First we had to track down the vending machine in question.

Our Japanese-language team of SoraNews24 reporters sometimes receive requests from readers to investigate a particular topic. Since we’ve been known to tackle just about anything under the sun, many of the requests we receive are of a zany nature. Writer Seiji Nakazawa was intrigued by one such mission we received not long ago (though tame by our standards):

“In the neighborhood of Sasazuka 2-22 [in Tokyo] there’s a vending machine that sells some kind of ochazuke set called ‘splendid alfonsino rice meal’ [kinmedai gozen in Japanese]. It’s a bit pricey at 660 yen [US$4.55] so I can’t bring myself to buy it, but I hope you can review it.”

Now, it’s not so uncommon to find vending machines selling meals these days in Japan, but ochazuke (a dish of poured tea or dashi soup stock over rice with toppings) from a can was a new one to Seiji’s ears, especially with fish involved. He decided to fulfill the request and promptly hopped on a train to the Sasazuka district of Shibuya Ward just to the west of Shinjuku. The neighborhood seemed to a be a quiet, residential area, far from the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo.

Seiji had pictured the vending machine as fairly large in size in his mind, but as he walked around, he didn’t see anything like that. There were plenty of vending machines, but they were all the standard kind selling bottled drinks.

However, as he was scanning the contents of one machine row by row, he spotted something a little bit fishy on the far right in the middle.

There it was! The splendid alfonsino ochazuke rice meal was indiscreetly tucked in with the drinks.

▼ 金目鯛飯善 = splendid alfonsino ochazuke rice meal

Seiji inserted some money into the machine and claimed his prize, which turned out to be about the size of a canned coffee. It seemed to contain a variety of packs with ochazuke ingredients.

He rushed back to the SoraNews24 office to pop open the bottle. There was liquid dashi, some toppings, and a fillet of splendid alfonsino. Impressively, it wasn’t freeze-dried, but was fresh fish vacuum-sealed in a plastic wrap. Everything definitely seemed like a step up from regular supermarket ochazuke.

He quickly got to work preparing the ochazuke by placing the fish on some cooked rice. The dashi had a strong aroma as he began to pour it on top. He also saw some of the oil from the fish start to mix into the soup, which gave it an air of luxury.

Here was the fully prepared dish complete with freeze-dried toppings. It was rather pretty and not something you’d think came from a vending machine. Thankfully, its taste lived up to expectations, and he thoroughly enjoyed the dish.

As Seiji was eating, he realized that the directions provided another way of preparing the ochazuke by cooking it along with rice.

Not knowing what that other style tasted like was going to bother him, so he went back to Sasazuka to get another can from the same vending machine.

When cooking it with rice, you’re supposed to add the liquid dashi and fish directly into the rice cooker before turning it on. You’ll sprinkle the other toppings on the prepared rice at the end. Seiji cooked it with one cup of rice, which was perfect for a single serving.

He was a little concerned about whether the full flavor would come through or if it would be diluted in this version, but after about 15 minutes of cooking, the unmistakable aroma of the fish began to waft out.

When it was done, he popped open the lid to see the fillet of fish resting on the bed of cooked rice.

Was this really going to taste like ochazuke…?

Adding the freeze-dried toppings felt like adding nothing but little sprinkles to the mix, but he nonetheless followed the instructions and then mixed everything together.

Here was the finished product.

Seiji took a bite and instantly relaxed because it was even better than he’d expected. The white fish was subtly present throughout the rice, and the dish’s overall flavor was even more apparent than in the earlier ochazuke. It seemed his concern had been completely unfounded.

All in all, he decided that while the more traditional ochazuke method is quick and convenient, the rice cooker method takes the meal to a whole new level.

Seiji would like to extend his thanks to the reader who asked him to find the splendid alfonsino ochazuke meal set in a random vending machine. It turned out even better than he imagined–and was certainly a way better quest than that time he had to pose for a sexy office calendar.

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