Perfect Sushi Rice
Short-grain rice rinsed until the water runs clear, cooked with a strip of kombu, then folded with warm vinegar seasoning while fanning it. Properly done, each grain stays separate but the rice still packs into a ball.
- Prep15 min
- Cook20 min
- Total1 h 15 min
- Serves6
AI-generated illustration
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse the short-grain sushi rice in a bowl of cold water, swirling with your hand and pouring off the cloudy water, four or five times until it runs nearly clear, then drain in a sieve 15 minutes.
- Put the drained rice, the water, and the piece of kombu in a heavy pot, bring to a boil uncovered, then cover, drop the heat to low, and cook 12 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Take the pot off the heat and let it stand covered 10 minutes, then discard the kombu.
- Warm the rice vinegar with the white sugar and salt just until they dissolve, no hotter.
- Turn the hot rice into a wide wooden or glass bowl, pour the seasoning over a spatula so it spreads, and fold with slicing strokes while fanning the rice, until it cools to body temperature and turns glossy, about 5 minutes.
- Cover with a damp cloth and use within a few hours; never refrigerate it, which turns the grains hard and chalky.
Notes
- Cutting strokes rather than stirring keeps the grains whole instead of mashing them into paste.
