According to sushi expert Hiroko Shimbo, sushi rice—called sumeshi (vinegar-flavored) or shari in Japanese—should not be eaten immediately after cooking but allowed to set for an hour. Transfer the rice to a plastic container, lay a moist paper towel on top, and cover with a lid. Float in a bowl of warm water, changing it as it gets cool. The best tasting rice is about 98°F (36°C) when used. Never refrigerate the rice.
Ingredients
2-1/4 cups dry raw Japonica or medium-grain California rice
2-1/4 cups water
5 tablespoons rice vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Directions
1. Pour the rice into a large fine-mesh strainer and have on hand a larger bowl into which the strainer can fit. Fill the bowl with cold water and lower the strainer into the bowl so that the water covers the rice.
2. With both hands, gently rub, turn, and toss the rice. Do not press the grains too hard against the strainer or against one another, or the fragile grains may break, especially if you are using a lower grade of rice. The water will instantly turn milky white, so remove the strainer from the large bowl, discard the water, and refill the bowl with fresh cold water. Repeat two or three times until the water is almost clear. Drain the rice and let it sit in the strainer for 10 minutes.
3. Transfer the rice to a heavy-bottomed pot that is deeper than it is wide and has a heavy, tight-fitting lid. During cooking, rice swells to as much as two and a half times its original volume, so your pot should be at least three times deeper than the level of rice and water. Add the water and let sit for 20 minutes.
4. Set the rice over medium heat and cook, uncovered, until the water is nearly absorbed by the rice, about 10 minutes. Quickly reduce the heat to very low, cover the pot with the lid, and cook until the rice is plump and cooked through, another 10 minutes.
5. After a total of 20 minutes cooking, take a quick look: the rice should be completely transparent. If you see any dry, very white-looking grains, sprinkle a little warm water over the dry spots and cook another couple of minutes over very low heat. During cooking, never stir the rice.
6. After confirming that all the rice grains are transparent, immediately put the lid back on before the built-up steam can escape. Turn off the heat and let the rice stand for 5 minutes.
7. While the rice is cooking, place the vinegar, salt, and sugar in a bowl and stir with a whisk until the sugar and salt are almost dissolved.
8. If you are using a Japanese sushi-oke (wooden sushi tub) and shamoji (flat wooden paddle), soak them in a bath of cold water for half an hour while the rice is cooking. Drain the water and wipe the tub and paddle with a dry kitchen towel. If you are using a large unfinished wooden salad bowl, moisten it just before using. Other bowls of metal or glass may be substituted, but they tend to make the sushi rice watery, mushy, and lumpy.
9. Transfer the steaming hot rice all at once to the sushi tub or salad bowl. Quickly and gently break up the rice, crisscrossing it with the side of your paddle.
10. Pour the prepared vinegar dressing evenly over it and, with the paddle, break up the lumpy clumps and turn the rice over, working one area at a time. Repeat once or twice until you can tell by looking that the vinegar dressing is evenly distributed. Push the rice toward one side of the tub.
11. Now hold the paddle horizontally and insert the paddle into the rice in one area, then rapidly move it back and forth with many small strokes. By cutting the rice this way, you are breaking up the clumps and pushing a portion of the rice toward the opposite side of the tub. Work on the remaining areas of the rice in the same way until you have moved all the rice to the other side of the tub. Rotate the tub 180 degrees and repeat the process. The whole procedure should take about 2 minutes.
12. Fan the rice for about 30 seconds. This quick fanning gelatinizes the surface of the rice to give it a glossy appearance and also cools it, helping the vinegar dressing to settle inside each grain.
13. If the rice is still very hot, cover with a moist kitchen towel and allow to cool to about 98°F (36°C) until using.
Makes 6 cups rice (enough for 6 thick rolls)
Excerpted from The Flavors of Asia by Mai Pham. Copyright © 2009 by The Culinary Institute of America. Excerpted by permission of DK Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book now.
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