How to: Sushi Rice

Making sushi rice is a bit of a process. However today's how-to will get sushi rice that you can make rolls and sushi with.

Ingredients

Sushi rice (brown or white)
Seasoned rice vinegar (Be sure that you buy seasoned rice vinegar as opposed to regular rice vinegar. Seasoned rice vinegar already has sugar in it and it will make your rice perfectly sticky.)

When shopping for sushi rice, look on the bag for it to indicate that it's short grain sushi rice. I like to go to a Japanese market and pick out a bag from there. I've cooked with cheap bags of rice and more expensive bags of rice and I have noticed that price does make a difference in the quality and taste of the rice you are getting.

As for cooking the rice, measure the quantity that you want. If you are making a couple of rolls, a cup of uncooked rice will be enough. Now rinse the rice.



As you can see, with the first rinse, the water on top is quite cloudy. It'll take a few of rinses for it to look clearer. It took me close to ten rinses to get my rice to look more like this.



It's not completely clear but it's better than before and that'll be good enough.

Next, cooking the rice. You can use a rice cooker or you can do the old stovetop method like I did. Fill up the water about 10% more than the level of rice in the pot.



Bring to a boil.



Partially cover it and lower the temperature.



Check your bag for cooking times for the rice as rice quantity and time vary.

When your rice is done, it should look fluffy. Do a taste test just to make sure your rice is soft. It shouldn't be soggy soft nor crunchy.



While still hot, pile the rice evenly onto a plate. Pour a tablespoon of the seasoned rice vinegar and sprinkle it throughout the plate of rice. Repeat. With the same spoon, turn the rice over on the plate repeatedly to spread the rice vinegar throughout the rice. Allow to cool.



To test if you rice is sticky enough, take a mound of rice in your hands and mold it as if making a snowball.

The rice should stick together and hold. If it doesn't, add another tablespoon of rice vinegar and work the vinegar through the rice as before by turning the rice over with a spoon.