Rinse and soak the rice before cooking. Make sure the rice is washed and rinsed a few times until no more starch comes out from the water. Then let the rice be soaked for at least 20-30 minutes before cooking. This allows the rice grains to yield a better texture. For premium brands, I recommend Tamaki Gold and Tamanishiki Super Premium Short Grain Rice , which are available in Asian grocery stores. Once the rice reaches room temperature, cover the rice with a damp towel to prevent it from drying. Keep the rice at room temperature until ready to make sushi. Other Ways to Make Sushi Rice In Japanese, sushi rice is called su-meshi and implies vinegared seasoned rice. Japanese short-grain rice is rinsed, rested, steamed and infused with rice vinegar seasoning. It is a marriage of premium short-grain rice, rice vinegar and a hint of sugar. Sushi rice is made by cooking Japanese short-grain rice with kombu (kelp), which is then seasoned with a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. In Japanese, sushi rice is also known as sushi-meshi(鮨飯), su-meshi (酢飯), or shari (シャリ). We only use this vinegar-flavoredrice when making all kinds of sushi.

When sushi rice is hard to find, use medium-grain rice from California. (Have leftover medium-grain rice on hand? Learn how to cook rice for other recipes, too!) What happens if you don’t wash sushi rice? Sometime between the 1300s and 1500s, the Japanese slowly stopped using fermented rice and instead added vinegar to the rice to further increase its shelf life. The vinegar ended up improving the flavor of the rice so they started eating the fish and the rice together, which evolved to today’s sushi. Technically, 'sushi rice' is cooked rice flavoured with vinegar and seasoning, not raw rice. The rice used to make sushi is short-grain, but a specific type that has a unique flavour to other short-grained rice and behaves differently when cooked. Look for Japonica rice, cultivated in Japan and Korea – it has a short, rounder grain and a texture that makes it perfect for shaping into sushi.Sushi oke ( Hangiri) – It’s a mixing bowl or tub that is used to season, mix, and cool sushi rice before making sushi. It has straight edges and a flat bottom, which assists in spreading hot rice and allowing it to cool after adding sushi seasoning. Fluff the rice in a slicing motion with a rice paddle. Don’t mix or else sushi rice will end up being mushy or smashed. With proper fanning and slicing, your sushi rice becomes shiny! Sushi rice is traditionally seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar and salt. These ingredients are heated together (but not boiled) until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Use about 120ml brown or white Japanese rice vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt per 450g rice.

You may prepare sushi rice in different ways, such as using an Instant Pot or cooking rice over the stovetop. Just make sure to follow instructions on a bag of rice as well as cooking tools when using different types of equipment. Tips for Making Sushi Rice Can sushi rice be used as regular rice? Different brands of rice may drier than others, so adjust the water quantity if needed – you’ll have to cook a batch of rice to see whether this is necessary

Impart a more savoury flavour by adding a small sheet of kombu (dried seaweed) to the rice while it cooks, or sub in some quinoa or other grains for rice once you become familiar with the cooking technique.

The rice-to-water ratio is 1:1 (volume). Because we add sushi vinegar to the cooked rice, we use a bit less water than when you cook the rice regularly. Sushi rice is not cheap – some brands and varieties can be very expensive. Try several varieties to find one that you like, then buy a large bag to make it cost-effective. It will keep uncooked in an airtight container for up to a year. What kind of seasoning can be used for sushi rice? Editor’s Note: You can buy sushi vinegar at the supermarket, but it’s easy to make your own. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to a month. Step 2: Rinse the rice Make homemade sushi vinegar. Sushi rice is always seasoned with sushi vinegar. It’s made of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt to achieve a balance of sweet, salty, and sour taste. You need to get mild-flavored rice vinegar, not another type of vinegar for this; otherwise, it’s too strong and the flavor is not the same. If you want to save time, you can use a bottle of seasoned vinegar called sushizu (すし酢).Even so, it is important to use a little less water than normal to cook the rice when using a rice cooker. You need less water because later the rice will be combined with vinegar mixture and will absorb this too. Transfer cooked rice to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a sushi oke or hangiri (traditional method).