Traditional Sushi Rice
Ingredients
Rice
- 5 cups sushi rice or Japanese short-grain white rice (japonica)
Dashi Broth
- 5 cups cold water
- 2" strip of kombu seaweed
Sushi Vinegar
- scant - just barely reaching 1 cup - rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp + 1 tsp salt
- 1" piece of kombu
Equipment
- fine-mesh strainer
- rice cooker
- wooden sushi rice bowl & paddle
How-to
Make Dashi Broth
- Add cold water and kombu to a medium-sized pot
- Bring just to a boil, remove kombu and let dashi broth cool to room temperature
Rinse & Cook Rice
- Wash rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cool running water 3-4 times until the water runs clear, then drain the water
- Add rice to the bowl of a rice cooker
- Add kombu dashi broth, and choose the "sushi rice/regular" setting (may vary according to rice cooker)
- Once the rice is finished, leave in rice cooker to warm
Make Sushi Vinegar
- in a small saucepan, combine Sushi Vinegar ingredients
- Bring to a boil, then remove from heat
Season, Paddle & Cool
- Wet your wooden sushi rice bowl and paddle to prevent the rice from sticking
- Remove the bowl of rice from the rice cooker and invert into the center of your sushi rice bowl
- Break up rice with wooden spoon, and begin to pour the hot rice seasoning over the spoon to disperse it evenly over the rice
- Toss the rice to coat it evenly with the seasoning, using a sideways swiping motion with the wooden paddle
- Spread the rice into an even layer in the bowl, and let it sit 5 minutes
- Transfer rice to a container or bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to cool to room temperature, then use immediately