Sushi Rice Recipe for Stove Top



For this non rice-cooker sushi rice recipe, if you don't have a rice cooker, rice can be cooked on the stovetop, in a Dutch oven or other pot with a tight fitting lid. Generally speaking, equal amounts of water and rice are used. However, short grain rice from California may require a little bit more water. Add somewhere around 1/5 to 1/4 cup more.


Stove top sushi rice recipe ingredients for a single serving:
1 1/2 Cups (11 ounces, 330 milliliter) of uncooked short grained rice
1 square of Kombu (dried kelp)
3 Table Spoons Seasoned Rice Vinegar

If you can't find seasoned rice vinegar you'll need to add the seasoning yourself.

Vinegar Seasoning:
4 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

prepare the mixture in a glass or plastic bowl and warm in microwave oven for about 10 seconds or warm enough to dissolve the sugar and salt. Mix and set it aside or place in refrigerator to cool. Do not add to rice cooker water.


Special Kitchen tools:
Medium size saucepan with a snug fitting lid (nabe)
Measuring Cup (usually comes with rice cooker)
Wood or plastic rice paddle (shamoji)
Wooden Rice Tub (hangiri)
Substitute rice paddle with salad spoon, or mixing spoon. A wooden rice tub with a large wood salad bowl or large mixing bowl.

Sushi Rice Recipe Preparation
In a medium size sauce pan, measure about 1 1/2 cups of rice out of the bag for an individual (1) serving.

1 1/2 cups (11 ounces, 330 milliliter) makes about 3 regular size rolls cut into 8 bite-sized pieces with no left-over rice. That's 24 bite-sized rolls.

The above is measured with a measuring cup.

Add the rice to the pot.

Wash Rice
Wash the rice by filling the saucepan with luke-warm water. Stir with your clean stirring hand, hold the pot with the other. Repeat till the water is visually less milky. About 3 or 4 times.

Add Water
Finally fill the pan with 2-1/4 cups of clean drinking water for every 1-1/2 cuts of rice.

Soak Rice for 30
Allow the rice to sit in good clean drinking water in order for the grains to absorb the water and slightly expand. Let it stand 30 minutes for perfect consistency. Allow it to stand 45 minutes in cooler winter weather.

I say good drinking water above because some tap water may not be ideal for taste. Here in the city where I live the raw tap is not the best so I use filtered water for soaking and tap water for cleaning the rice (above). Its okay for washing the rice with this tap since it will be used briefly to rinse the grains.

Add Kombu
For more flavor add a 3" X 5" piece of dried kelp or Kombu to the on top of the rice and water mix. Put a few cuts in the konbu to release the flavor.

Sushi Rice Recipe Cooking Steps

1. Cover and cook over medium heat and bring to a boil.
2. Once water begins to boil, turn the heat up to a higher non-boil-over setting and boil for 1 minute. Avoid lifting or removing the lid while cooking.
3. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cook for 20 minutes.
4. Turn the heat off and let stand for 10 minutes, with the lid on.

Open the pan, discard the kombu, and use a rice paddle or wood spoon. First wet the paddle so that fewer rice will adhere to it.

If you haven't yet, empty the water used to soak the wood tub.

Scoop the cooked rice into the rice tub or large mixing bowl.

This step takes the rice out of the hot pan which is generally small and tight to allow the rice to cool.

Pour vinegar over rice

Next pour the seasoned rice vinegar over the rice paddle so as to sprinkle the vinegar over the rice. (pictured above)

If you have a feel for what 3 tablespoons is like from the bottle, you may do what is pictured, but don't try this if you're feeding others.

Gently stir the rice and then sprinkle more vinegar, repeat till all 3 tablespoons of the vinegar is used.

While stirring fan the rice to cool to room temperature. Never put it in the fridge cause that would dry it out.

Stir the vinegar into the rice to wet the grains. It will seem to have lost its stickiness but that is normal and will become sticky again after the vinegar soaks into the grains.

That's it. This is the basic way to make cooked rice well suited for sushi.

Tips:

Avoid cooking just 1 cup of rice in a rice cooker. It can be done. Just know that it has a tendency to come out too hard or soft.

Store the vinegarized cooked rice at room temperature with clean wet cloth or towel placed over the rice until it is ready to use later in the day.

Store cooked unvinegarized rice in a freezer safe zip lock bag in the freezer to store it for weeks. Place in a microwave oven for a few minutes to use again.

Cut the kombu square into strips to release more of the flavor.

In Japan its all about the rice. It's regarded as sacred. Be careful not to crush any rice grains during any part of stirring, or removing rice from the pot.

Important:

Make sure to use the right type of rice and that its cooked so that the rice is not too stiff or hard (add more water to the pot before cooking)or too soft (use less water). Get this step right and you will enjoy great fresh made sushi.

At first it may be a bit much. You'd think this home sushi stuff would be easier. It does get easier once you've gone through it once or twice and let it become a routine. Practice once or twice a week to get used to it. It really is worth it.

I tried the store bought packaged sushi from Smiths food store. Then, shortly after, I went out and made my own like the ones on this website. I've learned time and time hands down nothing beats fresh home made sushi.


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