Today, many people strive to learn how to cook rolls and sushi, and on this path everyone faces certain difficulties.

How to cook good sushi rice, how to roll rolls and many other questions reflect the seriousness of the process.

Today we will try to answer the very first, basic question, without an answer to which good rolls or sushi cannot be made in principle: how to properly prepare rice for sushi?

First, let’s clarify right away: without certain products, it is impossible to prepare sushi rice. These products are, in addition to suitable rice, rice vinegar and kombu seaweed (nori), without which it is also not possible to make the rolls themselves. Today you can buy seaweed for sushi and rice vinegar in almost all major retail chains of any city: with the popularization of sushi and rolls, purchasing them has ceased to be a problem - you just have to search and you will definitely find the products you need. But you don’t have to buy special rice for sushi.

Nowadays there are so many varieties of rice on sale that it is dizzying, and now it is very important to choose the “right” rice for sushi, sashimi and rice for rolls.

As you probably already guessed, plain rice, from which we prepare risotto, pilaf and milk porridge, is not at all suitable for sushi. Therefore, before preparing a classic Japanese dish, you should not buy long-grain rice, steamed, jasmine, brown, basmati rice and the famous Devra variety, from which delicious Uzbek pilaf is prepared. The grains of these types of rice are dry and crumbly, so attempts to mold anything from them will never be successful.
Sushi rice belongs to the class of round-grain varieties. The starch that this rice is so rich in makes it sticky. After cooking, this type of rice holds its shape and does not fall apart; it is thanks to this property that you can easily make a base for sushi and rolls from it.

When buying sushi rice, remember that it must have the following characteristics:
- same grain size
- opaque or pearly white color (rice should be free of cracks and dark spots).
- the integrity of each grain of rice, they should not be broken or broken
- absence of rice husk.

The Japanese say that sushi rice should not crumble even if you tap it with your finger, but it must simply melt in your mouth.

Rice can be long-grained, medium-grained, or round-grained. If in the first two types of rice (and these are the types, we will talk about varieties later) there is little starch and its “stickiness” is low, then round-grained rice has a maximum starch content, and due to the ability of cooked rice grains to stick together, this rice is optimal for cooking rice for sushi, rolls, sashimi. You can use an unknown variety of sushi rice grown in Russia. The round shape of the rice grain, approximately 4-5mm long, will help you identify the right variety. But, nevertheless, test cooking will be necessary to determine the ability of the rice grains to stick together.
But rice varieties such as “Koshi-Higari” or “Sushiki” are guaranteed to be suitable for Japanese and Chinese dishes. The most general advice is to look for sushi meshes, i.e. rice for making sushi. I am sure that salespeople in specialized stores will understand you and will be able to help you choose rice for sushi.

You can use any short-grain rice to make rolls and sushi. Often, what is sold in stores labeled “rice for making sushi” is ordinary short-grain rice, and not special Japanese rice at all. Using regular short-grain rice for sushi is possible not in theory, but in practice, tested by many chefs.

Preparing sushi rice

Rice is the main ingredient in sushi and rolls. It depends on him how tasty they turn out. If you select and cook the rice correctly, consider that you have already done 80% of the work in preparing sushi.
There are many recipes for preparing rice for sushi; in this regard, the situation is comparable to cooking rice in principle.

However, there are principles common to all methods:

1. The rice is boiled until tender;
2. A seasoning for rice is prepared from rice vinegar, sugar and salt;
3. The finished rice is transferred to a large container and poured with the prepared vinegar dressing.

Let's get started...

Whatever rice you use to make sushi: special or regular short-grain rice, you need to rinse it well with cold running water until it becomes transparent.
All floating grains of rice must be removed - according to Japanese rules, only “bad” rice floats in the water and should be thrown away. Of course, when washing rice, you also need to remove all debris, all dark grains of rice.

Method 1 . First, wash the rice in plenty of running water. Then drain the water and leave the rice for about an hour.
Place the washed rice in a thick-bottomed pan, add water in the following ratio: for every 200 g of rice there should be 250 ml of water. For flavor, add a square of nori seaweed (kombu) to the rice. but you must have time to remove it before the water boils.
The pan should be no more than a third filled with water and rice.
Cover the pan with a lid, turn on medium heat, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, boil the rice for 10-15 minutes until the water is completely absorbed, remove the pan from the stove without opening the lid and leave for another 10-15 minutes.

After removing the seaweed, cover the rice and do not open the lid again until the rice is completely cooked.

Method 2. Rinse the rice, place in a saucepan, pour in water in a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part rice, leave for half an hour, then put on the stove, cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, boil the rice for 10 minutes, turn off the heat. , leave the rice covered for another 20 minutes.

Method 3. Pour the washed rice into boiling water, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan with a lid, and simmer the rice until the liquid is completely absorbed. The proportions of rice and water are the same as in the second method - 1:2

Preparing the rice dressing

Sushi rice dressing is made from rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and it is extremely simple to do.

For 450 g of cooked rice, approximately 2 tbsp is required. vinegar and 1 tsp. sugar and salt.
Salt and sugar are poured into rice vinegar and the mixture is heated until completely dissolved, stirring, over medium heat. Sprinkle the finished dressing over the rice, stirring lightly with a wooden spoon or sushi chopsticks.

There are other ways to prepare the dressing, for example, nori can be added to vinegar along with salt and sugar, but then seaweed does not need to be added to the rice when cooking.

Features of preparing rice for sushi

After the rice and dressing are cooked, they need to be mixed. The vinegar dressing is poured over the rice or sprinkled while stirring with wooden(!) utensils. You need to stir the rice carefully so as not to turn it into porridge.

Before adding the dressing to the rice, you need to cool slightly, like the rice itself, but they are mixed while still hot, then the seasoned rice needs to be cooled, according to Japanese traditions, this is done with the help of a fan, but in principle, even without this, the rice will cool down normally.

Fanning the rice is believed to give it a pearly shine.

The rice should cool enough that your hands are not hot. When forming rolls and sushi, it is recommended to regularly wet your hands in water to which rice vinegar has been added.
Based on materials from ovkuse.ru, domosushi.ua

Rice for sushi and rolls

Take the purchased rice and pour the required amount into a flat cup.

Be sure to wash the rice thoroughly. Rinse rice for sushi and rolls with cold water and do this for a long time. It is impossible to give recommendations on the number of “washes”; it will depend on the type of rice and its contamination. But the main task of the procedure is not just to make the rice clean, the starch dust covering the rice must be removed, the water in which the rice is immersed must become almost transparent. I think this requires changing the water about 10 times.

You can use a steamer to prepare sushi rice using almost any model. No steamer - no big deal, let's cook sushi rice in the classic way. After washing, let the rice for rolls “rest” for about 45 minutes, leaving the rice to lie without water. During this time, the sushi rice will swell, absorbing any remaining moisture after rinsing. Add one cup of rice to one and a quarter cups of water. To cook sushi rice, use an enamel or stainless steel pan with a lid that fits tightly onto the pan. It is recommended to place 1 sheet of nori seaweed in the bowl in which the rice will be cooked. Place the pan on the stove and bring to a boil; before boiling the water, the seaweed sheet should be removed. Cook the rice over medium heat for 10 minutes, then cover the lid of the pan with a towel and wait another 10 minutes.

Add rice vinegar to cooked rice. But first, sugar and salt should be dissolved in vinegar. For 1 tbsp of vinegar (the amount required for one cup of dry rice, approximately 180 grams) you need to take 1 tsp. sugar and ½ tsp. salt. It is better to use cane sugar and sea salt. Pour vinegar with sugar and salt dissolved in it over the rice.

Mix thoroughly....

AND leave to “dry”, during this procedure the rice will completely “take on” the vinegar

In the old days, rice was “dried” in such wooden tubs. Many experts in Japanese cuisine still recommend using a wooden plate or bowl and a wooden spatula or wooden spoon to stir the rice when adding vinegar to sushi meshes.

How to properly cook rice for rolls:

Dressing for sushi rice:

How to prepare rice for sushi and rolls:

It shows step by step how many minutes you need to soak the rice, cook and settle it before you start making rolls and sushi from it.

Proper rice is the basis of delicious rolls. It is not necessary to resort to buying special varieties called “Sushi Rice”. Inside such a package there may be simple round rice, the cost of which is several times cheaper. We will teach you how to choose and prepare rice for Japanese rolls.

Selection of rice for rolls

Give preference to round-grained varieties. The rice should be fresh, as indicated by the light color of the grains with barely transparent tips. The absence of pigment formations is another distinctive feature of high-quality rice. The presence, or rather absence, of insects is an obligatory factor.

Preparing rice for rolls

Pour the rice into a large container and rinse with water. The most effective way occurs in the following sequence:

• Cover the rice with cold running water and leave for 5 minutes.
• Drain the water and repeat the first step, leaving the rice to “settle” for about 1 minute.
• Drain the water and rinse the grain (using a sieve) until the starch is completely removed. That is, in the end, the water after washing the rice should remain completely transparent. To do this, you will need to drain the water 10-15 times.
• When the rice is washed from excess starch, you can start cooking. This can be done in a saucepan with a thick bottom or in a slow cooker. The second method is definitely more convenient.

Preparing rice for rolls

To prepare the right rice, it is important to follow the proportions. Ideally, 100% dry rice should be 120% water. If it is not possible to measure the proportionality, then simply immerse the thoroughly washed rice in the cooking container and pour water “2 fingers” above the level of the rice. Next, if you cook in a slow cooker, then everything is simple: select the “Porridge” or “Cooking” program. Time 20-25 minutes.

To cook in a saucepan:

• Bring to a boil with the lid open.
• Next, turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid.
• Leave to simmer for 15-18 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and leave the rice covered for another 10 minutes.

If your cookware is not reliable and often burns, we recommend placing a sheet of foil on the bottom before cooking.

Important: do not stir the rice during cooking under any circumstances - this is a gross mistake and the result will be porridge instead of whole oily grains.

Rice dressing for rolls

For dressing, you can use either rice vinegar or simple 9% table vinegar. For 200 dry rice take:

• 2 tbsp. spoons of vinegar;
• 1 tbsp. l. soy sauce;
• 1 tsp. Sahara.

Mix all the ingredients together and spread the finished dressing over the warm rice, first making slits with a wooden spatula. Carefully, piece by piece, turn the mixture over (without stirring!). Rice is ready to form rolls!

Not long ago, the idea arose to infuse rice with the aroma of norrie during the cooking stage. This is not necessary, but you can try it at your leisure. It is enough to throw part of a sheet of pressed seaweed into the rice and remove it before it boils. You can judge the difference in cooking methods yourself! We'd love to see your comments and find out the results! You will succeed!

Rice is the main component of sushi, which means its preparation must be as correct as possible, because any, even the smallest gastronomic mistake will spoil the taste of the future dish. If the rice is undercooked, the sushi will simply taste unpleasant. If you overcook it, then no matter how fancy you choose, the rolls will eventually fall apart. This article will help you avoid annoying mistakes.

Which rice to choose for making sushi

Success largely depends not so much on the method of preparation, but on the right choice in the store. You will only get sushi if you choose elastic and sticky porridge. This means that we immediately say “no” to the steamed crumbly one. Also, your grocery basket should not include pilaf rice, jasmine and basmati varieties (they are very popular, but are not at all suitable for sushi). We invite you to get acquainted with some principles of proper cereals:

• choose round grain rice. These varieties contain a lot of starch, and the porridge will end up sticky: you can easily form neat and beautiful rolls.
• the grains must be whole. No husks, breaks or cracks, as is often the case with low quality rice.
• the grains should be the same size.
• As for color, only white is opaque, other options are unacceptable.
• the best varieties are sushiki and koshi-higari (Japan). This type can easily be found in specialized corners in large supermarkets.

Cooking rice for sushi: 5 main secrets

Method 1: how to cook sushi rice

Method 2: sushi rice in a slow cooker

You may find cooking rice in a slow cooker easier. Professionals still recommend doing it the traditional way in a saucepan, but this does not mean that a product prepared in this way will be “wrong.”

1. Wash the cereal thoroughly and soak it for half an hour (this is if you use special Japanese rice). If you are preparing sushi from regular round-grain sushi, do not soak it.
2. Place the rice in the multicooker bowl and add water (1 to 1.5, that is, 200 g of cereal per 300 ml of water).
3. Now set the “Rice” or “Buckwheat” mode (depending on the functions of your multicooker). If there are no such modes, do not be upset: the dish will be cooked in the “Baking” mode, only in this case the timer should be set for ten minutes, and then turn on the “Stew” mode for twenty minutes.

Method 3: Sushi Rice Recipe

Method 4: how to easily cook sushi rice

In this recipe, the dressing is prepared using lemon juice, which gives a pleasant flavor to future rolls.

Method 5: Simple Sushi Rice Recipe

You will need:

• polished rice (seven hundred grams);
• cold water (seven hundred milliliters);
• sake (two tablespoons);
• kombu brown seaweed (one plate is enough);
• apple cider vinegar (seventy grams);
• honey (one tablespoon);
• sea ​​salt (one tablespoon).

Wash and dry the cereal thoroughly. Pour it into a saucepan, fill it with water in the traditional proportion (200 g per 300 ml) and add two tablespoons of sake. Seaweed also goes into the pan. This whole mixture should sit for one hour. Then the seaweed is removed and the rice is boiled in the usual way.

Once the rice is cooked, leave it covered for fifteen minutes. Then mix honey, salt and apple cider vinegar (the amount of each ingredient is indicated above. As for the rice, place it in a large bowl and pour over the prepared dressing. To ensure that the mixture is thoroughly absorbed, carefully turn it over using a wooden spatula or sushi chopsticks. Prepare the rolls you can immediately after the mixture has cooled.

Bon appetit!

Do you know how to prepare sushi rice at home? If yes, then share with our users in the comments below the article.

If you don’t want to cook sushi at home, then welcome to our catalog: here you will find the best sushi bars in Kyiv with photos, descriptions and real reviews from guests.

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You will find even more delicious and simple recipes in our regular.

Photo: upon request from Yandex and Google

Rolls are a traditional Japanese dish that is gaining more and more popularity every day. They can be found on the menu of any restaurant, but alas, it is not always possible to visit such an establishment. When preparing rolls at home, the most difficult thing is to properly cook the rice. It would seem that what’s so difficult about boiling the familiar cereal to all of us? But there are many subtleties in this matter, which we will tell you about in this article.

How to choose the right rice for rolls?

How to cook rice for rolls and how to choose the right one? The choice of rice for this dish should be approached with special responsibility, because incorrectly selected rice is guaranteed to cause you less trouble. Today, all major supermarkets have specialized departments where you can find all the components for rolls, including the right rice. If you do not have the opportunity to visit such a department, then when choosing rice you just need to take into account a few simple rules:

• The rice should be round. This type of rice is distinguished by its stickiness, which makes it ideal for making everyone’s favorite rolls. It easily takes any necessary shape and at the same time retains it.
• The bigger the better. Large rice will be easier to handle, and in the finished dish it will look more pleasant and noble.
• Steamed and long rice are taboo. These rice varieties are great for pilaf or a simple side dish, but certainly not for rolls. Their friability will not allow you to stick the rice together, making it impossible to further prepare the rolls.

By following these simple rules, you can easily choose the right rice for your rolls. If you are not sure that you will buy the right rice, then it is better to find a specialized section in the supermarket and buy rice there with the inscription “Rice for making rolls and sushi.” It is possible that its price will be higher than the price of regular rice, but you will be sure that you will not have problems preparing rice porridge.

Now that we have learned how not to make mistakes when choosing rice, it’s time to think about dressing for it. We'll tell you how to make vinegar dressing for rice.

How to prepare a dressing for rice with vinegar?

Vinegar dressing is an integral part of any rolls. It gives the rice a special sourness and gives it a pleasant aroma, adding the finishing touch to the preparation of this part of the dish. To prepare this dressing (for 450 grams of rice) you will need:

• Rice vinegar 2 tbsp. l.,
• 1 tsp. Sahara,
• 1 tsp. salt.

Pour the vinegar into a small container and put it on the fire. Very important: the fire should be minimal so that our dressing does not boil. After this, add salt and sugar to the vinegar, stir gently until they dissolve. Then remove the mixture from the heat, let it cool slightly and sprinkle it over the boiled rice. Remember that you need to stir the rice very carefully to maintain its integrity and not turn it into porridge.

There is another recipe for making vinegar dressing. The number of ingredients remains the same, but one more component is added to the composition - algae. To prepare it you need:

• Rice vinegar 2 tbsp. l.,
• 1 tsp. salt,
• 1 tsp. Sahara,
• Seaweed Kombu (Nori) 3 gr.

The process of preparing such a dressing is practically the same. We also put the vinegar on low heat, add the rest of the ingredients and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. The difference is that before you remove our dressing from the heat, you need to remove the seaweed. They have already given everything they need to the sauce and are no longer needed. Now wait for the sauce to cool and add it to the rice. Now our rice is completely ready!

How long does it take to cook rice for rolls?

At this stage, the main thing is patience. Before you start cooking rice, you need to prepare it. This is required to ensure that the rolls are as tasty as possible. First, rinse the cereal. Pour cold water over the rice, then drain it and repeat this procedure exactly 5 times, each time the water should become clearer. This will remove the starch from the rice that appears during polishing.

After this, pour cold water over the rice again in the ratio of 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water and place on medium heat, covering with a lid. At this stage, you can put some Nori seaweed in the pan to give the rice a special flavor; once the water boils, remove the seaweed. Then reduce the flame to low and let the rice simmer for 15 minutes. After the cereal has absorbed the water, remove the pan from the burner and leave it alone for 15 minutes: the steam will cook the cereal until cooked. After this time, the rice will be completely ready - all that remains is to pour the already prepared dressing over it and proceed to the next stages of preparing the rolls. The entire procedure for preparing rice for rolls, from washing to combining with dressing, takes approximately 40-45 minutes.

A little tip: after the water boils, do not remove the lid and stir the rice. This can cause the grains to lose their integrity, turning into mush, and the lack of heat will make it soggy and tough.

Recipes for cooking rice for sushi and rolls

In addition to the above-described recipe for cooking rice, there is a wide variety of other variations, differing in the time required for cooking. We will show you some interesting recipes for preparing rice for rolls.

1) Fast way.

This recipe is suitable for those who need to quickly prepare rolls. You will need:

• A glass of round unpolished rice,
• 2 glasses of water,
• 1 tsp. salt,
• 1 tsp. Sahara,
• 1 tsp. lemon juice,
• 2 tbsp. l. rice vinegar.

Rinse the rice under cold water. Pour 2 glasses of water into the pan and bring to a boil, then add a glass of washed rice. Reduce the burner flame to low and continue cooking the rice until it has absorbed all the remaining water, after covering it with a lid.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the dressing. Mix all the remaining ingredients in a small container and put on the fire, as soon as everything is dissolved, remove from the stove and soak the cooked rice, then cover with a towel and leave for 15 minutes to fully cook.

2) Traditional recipe for a slow cooker.

If you have enough time, energy and desire, then you should try boiling rice for rolls according to a traditional recipe.

Everything is a little more complicated here. First, you need to sort the rice, removing all the bad grains and excess debris. Then you should rinse it well: rub the grains on the bottom of the container in which you wash it to remove as much rice starch from the grain as possible. Drain the cloudy water and add new water until the rice gives up all the excess starch. When the water becomes clear, add a new portion of cold water to the cereal and set the pan aside for an hour.

The first and most difficult part of the preparation is completed. Now you can start cooking. Pour the rice into the multicooker container, fill it with water in a ratio of 1:2 and turn it on in the automatic “Rice” mode. While the rice is cooking, prepare the dressing using the recipe above, then pour it over the cooked rice. Bon appetit!

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Rice for sushi and rolls can be easily cooked at home from ingredients that can be found in absolutely any store. If you do everything correctly, following our instructions, then your rice will be in no way inferior to restaurant rice. Try to read the recipe carefully, because the deliciousness of your rolls depends on how you cook the rice.

What kind of rice is suitable for sushi and rolls?

Many have seen special rice for sushi and rolls on store shelves, but is it worth buying it? No! It is enough to buy ordinary small round rice (Krasnodar). It is this kind of cereal that has good consistency and gluten. The cost per pack can start from 30 rubles. But it’s better to take a product in the price category of 80-90 rubles. The companies “AgroAlliance” and “National” are suitable.

How to properly cook rice for rolls

After purchasing, you can start cooking. When cooking, it is very important to maintain all proportions. Stock up on a timer (you can find it on any phone) and patience.

What you will need:

• rice 500 grams (2-2.5 cups);
• water 550 ml;
• towel (cotton);
• seasoning for rice;
• timer.

How to prepare rice for sushi and rolls at home:

1. Pour 500-550 grams of rice into the pan.
2. Rinse 2-3 times in running water.
3. Pour 550 ml of water over the rice.
4. Place the contents on the stove and bring to a boil.
5. When the rice boils, put it on low heat.
6. Wait exactly 15 minutes.
7. After 15 minutes, turn off the stove, quickly remove the lid and place a towel on the pan, covering the rice.
8. Cover the pan tightly with a towel.
9. Wait another 15 minutes and remove the towel. It absorbed all the moisture, but what was needed remained inside.
10. Season the rice with vinegar and gently stir from the edges to the center.

While the cereal is cooking, under no circumstances should you lift the lid.

Rice dressing

To ensure that the rice in the dish is not tasteless, you need to season it with special vinegar. You can find rice vinegar in the store. The price for it starts from 50 rubles. Just add a handful of salt and a little sugar to it, and then put it in a water bath. After the ingredients have dissolved, remove the liquid from the heat. The finished product can be supplemented with rice.

If you don’t know where to find special vinegar and there simply isn’t any in your city, then don’t worry. Now we will tell you a recipe that can easily replace branded vinegar.

What you will need:

• vinegar 50-55 g;
• sugar 3 tablespoons;
• salt 1 teaspoon.

How to make seasoning for rice:

1. Pour a glass of ordinary vinegar.
2. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt to it.
3. Stir the contents well.
4. The liquid can be heated in a water bath or left on the table for a few minutes until completely dissolved.

Rice for sushi and rolls can also be cooked in a slow cooker using the “Cooking” mode.