Sushi (Japanese Cuisine) FAQ #2: No, that's not minute rice!

From: kcochran@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Keith "Justified And Ancient" Cochran)
Newsgroups: alt.food.sushi,alt.answers,news.answers
Subject: Sushi (Japanese Cuisine) FAQ #2: No, that's not minute rice!
Date: 2 Nov 1994 00:50:29 -0700
Summary: Recipies and tips on preparing/using the Sushi rice.

Archive-name: food/sushi/rice
Posting-frequency: monthly

[This is FAQ version 1.0.0.0, last updated on 10/01/94.  New or altered
text appears with a ">" in the left hand column of the listing.  All comments,
suggestions, money, and whatnot should be sent to kcochran@nyx.cs.du.edu.]

Michael Golden (mgolden@eecs.umich.edu) is responsible for this.  Editor's
notes are from him, not me.

Sushi Rice(Shari Rice)
 
Note: an electric fan is helpful in making this
 
3 cups short-grain white rice
3 1/4 cups water
1 small(3") bundle of konbu(dried rolled kelp)
   {Editors note: I do not use the kelp.} 

seasoning:
	1/3 cup rice wine vinegar 
	1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
	1 tsp. salt
 
Rinse rice well.  Drain the rice and then add the 3 1/4 cups water, the
kelp, and the wet rice to the covered sauce pan in which you will 
cook it.  Bring to a boil.  Remove kelp and discard.  Reduce heat to 
low and cover.  Cook 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit covered
for 10 min.
 
While the rice is cooking, heat vinegar, sugar, and salt until everything
dissolves.  Let cool. {Editors note: I do not heat it up to get everything
to mix in.  I just stir it up.}
 
Place rice in a large pan(use glass so the vinegar doesn't react with any
metal.)  {Editors note: I use a stainless bowl with no problem.}
Set the fan up to blow on the rice.  With a wooden spoon or rice
paddle stir in seasoning a little at a time.  Careful not to mush the
rice.  Periodically dip the paddle in cool water to keep the rice from
sticking.
 
Keep at room temperature covered with a moist towel.  Don't refrigerate. 
Have a little bowl of 2/3 water and 1/3 vinegar to dip your fingers in to
prevent sticking while constructing sushi.

SOME OTHER THOUGHTS:
I use Nishiki branch rice.  There is another brand I have used happily
called Kokuho Rose, or something like that.  Any "medium" grain rice
should work.  This is the grain which is shorter than long-grained rice
(like grocery store rice and Basmati rice) but longer than those little
round short-grained rice (like the Italian rice one uses for Risotto).
It is not always called medium grained.

I sometimes wash the rice, sometimes not.  It doesn't seem to make much
of a difference, although when I get my rice from a bulk-food shop, I wash
it to get the dirt off.  The big bags of Nishiki rice are clean, but coated
with a little glucose.  I have a friend who swears that you must wash the rice.
He picks it up in his hands and rubs it together under the running water and
keeps washing until the water is very clean.  He is a very rigorous fellow.

I use a huge metal salad bowl like you can get at a cheapo kitchen supply 
shop to toss the rice.  I use a clip on electric fan to fan it.  I attach
the fan to a cabinet door over my counter.  Very convenient.

One book that I read suggested that instead of water to keep your hands
and knife damp, you use water with a little vinegar mixed in.  That way
you have damp and tasty hands.

Sushi keeps okay overnight (if you use only vegetables and rice).  If you
make makizushi, it keeps even better if you don't slice the rolls
but just wrap them up in saran wrap.  You can make makizushi in advance,
and if you do, I recommend that you do not slice them until just before
you serve them.

Sushi, like bread, takes a long time to make, but not a lot of actual work.
You have to wait for the rice to soak.  You have to be patient while it
cooks.  Other than that, there is just a little slicing.

From: gilbert@sfu.ca (Jody Gilbert)
Message-ID: 

In article , hannibal@netcom.com (Joe
Utsler) wrote:
> 
> Along the same lines as Preparing Sushi at Home,
> Does anyone have any luck with preparing Sushi Rice with the correct 
> flavor/degree of stickiness?  I've tried several types of rice including 
> various sticky/sweet varieties, to no avail.  Is it my crappy rice cooker?
> Help me! My kitchen is incomplete!
> 
> Oh, I live in LA, so if you have shopping recommendations in the area, 
> I'd love to hear them...

Try Kukuho Rose rice.  I believe it is from California.

Better that a rice cooker is the microwave.  2 cups dry rice.  Wash
thouroughly and let dry in a strainer for a few minutes.  Put rice, 1 tsp
salt, and 2 2/3 cups rice in AT LEAST a 2 1/2 quart (or it will boil over
and make one hell of a mess) visions or corningware or whatever pot in the
microwave.  Best to let it soak for 1/2 hr, the 9 min. Hi, 18 min. med-low,
let rest 10 mins.  Presto, perfect sticky rice.

The rice needs to be finished with a sushi su that is a mixture of rice
vinegar, sugar, and salt.  I don't have the recipe to hand at the moment.

Kukuho Rose rice may be the best rice of this type in the world.

Beakman (beakman@netcom.com) also offers the following suggestions:

1. Use a short grain rice such as Nishiki or Kokoho Rose brands.  These 
will be available from your nearest asian market.

2. Use slightly less water than recommended on the package.  You want 
your rice to be slightly "al dente".

3. After the rice has finished cooking, you will need to dump it into a 
large bowl, or onto a large dish (like a ceramic tart pan).  I prefer the 
dish, but it really doesn't matter.

4.  Next, using either a hand-held fan or an electric fan you want to 
start cooling the rice.

5. At the same time (it helps to have an assistant do the fanning), you 
will be "cutting in" some seasoned rice vinegar.  The cutting should be 
done with a bamboo rice paddle, and should be done very gently so as to 
not crush the rice grains.  If you crush the grains, your rice will be 
too sticky and mushy. 

6. You can either make your own seasoned rice vinegar (from rice vinegar 
and sugar), or you can buy seasoned rice vinegar for sushi already 
pre-packaged in a bottle.  I would suggest that you start with the 
pre-packaged stuff.

7. When adding the seasoned vinegar you will want to drizzle it in very
slowly (keep the fan going!).  This is best done by placing your thumb
over the end of the bottle.  Before you attempt this you should go out to
see your local sushi-meister.  Order some nigiri sushi and remove the
bottom half from one of the rice pads.  Taste the rice.  Can you taste the
seasoning?  Sushi chefs generally use more seasoning in the summer than in
the winter.  Is the rice over-cooked?  Check it's firmness to the bite. 
See how sticky it is.  When you apply seasoning to your rice be careful 
not to use too much.  If you do the rice will taste too strong, and it 
will be too wet.

8. Keep fanning! The fanning cools the rice, and the seasoned vinegar.  
The cooled sugar results in a nice sheen or gloss to your rice.  The rice 
should not be used warm.  It should be at room temperature.  If you are 
done adding the vinegar, and fanning til glossy, you can cover the rice 
with a damp dish towel and let it set until room temperature.  Do not 
refrigerate the rice.
-- 
=kcochran@nyx.cs.du.edu | B(0-4) c- d- e++ f- g++ k(+) m r(-) s++(+) t | TSAKC=
=My thoughts, my posts, my ideas, my responsibility, my beer, my pizza.  OK???=
=                          "Love can break your heart"                        =