How To Cook Sushi Rice In A Rice Cooker

A sushi chef gives us the lowdown on how to cook perfect sushi rice.

As a sushi chef, I’m often asked what the secret is to making good sushi rice. I’d love to tell you its years of practice and a magic touch, but its really all about understanding how sushi rice and water work together. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• If you’re making white rice, the end product should result in light, fluffy, individual grains. If you get a gummy, sticky mess — keep trying. When using short to medium grained white rice, you should wash the rice sufficiently first before cooking to remove extra starch, or else it will turn out too sticky. Generally, filling the rice cooker inner pot 4-5 times with water while swishing your hand around through the rice works just fine.  The water will gradually become less cloudy.
• The water to rice rule for short grain rice is about 15% more water than rice. An easy trick is to fill the pot with water so that the water level reaches your knuckles if you place your hand palm down on the rice.
• For cooking sushi rice, I prefer to use a rice cooker as it yields a consistent product every time. If you’re cooking rice on the stove top you’ll need to be sure you bring the water to a full boil, add the rice, stir, then cover and turn the heat down to medium-low for about 20 minutes. Never stir the rice while it’s cooking. continue to cook until water is absorbed. Patience is key in making perfect sushi rice.

Ingredients

(makes 3 cups cooked sushi rice)

-1.5 c uncooked short grain rice

-1.75 c water

For ‘Sharizu’ (rice vinegar dressing)

-6 tbs. rice vinegar

-1/4 c. water

-3 tbs. sugar

-2 tbs. lemon juice

1. Wash your rice thoroughly: rinse 4-5 times with water until the water is only slightly cloudy. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cooking

2. In a rice cooker, add water and set to cook. If cooking rice on the stovetop, bring the water to a boil. Add your rice and slowly stir once. Let boil for 2-3 min. Cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Let cook for 20 minutes. If the water has not all been absorbed, continue to cook.  DO NOT stir rice while it is cooking.

3. Remove rice from heat, and let stand for 3-5 minutes. Put the rice into a bowl, and fluff or ‘cut’ the rice with a spoon, spatula or rice paddle to get rid of the clumps. If you’re making sushi rice, add the sharizu rice vinegar dressing during this process. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to cool.

Sharizu Recipe

1. Combine vinegar, water, sugar & lemon juice into a small pot and bring to a simmer.

2. Stir until all sugar is dissolved, remove from heat.

3. Pour over rice to taste. Make sure the dressing is hot. Hot rice, hot dressing.

Rice Washing Bowl
Check out this handy rice washing bowl to easily rinse your rice before cooking …

This article is adapted from the original by Jessica Roy.  Visit Jessica’s blog Shiso Fresh where you can follow the culinary adventures of this former competitive snowboarder turned Sushi Chef.