This Sushi Rice recipe is perfect. This recipe is so flavorful we find ourselves eating the rice as if it was the main meal. The secret to any good sushi, is the rice. This sushi rice is perfect for Tofu Musubi, Crispy Sushi Rice with Avocado, poke bowl, Tofu Katsu bowl and fried rice.

What is Sushi Rice?

Sushi rice is made from a type of glutenous short grain rice. This short grain rice is referred in Japan as Koshihikari. This special type of rice is grown in Japan, the United States and Australia. The popular rice to eat in the United States is called Calrose.

There are two ways to eat sushi rice. The first way is the easiest, cook the rice as it says on the instructions of the package. The second method is by creating a rice seasoning with sugar, vinegar, and salt. This seasoning mix is considered the traditional way of preparing sushi. Our special seasoning recipe is found at the bottom of this article.

Why Wash Sushi Rice?

An important tip for making delicious sushi is to wash the rice. And by wash, we mean washing and rinsing 10 times. If you have never washed this ingredient, here are the instructions on how to do so.

Place the sushi rice in a pot or large bowl and add water so that the rice is covered by at least 1 inch.
Add your hand into the rice and begin to make circles by swishing the rice around. After about 2 rotations the water should start turning white.
Once the water is clouded drain the water from the rice.
Add water again and continue washing.
Keep mixing till you can see the rice clearly in the water.
Gently drain the water from the rice and repeat. At around +3 times the water should be clear enough to fully see the rice.

The cloudiness in the water is all the excess starch and dirt coming off the rice. It is important to note that the starch is really important though. The starch is what makes sushi rice stick together. But unwashed / less washed rice becomes very chewy after it is cooked.

We have seen people wash the rice less but washing multiple times gets the rice to the perfect level of stickiness.

History Of Sushi

While sushi is a popularly known Japanese dish, it is proposed to have come from 5^th to 3^rd centuries BC China. It was as a method for preserving fish. Sushi gets its name from the practice of fermenting rice as a means of preserving fish. Eventually the fermented rice was eaten along with the fish. Today most associate sushi with raw fish when really sushi references the rice.

With the invention of rice vinegar recipes began to evolve in Japan. The once fermented rice was now substituted with vinegar. This period of change to vinegar-based method is known as the Edo period. This is how it is made today, and the recipe is located at the bottom of this page.

Sushi Today

Today’s style of sushi is called nigirizushi. Popularly known in the United Stated as nigiri, is made with a long rice ball and a slice of fish layered on top. It is also important to note that for of adding fish and vegetables to the rice caries according to region in Japan.

Uramaki is the name of the sushi also most popular in the United States. It can best be described as a circular style with one to two fillings. The nori is wrapped around the filling with the rice on the outside of the roll. Uramaki style then developed into the California Roll.

Fun Fact

Hawaii has the largest consumption rate of Spam in the world.

Vegan Sushi

Sushi Rice is completely vegan, being a seasoning mix added to rice. No animal products are needed. For this reason, vegan sushi is very easy to make.

Make the rice and add what every vegetable filling you like. We have used

Cucumber

Avocado

Carrots

Zucchini

Enoki Mushrooms

Shitake Mushrooms

Portabello Mushrooms

Tofu

If you have the fillings available and the nori but don’t have sushi rice on hand check out this easy and fun Tofu Sushi Rolls With Sweet Chili Sauce.

If you tried one of our recipes or found our articles helpful, let us know in the comments below how it turned out!

Follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. Take a picture of your creations and tag us using #cookingupvegan.

Peace,
Luna & Nate

Sushi Rice

Recipe by Cooking Up Vegan Course: SidesCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Resting Time

Total time

minutes

The secret to any good sushi, is the rice. This recipe is perfect for tofu musubi, sushi, poke bowls and even fried rice.

Ingredients

Rice
1 1/2 cups 1 1/2 Nishiki, Premium Grade Rice, Washed +3 times
2 cups 2 Water
Sushi Rice Vinegar Seasoning
1/4 cup 1/4 Water
6 Tbsp 6 Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp 2 Aji Mirin
2 2 x2inch Dashi Kombu
1 tbsp 1 Lemon peel
2 Tbsp 2 Sugar

Directions

Cook the Rice Seasoning
Add all the rice seasoning ingredients into a small pot and bring to a boil.
Once boiling remove the pot from the hot burner and allow to cool and steep until the rice has finished cooking.
Wash the Rice
After the seasoning is made, begin washing the sushi rice.
Place the rice into a pot and cover with water.
Using your hands, wash the grains between your fingers stirring out the starch. The water will look milky. Strain the water from the rice.
Repeat this process 2 more times. The water should be more clear.
Gently drain the water from the rice and repeat. At around +3 times the water should be clear enough to fully see the rice.
Cook the Rice
Place the water and sushi rice into a pot and press the rice evenly so that it cooks in an even manner.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take it off of heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Once cool, transfer to a large bowl and allow the rice to cool before adding the seasoning. Be sure not to have the rice too hot.
After the rice has cooled it is time to remove the lid.
Using a wooden spoon carefully transfer the rice into a large bowl.
Spread the rice out evenly in the bowl so the grains can cool.
While the rice is cooling, pour the vinegar seasoning through a strainer.
Collected the strained vinegar seasoning in a cup or small bowl.
Once the rice has cooled slowly pour the seasoning vinegar over the rice.
Using the wooden spoon, mix the rice with the vinegar seasoning.

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Nutrition Facts

6 servings per container

Amount Per ServingCalories177
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 0g 0%
- Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Potassium 1mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 38.5g 13%
- Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
- Sugars 5.1g
Protein 3g 6%

Calcium 2%

* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.