Technology of rice preparation for sushi

Japanese cuisine is very popular all over the world. This is not surprising: sushi, rolls, salads and other exotic dishes conquer not only taste but also benefits, as well as ease of preparation. One of the main ingredients of Asian cuisine is rice, which is part of almost all sets. It has a neutral taste, which makes it possible to highlight other components of dishes, but at the same time, it is completely self-sufficient. If you know how to properly cook rice for sushi, the dishes will always be perfect!

To get a really exquisite and tasty dish that will simply melt in your mouth and have an unparalleled taste, you need to choose the appropriate type of rice and cook it correctly. We want to share with you tips on how to properly prepare rice for sushi.

The stages of cooking rice for sushi

Japanese chefs have been honing the process of cooking rice for years, perfecting it like patient artists who draw the same character thousands of times, achieving the perfect effect, because only rice for rolls, cooked according to all the rules, will give them the right shape, preserve the texture and taste of food. If the prepared cereal is too watery, sticky, or on the contrary, dry, it cannot be an ideal basis for sushi. It is believed that it takes at least ten years to become a real sushi master.

But with our help, you will be able to cook rolls at home much faster, let’s cook together! The recipe for rice for sushi is not too complicated, and the process itself has several stages:

1. First, the rice must be thoroughly washed to remove the husks and small debris from the grains. To do this, take a container, pour the required amount of rice into it and rinse it under cold running water. Warm water washes the gluten from the rice, as a result of which there may be difficulties when twisting the rolls, the rice will fall apart. It is necessary to rinse until the liquid becomes clean and transparent — as a rule, 3-4 times are enough. Now put it on a sieve and let the moisture drain, otherwise, the rolls will fall apart in the first minutes.
2. Then pour the rice into a saucepan, cover with cold water and leave for 15-20 minutes so that the grains soften, which will speed up the cooking process. Take 125 ml of liquid for 100 g of groats. (Two servings require 250 g of rice and 325 ml of liquid).
3. To prepare rice for sushi, it is best to take a deep cast-iron pot (preferably with a transparent lid and a thick bottom). The transparent lid will allow you to control the cooking process, and the thick bottom will allow you to make the heating uniform and soft.
4. Put the pot with rice on the stove, turn on medium heat and wait for the water to boil. Immediately reduce the temperature to a minimum and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes. The process must be periodically monitored, but the lid must remain closed — so choose a glass one. An indicator of readiness — the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Rice cooked in this way will be soft and crumbly, and you will have perfect rolls!
5. Seasonings, salt and pepper are not used when cooking rice for rolls. The main task is to preserve its natural taste. The main thing is not to open the lid and not to mix, then the rice will turn out homogeneous, retain all shades of taste and sticky structure, which will help you form rolls as conveniently and easily as possible.
6. After the rice has absorbed the water, turn off the heat and leave the pan for another 10-15 minutes with the lid closed. At this time, let’s prepare a special dressing using rice vinegar.
7. And the last little step: add the dressing to the rice. You can use it to make rolls or sushi. In order not to spoil the texture of the cereal, from our experience we recommend transferring the boiled cereal to a wooden or plastic container. Now pour the dressing and mix with a wooden spatula or spoon.

Congratulations! Now you can quickly and easily prepare the main ingredient for rolls and other Japanese dishes. If you follow our tips, the rice will turn out to be rich and crumbly in just 40 minutes — simply and quickly, like the best Japanese chefs. Take your time — in addition to our experience on how to cook rice for sushi, we want to share with you some useful tips for choosing cereals for rolls.

How to choose rice for sushi

Initially, rice was used to ferment raw fish, which was eaten, and the processed grain was thrown away or used to prepare the next batch. But over time, they also began to eat it, and in the 19th century, modern sushi appeared — with boiled rice and raw fish. The choice of cereals began to be given considerable attention since both the taste of the dish and its consistency depend on it. To prepare perfect rice, try to consider the following points:

• To prepare sushi, rolls and other dishes of Japanese cuisine, use only a special variety with a high gluten content — round-grain white rice. This variety is ideal for a fast and nice formation of roles.
• Choose rice so that all the grains are about the same size — then it will be quite sticky and crumbly at the same time. Such a roll can be easily cut, the rice grains will not fall out and form cavities.
• So that the rice does not boil, it must not be steamed, otherwise, you will get porridge instead of perfectly expressed grains.

Now you know how to choose the right rice and cook it to get sushi that keeps its shape and has a unique taste. It turns out that creating the perfect ingredient to recreate Asian recipes is super easy. We wish you successful culinary achievements!