This easy stovetop method is the best way to get perfect rice every time. Add sushi vinegar if you plan to use the rice for homemade sushi. Or swap the vinegar with a teaspoon of salt or rice seasoning, and serve it as a side.This recipe yields just over two cups of rice.
Servings4
Equipment
- Large saucepan – with a tight-fitting lid.
- Rice paddle or silicone spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup sushi rice*
- 1 cup water
- piece of dried kombu (optional), about 5 cm (2 inches) square
Sushi vinegar ingredients (for sushi rice)*
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar*
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground sea salt
Instructions
Rinse the rice
- Place the rice in a large mixing bowl and cover it with cold water. Swirl the rice with your fingers shaped like a claw. Don't crush or break the rice. Pour off the water, and repeat four to five times – until the water runs clear.
Soak the rice
- Place your rinsed rice in a medium-sized saucepan or pot for which you have a tight-fitting lid. Add a cup of water and gently stir to distribute the rice. And set the pot of rice aside to soak for 20 minutes.
Mix the sushi vinegar (only required for sushi)
- Gently heat the sushi vinegar ingredients.
- In the microwave: Place the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small microwavable bowl and heat for 30 seconds.
- On the stovetop: Use a small saucepan to heat the rice vinegar, sugar and salt until it just starts to simmer. Don't let it boil.
- Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Add kombu (optional)
- Place the kombu on the surface of the rice. Add an extra tablespoon of water to accommodate the rehydration of the kombu.
Stovetop instructions
- Move the pot with the rice, water and (optional) kombu to the stovetop over high medium-heat until the water just starts to simmer – about 3 minutes. Cover the pot and turn the heat down to low, maintaining a gentle simmer.
- Allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until the water is absorbed (it will look and sound dry).
- Let the rice rest for 10 minutes with the lid. This allows the rice to steam. It is part of the cooking process, so don't skip it. And definitely don't lift the lid while the rice steams.
Season the cooked rice with sushi vinegar (only required for sushi)
- Discard the kombu and transfer the cooked rice to a non-metal bowl (traditionally wood, but glass works just fine).
- Add the seasoned vinegar mix to the warm rice. Gently fold it through the rice with a rice paddle in a slicing motion to combine, carefully coating each grain of rice with the mixture.
- Cover the rice with a clean damp kitchen towel and allow it to cool to room temperature – about 30 minutes.
Notes
- This recipe also works for Korean short-grain rice or medium-grain Calrose rice.
- Rice cooker instructions: Add the cup of washed rice to the inner pot of your rice cooker. Add a cup of water and soak the rice for 20 minutes. Then start the rice cooker. When the cooking time is over, allow the rice to rest in the rice cooker for 10 minutes. Rice cooker instructions were adapted from Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home by Eric Kim.
- You can also make sushi rice in a pressure cooker, see Instant Pot sushi rice for step-by-step instructions.
- Skip the sushi vinegar and fluff the rice with a fork for perfectly steamed white rice. Serve it warm or at room temperature.