Want to have a better life? Here's an easy way: learn how to make sushi rice at home.
Sure, all rice is delicious, but sushi rice has one of the most pleasing textures in the world, which makes it the best, IMO. And the bright pop of vinegar and the sweetness from the sugar added to sushi rice don't hurt anything either. Learn how to make sushi rice at home, and you'll be able to treat yourself to one of life's most perfect foods any time you want. Plus, the process is super simple. Here's our step-by-step guide:
1. Buy the Right Rice
Achieving the appealing, chewy texture of sushi rice starts with buying the right kind of rice. You'll want white rice with a super-short grain, specifically labeled sushi rice.
2. Assemble rice vinegar, salt, and sugar
Sushi rice gets a boost of flavor from rice vinegar. (Don't accidentally buy the seasoned kind, though—it often contains unnecessary added sugar.) You'll also want to have sugar and salt on hand.
Optional: Sushi rice is sometimes seasoned with dried kelp, called kombu. This will add a pop of extra savory flavor to the rice. It is sometimes available in specialty aisles at the grocery store, but if you want to add it you may have to visit an Asian market, health foods store, or order it online. Some people also just add the kombu to the rice-cooking water.
3. Rinse the rice
Place your rice in a bowl and wash it in several changes of cold water, until the water is clear and not murky. Then, strain the rice using a mesh sieve.
This short-grain rice is ready for the pot or the rice cooker!
4. Cook the rice
You'll use an even 1:1 ratio of rice to water (i.e. one cup of water per one cup of sushi rice). If you want to boost umami even further, you can replace 2 tablespoons of the water with 2 tablespoons of sake.
Steam it in a Rice Cooker:
Follow the instructions on your rice cooker. Generally, you'll add the quantity of rice you'd like to use and the appropriate quantity of water (see ratio above) to the liner bowl of your rice cooker. Close the lid and set the timer for the rice cooker according to its instructions.
Let the rice rest in the covered cooker for 10 minutes. Then, use the rice cooker's fluffing paddle to fluff the rice. Let it sit another 5 minutes before adding your seasoning.
Don't have a rice cooker? Make sushi rice on the stovetop!
Fill a saucepan with the appropriate amount of water (see the ratio above). Then, add the rice.
Turn the heat on your stove to medium-high.
Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil.
When the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to simmer and continue cooking the rice until all of the water is absorbed into the grains. For 2 cups of sushi rice in 2 cups of water, this will take about 20 minutes.
When all of the liquid is absorbed, turn the heat off. Keep the rice covered in the pot and let it stand for another 10 minutes.
