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Sushi: Taste and Techniques

Sushi

Nobu Now

Complete Book of Sushi

Easy Sushi

Previous:
How to Use Sushi Knives

Next:
How to Make Finger Sushi (Nigiri)

How to Make Sushi Rice

When people think about sushi, they generally focus on the seafood. But to make great sushi, you must also make great sushi rice. This entails both buying the right rice and preparing it correctly.

Buying Sushi Rice

Japanese-style short grain rice, with its high starch content, is the only type of rice you should use to make sushi. Any other rice will turn to mush when put through the paces of sushi rice preparation. Look in particular for akita komachi or koshihikari, which are the highest-quality brands of Japanese rice. Japanese short-grain rice is available in most large supermarkets and at Asian food markets.

Preparing Sushi Rice

Preparing sushi rice involves four major steps:

Rinsing the rice
Making sushi vinegar
Cooking the rice
Cooling and finishing the rice

The following recipe yields 6 cups of sushi rice, which is enough to make 25 pieces of finger sushi or 5 sushi rolls.

Rinsing the Rice

Rinse the rice to remove any residual rice flour from the grains, ensuring that your cooked rice will taste fresh.

Place 2 cups of rice in a bowl.
Fill the bowl with cold water until the rice is just covered.
Swirl the rice gently with your hands for 10 seconds.
Let the rice settle at the bottom of the bowl, then pour off the cloudy water.
Repeat steps 2–4 until the water remains clear.
Drain the rice in a colander for about 30 minutes.

Making the Sushi Vinegar

All sushi rice is seasoned with a vinegar mixture to brighten its taste and ensure that it isn’t overwhelmed by the strong flavors of the fish frequently served with it.

In a nonmetallic bowl, combine 4 Tbsp rice vinegar with 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 1/2 tsp salt.
Stir the vinegar mixture until it’s clear, and store it at room temperature until you use it.

Cooking the Rice

You can prepare sushi rice in either an electric rice cooker or a heavy-bottomed pot on a stovetop. Though electric rice cookers tend to make better rice and require less work, they’re also more expensive than just using a pot you already own.

Cooking Rice in a Rice Cooker

Place the rice in a rice cooker. The cooker should be large enough that the rice has room to expand to three times its uncooked volume.
Pour in just enough water to cover the rice.
Shut the lid tightly and turn on the cooker. The cooker will shut itself off after 25–30 minutes.
Let the rice sit, covered, for another 15 minutes.

Cooking Rice on a Stovetop

Place the rice in a pot large enough so the rice has room to expand to three times its uncooked volume.
Pour in just enough water to cover the rice.
Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid.
Bring the rice to a boil over medium heat and turn down the heat to low.
Simmer the rice for 15–20 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 15 minutes.

Cooling and Finishing the Rice

Cooling the cooked sushi rice with a fan helps give it its distinctive chewy texture.

With a rice paddle or flat wooden spoon, gently scrape the sides of the rice cooker or pot to loosen the rice.
Turn the pot or rice cooker upside down over a rice tub or large nonmetallic bowl. The rice will either crumble or fall out in one mass; either is fine.
Pour the rice vinegar evenly over the hot rice.
With gentle back- and-forth motions, use the rice paddle to spread the rice into an even layer across the rice tub or bowl. Take care not to smash or bruise the rice grains as you spread them.
Help the rice to cool by fanning it with a flat fan (or equivalent, such as a piece of cardboard). At the same time, turn the rice over using gentle up-and-over motions with the rice paddle. Continue until no more steam escapes from the rice as it’s turned.
Cover the rice with a clean, damp towel and leave it at room temperature until you’re ready to use it. Do not refrigerate the rice, or it will harden.