How to Make Sushi Rice

Sushi recipes are traditional Japanese food, which are famous all over the world for their typical vinegar flavored rice and stuffing. As per your preferred taste, you can use different vegetarian and non-vegetarian ingredients to create the best tasting sushi. For cooking any type of sushi dish, first you need to prepare sushi rice. We can say, the base for a yummy sushi recipe is well-cooked sushi rice. In this article, we will discuss the required sushi rice ingredients and culinary instructions.

Making Sushi Rice

The traditional sushi rice is made from short-grained, white rice (preferably Japanese rice) after mixing with salt, sugar, sake and vinegar. Though there are many ways to make sushi rice, the objective is the same i.e. to get fluffy, sticky rice. You can prepare sushi rice in an ordinary saucepan with lid or rice cooker. Either way, making sushi rice is so easy and fast that you can complete cooking within an hour, including preparation time. Refer to the information given below to understand the ingredients and steps to make sushi rice:

Ingredients Required

• 3 cups of short-grained rice
• Water to measure (3⅓ cups or 830 ml)
• ½ cup (120 ml) rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt

Procedure

• In a large bowl, add 3 cups short-cup rice, pour enough cold water to half fill the bowl. Lightly rinse the rice by swirling the bowl. Immediately, drain water as much as you can.
• Fill the bowl again with water and this time, rinse the rice with your hand. Repeat rinsing rice until the water comes out clear. This may probably take 3 - 4 washing attempts.
• Transfer the cleaned rice into a large saucepan or pot for cooking. Pour 3 1/3 cups water in the saucepan and leave it for 30 minutes. This will allow the rice to soak up water and become whiter.
• In the meantime, you can prepare sushi vinegar. In a saucepan, mix rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Heat this mixture in a low heat until the sugar and salt dissolve completely. Remove the sushi vinegar from heat and allow it to cool down.
• Now, let's cook rice. When after 30 minutes soaking is over, put on the saucepan lid and place it on the hob. Turn the heat to high temperature setting and bring it to boil. Do not remove the lid in between as doing so will allow the steam to escape.
• When the cooking water starts boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off heat after simmering time is over and leave the cooked rice to stand for another 15 minutes (with the lids on).
• Place cooked rice in a large wooden bowl and sprinkle sushi vinegar. Using a wooden spatula, quickly fold the sushi vinegar into the rice. While mixing, you can use a fan to remove moisture and also, to fasten cooling time.
• With this, your sticky sushi rice is ready. It is better to use sushi rice immediately, when it has cooled down to room temperature. In case you are using it later, do not forget to cover sushi rice with a wet cloth.

So now, let us find out how to make sushi rice in a rice cooker. Some cooks are of the opinion that sushi rice made in a cooker is not as fluffy as the rice that is cooked in a saucepan. Well, If you use short grained rice and add sufficient amount of water and other ingredients, you will definitely get the desired stickiness in sushi rice. After you add rice in the rice cooker bowl, pour enough water so that its level above the rice reaches to your first knuckle. Then turn on the rice cooker and cook for the stipulated time. Follow the same steps for adding sushi vinegar.

If you want to know how to make sushi rice sticky, the trick is to use short grained Japanese rice, which sticks together after cooking. In opposite to this, long grained rice remains dry and separates from each other, even when it is cooked. So, use the appropriate rice variety and follow the directions mentioned above to make sticky sushi rice for an excellent sushi delicacy!