How to make sushi rice - the full recipe.

Preparing the sushi rice might look complicated and pedantic at first, but as you go along with it you might notice that it's just like making ordinary rice, only with rice vinegar added to it, and a bit of Japanese methodology.

I've de-complicated the requirements into five simple steps:

  1. Choosing right

    Wouldn't you say that the Japanese have already thought of everything? Well, they did. They even made a special rice for sushi, they call it "shari", some folks simply call it "sushi rice". And they even took the time and effort to make it round, so that you can find it easily in the supermarket.
  2. Measuring and preparing the rice

    First you got to clear the rice from all sorts of impurities just lying there waiting for you to cook them in your sushi rice. But you wouldn't do that, right? Right. Wash the rice (1 cup = 3 rolls) with running water for 1-2 minutes until there is no more starch coming out of it. After you are done washing, take the rice and place it gently in a pot, add a little bit more water than rice ( the ratio is about 1.15:1 in favor of the water). Don't put too much water, or you'll get dough instead of rice.
  3. Cooking the rice

    The rice should be cooked on high heat at first, stir every minute or two, until the water boils. Then, lower the heat to minimum and cover the pot. Stop stirring, the rice will handle itself from now. Why? That is just the Japanese way...
    After 6-8 min, check the water level. If there is no more water, only bigger grains of rice in the pot, that means the rice is ready. If not, check back every minute, making sure not to burn the rice at the bottom.
  4. Taking out the rice

    You think I'm kidding right? Well I'm not. There are a few important issues to keep in mind while taking the rice out of the pot. First, use only a wooden spoon to handle the cooked rice. A metal spoon will damage it severely.

    Second, don't scrape the rice out from the bottom of the pot. If it comes out easily, good, if not - leave it be. The rice at the bottom is dry and burned, it won't taste so good.
  5. Seasoning the rice

    In order for the rice to taste like sushi rice should (and not like an ordinary rice), you need to add rice vinegar to it right after you take it out of the pot.

    How is this done?

    1. For 3 cups of rice, use ½ cup of rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of salt.
    2. Mix together in small pot, on medium heat until all solids are mixed in.
    3. Pour mixture on rice and stir well.
    4. Let rice cool down for a few minutes until it is within the room temperature.

  6. Enjoy...
 

Comments  

 
+2 #55 yoyomi 2010-07-27 08:55
I just wanted to say that the rice is supposed to be sticky. If it's a problem with you that the rice sticks to your hands when making the sushi, then be sure to wet your hands to keep it from sticking. Otherwise, the fact that the rice is sticky helps to hold your sushi roll together.

Quoting Andy:
You can add ordinary rice so that it will not be much sticky.

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Hi!Great website!!My question: everytime I make sushi rice it turns out to be very sticky. I thought this was normal but recently I saw a professional preparing sushi, and his rice wasn't soo sticky!what am I doing wrong? thanks Chris
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0 #54 Jenny 2010-05-30 22:58
For excellent results every time I let the rice 'rest' for 15 minutes. I made perfect rice in the microwave under extreme circumstances! Yummy sushi.
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0 #53 Brandy 2010-04-27 23:43
I had heard that this process takes decades to master but this seems straight forward and to the point! I wanted to have a sushi party at my house this summer and hope this will help me to make it- instead of buying it out of the stores!!! What a great site! Thank you, can't wait to try these out!
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-6 #52 Andy 2010-03-08 07:11
You can add ordinary rice so that it will not be much sticky.

Quote:
Hi!Great website!!My question: everytime I make sushi rice it turns out to be very sticky. I thought this was normal but recently I saw a professional preparing sushi, and his rice wasn't soo sticky!what am I doing wrong? thanks Chris
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0 #51 2009-09-08 02:25
we tried this at home aqnd it worked grerat thanks
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0 #50 2009-09-08 02:24
this was really helpful i liked it alot :)
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-3 #49 2009-08-08 15:57
anyway what is rice vinegar ?? kind of acetic acid ?
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0 #48 2009-07-31 12:00
Hi could candrel or sweetner be used instead of sugar? are they tsp or tbp?
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-4 #47 2009-07-11 00:29
For 3 cups of rice, use ½ cup of rice vinegar.
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+3 #46 2009-05-06 01:55

I used the above recipe and it werked well. i botched the first batch, but learned quickly that u have to really strain the water out of the rice. I used equal parts water to rice and only a quarter cup of vinegar. it werked just fine. as far as everything else it was perfect. it does take some practice to spread the rice out evenly tho.
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+2 #45 2009-04-05 23:13

I now see, the rice info is in a seperate page from the sushi preparation/recipe
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0 #44 2009-03-24 06:13

can't wait to try it, mmhhhh
 
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-9 #43 2009-02-03 15:41

Two tablespoons of salt? Sounds like too much to me. Maybe two teaspoons (tsp)....
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-3 #42 2009-01-27 04:38

Hi!
Great website!!
My question: everytime I make sushi rice it turns out to be very sticky. I thought this was normal but recently I saw a professional preparing sushi, and his rice wasn't soo sticky!
what am I doing wrong?
 
thanks Chris
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+1 #41 2009-01-22 14:32

hi!! i was just wondering if i could use regular whole wheat short grain rice instead? i know there is whole wheat sushi rice but i can not find it at my grocery store. would whole wheat short grain rice be okay?
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+1 #40 2009-01-19 22:26

Great Site! Very empowering, lol Think I have the courage to try cooking sushi rice ... yikes :-P
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0 #39 2008-12-27 18:56

No, you need to use Shari rice - commonly reffered to as sushi rice. It is round, and sticky.
 
You may want to use regular rice, but it just won't taste the same.
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-2 #38 2008-12-27 05:58

is common rice okay?
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0 #37 2008-12-10 11:46

Way tha go Luke!
 
Of course chicks digg cooking men, that's what it's all about here!
But seriousley, no harm in that;)
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-1 #36 2008-12-03 21:47

Hey!
 
Thanks so much for the info here everyone. I tried to cook my rice properly, but it didnt turn out too well to start with, I think i got a panic on. Anyway, not sure if I didnt wash the rice enough, but it started to look like rice pudding. So, I took it off the heat, put it in the sieve and poured a whole kettle full of boiling water over to get the starch off, then put it back on the heat... I then kept watching it and adding small ammounts of water when it looked like it needed it, and kept trying a bit until it was cooked. Left it for a while in the conservatory to cool and it worked perfectly! I was amazed... The moral of this story... dont be scared of rice!
 
PS. Guys... ive found that girls love a guy who can make sushi (and cook in general) because I was talking to the girl at my local and she said she wanted me to take her some, so I did, and she was most impressed and I got a free beer. No date... yet ;) .
 
L.
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0 #35 2008-09-13 17:17
u could try a chinese food store i live in toronto and im chinese and they have lots of stuff from other asain countries
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0 #34 2008-08-12 10:59
Very experimental! nice going!
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0 #33 2008-07-09 15:40
I've made too much sushi rice, and put most of it in the fridge. A week later, I've put it in the microwave, let it cool down, and made another batch of sushi.

It was a-okay for me.
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+2 #32 2008-06-15 00:16
yes it was true
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0 #31 2008-06-03 05:10
wait rice pudding that has to taste like rare but ok ill try it
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