How to Cook Sushi Rice
Serves: 10 to 12 maki rolls or 6 onigiri
How to cook and season sushi rice for making sushi, onigiri, poké bowls and much more. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
Ingredients
For the Sushi Rice
- 350 g (1 ½ cups) sushi rice
- 500 ml (2 cups) cold water
For the Seasoning
- 2 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
To Make the Sushi Rice
- Measure the rice into a bowl.
- Transfer the rice into a fine sieve through which the rice grains cannot escape.
- Wash and rinse the rice under a cold tap until the water runs clear. Use your hands to gently move the rice around the sieve. At first, the water will appear milky and cloudy, but as the starch rinses away, the water will start to look clear.
- Shake the sieve to remove as much excess water as possible.
- Transfer the rinsed rice to a medium-sized saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. I like to use a cast-iron pot to cook my rice, but any stainless steel pan will work as well.
- Measure the water.
- Pour the water over the rice in the saucepan.
- Cover the saucepan with a lid.
- Place the saucepan on the stove.
- Cook the rice on low to medium heat for 30 minutes. The water should not come to a boil; it should just gently simmer so that the rice will cook slowly and gently. A glass lid will help you to see how the rice is cooking.
- After 30 minutes, turn off the stove and remove the saucepan from the heat source.
- Let the rice continue to steam for about 10 minutes, but you can skip this step if you are in a hurry.
- Fluff the rice before serving.
To Season the Sushi Rice
- Transfer the rice to a large sheet pan or similar.
- Using a rice paddle, spread out the rice in a thin layer so that it can cool down quickly.
- Sprinkle over the seasoning ingredients.
- Use the rice paddle to mix everything together by folding the rice over onto itself, and then spreading it out again.
- Leave the rice to cool until it is at room temperature before using in recipes for sushi, onigiri or similar.
Kitchen Notes
- WHAT TEMPERATURE TO COOK RICE
Each stove is different, so you will have to experiment with your stove a bit. But generally speaking, you want a low to medium heat so that the water comes to a gentle simmer. The rice will cook slowly and gently. For my Bora induction stove, I use setting 5 out of 9. - RATIO OF RICE TO WATER
For sushi rice, you generally need a ratio of 1:1.25 of rice to water. My recipe uses a ratio of approximately 1:1.4. I think the ratio can vary slightly according to personal preference, as well as the rice you are using. Sometimes when I change brands of rice, I find that my usual recipe yields cooked rice which is too moist or too dry. I recommend experimenting by increasing or decreasing the amount of water by 1 tablespoon at a time. - FREEZING LEFTOVER RICE
Leftover rice can be frozen in small portions in vacuum-sealed bags or ziplock freezer bags. - QUANTITY
This recipe makes enough rice for 10-12 rolls of maki sushi, or 6 large onigiri. - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.