but it noticeably soothed my throat! I made it in my rice cooker on the porridge setting and added umeboshi and thinly cut nori.
Hi, Dani Noa! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us.
We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed the Rice Porridge!
Happy Cooking!
This looks delicious
If I made a big batch of rice porridge and wanted to eat it during the week, what is the best way to store cooked rice porridge?
Hello, Leanne (リアン)! We apologize for the delay in our response. We must have missed your comment. Sorry.
The cooked rice porridge can be stored in the freezer in an airtight container. You may reheat it in the microwave or over low heat on the stove.
We appreciate you checking out Nami’s post and using her recipe. 😊
Lovely soothing recipe! I’ve had a stomach bug for a few days and was searching for a gentle dish. At the end I stirred in a tiny bit of miso and I had it with some scrambled egg. I not only enjoyed it, my tummy is also happy 🙂
Hi Afra! We are glad to hear you enjoyed Japanese Rice Porridge.
We hope you are feeling better now. Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe.🙂
l’ve been down with the interntional sickness these past days, and this recipe is a lifesaver because ‘normal’ food is so hard to eat and get down! lt is very light and simple, and so comforting too. Thank you for sharing this, it has really helped me!
Hi Leon! We hope you are feeling better now.💞
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are glad to hear this dish helped you.