Sushi Rice, the Secret Behind Delicious Sushi I am finally delivering on my promise to talk about seasoned vinegar (sushi-su) and sushi rice (sumeshi).  Sushi rice, or rice dressed with a seasoned vinegar, is an essential component of a variety of sushi dishes.  In fact, sushi wouldn’t be sushi without this rice.  If you are serving slices of fresh uncooked fish without any sushi rice, you are serving sashimi!  My experience is that semi-decent sushi can be ruined by bad sushi rice.  If you can make good sushi rice, there is no reason why you can’t make delicious sushi at home! Sushi Rice Tips & Tricks Use polished (white) short-grain Japanese rice (japonica) or medium-grain California rice.  These types of rice are often labeled as sushi rice or Calrose rice at the store here in the US. Wash your rice to get rid of the starchy powder that clings to the grains. This starchy powder will prevent proper absorption of the sushi-su and give you less than perfect rice. 

To wash rice, place your measured rice into a bowl and cover it with fresh cold water.  Use your hand to swish and stir the rice around and then carefully drain the water (I use a fine-mesh strainer to do this).  Repeat this process until the water runs clear. If you eat a lot of rice, a rice cooker is a wonderful investment because it eliminates timing problems, makes perfect rice, and many cookers offer a warming function that keeps rice fresh ahd warm for 24 hours.  My favorite that I’ve personally used is Zojirushi’s Neuro Fuzzy Logic.  But again, it’s an investment! It is best to mix the seasoned vinegar with the cooked rice  in a sushi-oke or an unvarnished wooden bowl, but you can also use a wide shallow glass or ceramic bowl.  I use a wide shallow glass mixing bowl, because that is what I have on hand.  Do not, however, use an aluminum bowl, as this type of bowl will retain heat differently and give the rice a metallic taste. Prepared sushi rice should be stored at cool room temperature, covered with a moist cloth or plastic wrap.

It will keep this way for up to 12 hours.  Do not refrigerate it or freeze it, as this destroys the texture. How to Make Sushi-su (Seasoned Vinegar for Sushi Rice) There are many recipes for sushi-su (seasoned vinegar), but all use the same basic components: rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.  sushi takeout downtown minneapolisSome recipes also through in a small piece of kombu, which adds more depth of flavor, but this is optional.  how do you get sushi grade fishI prefer my sushi-su to be not as sweet as some.  can you cook sushi rice in a steamerOnce you make your own, you can adjust the sugar to suit your personal taste!  sushi grade fish new haven

This recipe makes 1 cup of sushi-su.  I like to make extra sushi-su so that I can use it as a salad dressing (you can add some sesame or olive oil, but I like it without).  It is delicious tossed with baby arugula and then sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.where can you buy sushi ginger The sushi-su to rice proportions that I like to use are:menu sushi club argentina 3 cups cooked rice: use 1/4 – 1/3 cup sushi-suhow to roll sushi perfectly 4 cups cooked rice: use 1/2 – 2/3 cup sushi-su 5 cups cooked rice: use 2/3 – 1 cup sushi-su Sushi-Su (Seasoned Vinegar for Sushi Rice) 1 cup rice vinegar 2 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 piece kombu, 2-inches square (optional) Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, and kombu in a small saucepan. 

Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring until the sugar and salt dissolve.  When the mixture is clear, remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside to cool.  Discard the piece of kombu.  Sushi-su can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. How to Make Sushi Rice 1. Transfer the freshly cooked hot rice to a wide shallow bowl.  Pour a small amount of the sushi-su evenly over the rice.  Toss the rice by gently cutting into it vertically with your rice paddle (or spatula), and then lifting the rice and turning it over.  As you do this, fan the rice with a hand fan or piece of cardboard (or get someone to help you).  Add more of the sushi-su and continue the cutting, folding, and fanning process.  Fanning the rice facilitates quick cooling, which gelatinizes the surface of the rice and gives a glossy finish to the rice.   Towards the end, taste the rice occasionally to decide how much of you sushi-su you want to add.

2. Cover the seasoned rice with a moist cloth or plastic wrap until ready to use. Now that you’ve got delicious sushi rice, you can start making sushi! Here are some ideas to get you started: Smoked Salmon, Creeam Cheese, & Jalapeno Temaki Sushi FM’s Quick & Easy Chirashi Sushi See the blog Sushi Day for more yummy ideas! Previous post: A Weekend in the Woods—Camp Blogaway May 2010 Next post: Miso Pickled Garlic (Ninniku Miso-zuke)—All you need is 3 ingredients and a glass jar! Firstly, the term sushi rice is a misnomer as technically, the word sushi refers to the rice, not the final product. But for arguments sake we’re going to ignore that little tidbit. Sushi would not be sushi without great rice. Anyone can boil rice, but to make really good sushi you will need the right kind of rice, cooked the right way, and properly seasoned. The first thing you need to know is the right kind of rice to use for sushi. The short-grain rice reserved for the task is often called sushi rice, and is available now in many markets, not just Japanese markets.

Only this kind of rice has the right balance of starches (amylose and amylopectin) to allow the rice to stick together and keep the final product intact from plate to mouth. Try to eat medium or long-grain rice with chopsticks and you will understand what I mean. It is best to use the instructions on the package of rice when cooking it, but a general suggestion is to use equal parts rice and water. Prior to cooking, the rice should be rinsed in cold water until the water runs clear, a step now becoming less necessary as talc (used to prevent the rice from absorbing water and sticking together during storage) is slowly being replaced with another type of starch, which is fine to cook with. But you never know and the package won’t tell you what the company used as a coating. A rice cooker will do a fine job, however if you do not have one you can use our fail safe pot rice recipe which has served many well in the past. You should have the seasoning for the rice prepared ahead of time.

When the rice is cooked but still hot, place it in a large stainless steel bowl (which is best, but you can certainly use any non-reactive bowl at your disposal). To prepare the seasoning mix 5 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar (it must be rice wine vinegar), 2 teaspoons of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt together and stir until the sugar dissolves. Heating the vinegar will make the sugar dissolve faster, however the seasoning should not be used until it has cooled to a comfortable temperature (room temperature is best). This will season approximately four cups of cooked rice and can be extrapolated to make more depending on how much rice you are preparing. Remember that one cup of uncooked rice will yield approximately two cups of cooked rice. Mix this seasoning sparingly into the rice using a cutting and folding motion as to avoid crushing the rice and making a paste. You want to keep the grains as intact as possible. You may not want to use all the seasoning you have prepared, so it is best to taste along the way until the rice reaches your desired seasoning level.

You will realize what that level is the more you make sushi at home and season your own rice. The rice should be alternately folded and fanned to cool it to room temperature. Warm rice does not good sushi make… Some people spread the cooked rice out on a cookie sheet or aluminum foil to cool, but if you do this be careful as aluminum and vinegar do not mix well a this is a very reactive metal and does not like acidic foods. I would suggest a baking pan or cookie sheet if you wish to hasten the cooling process in this manner. When the rice has cooled it is best to take a moist paper towel or hand towel and drape it over the rice when you are not using it to prevent the top layer from drying out and getting hard. You now have your seasoned sushi rice ready! You can make this hours before you start making sushi at home, as long as you keep the damp towel over the top of the rice to maintain it’s moisture level. For those looking for a simple method without a lot of effort, our recipe section includes Gavins’ Fail-Safe sushi Rice, which should result in decent sushi rice without a lot of mess and work.