Different nations of the world have different tastes. Each region of the same country varies in taste and food varieties. One such standard Japanese dish is sushi.
Sushi is a Japanese recipe made of cooked rice with vinegar added to it along with various ingredients such as tropical fruits, vegetables, and seafood. This dish is mainly dressed in white or brown rice. This is served with soya sauce and ginger.
The most crucial part of today’s sushi is rice, and today we will decode that.
History of Sushi
According to historians, sushi was first cooked in South East Asia, and the meaning of this term is “sour-tasting”. Formerly, sushi was known as nare-zushi, which is a preparation made of fermented fish covered in sour fermented rice. Hanaya Yohei gave it the name Sushi.
Here is how you can make Authentic Japanese Sushi Rice
Ingredients and supplies you will need
- 2 bowls Japanese Short Grain White Rice
- 2 Tablespoons of Sake, and enough water to fill a 2 cup measure
- 4 x 6-inch piece of Kombu (Dashi Kombu/Dried Seaweed)
- 4 Tablespoons traditional Japanese Rice Vinegar (like Marukan or Mizkan)
- 4 Tablespoons of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Small hand fan or electric fan,
- pot or rice cooker,
- rice paddle
Preparing the Sushi Rice Seasoning
- Add four tablespoons of sugar, four tablespoons of rice vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a bowl.
- Mix this firmly until all of the sugar is softened.
- You can rhythmically mix it while you are soaking, washing, and preparing the rice in the following steps.
Washing the Rice
- Put the rice in a standard heavy-bottomed pot or a rice cooker pot and cover it with cold freshwater.
- Whiz the rice around with your hand to wash it.
- The water will become white.
- Drain the water and replicate this washing process anywhere from three to four times or until the water comes out mostly clean.
- Let the rice drain in a strainer for 45 minutes.
Cooking the Rice
- If using a plain rice cooker, put it on. If you are using a conventional pot, turn the heat up to high until it starts to boil and then turn it back down to low and put the cover on top.
- Cook this rice on low flame for 10 minutes and then set the stove eye off. Your rice cooker at this moment will turn off on its own.
- Let the rice sit in the pot or the rice cooker now for 15 minutes. This enables the rice to “steam.” Do not take the lid off of the pot or rice cooker anytime during this steaming and cooking process.
- At the end of the 15 minute steaming period, take the top off and use a wooden spoon or rice paddle to move it over a few times to blend it up and fluff it.
- Put the lid back on for five more minutes.
Mixing the Sushi Rice
The next steps will need to be done quickly when you add all of the ingredients together in the bowl. You will also have to have a steady wind source blowing over the rice like a small electric fan or hand fan while mixing the rice with the sushi rice seasoning.
- Point a small electric fan over the blending bowl and turn it on.
- Drain the hot rice in a bowl, pour the sushi rice seasoning all over the rice.
- Start moving the rice over periodically with a wooden spoon or rice paddle to be cautious not to mash rice grains. Simultaneously, fan the rice or have the electric fan blowing over the rice while you are mixing it.
- Keep mixing the rice until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice has a lovely sheen to it. If in doubt, keep mixing and cooling the rice until you are convinced.
When all of the liquid is absorbed, your sushi rice will be ready to use in any sushi recipe you desire.
