Sushi is just cooked short-grain Japanese rice, seafood, and some seasonings, but the finest sushi chefs in Japan distinguish themselves from the rest by carefully selecting their ingredients and employing secret techniques that they've developed to transform these basic staples into the pinnacle of Japanese cooking.
Perfect Sushi
The first step to perfect sushi, whether you're making nigiri sushi, temaki sushi, or a sushi roll, is to master cooking Japanese short-grain white rice. Even if you don't own a rice cooker, you can get perfect results by following my instructions.
The second step is to make seasoned sushi vinegar that perfectly balances savory, sweet, and sour. It's the secret to achieving this hallmark flavor of Japanese cooking. In this sushi vinegar recipe, I'll show you everything you need to know to make the perfect seasoned vinegar.
Versatile Seasoning
The best part of this sushi seasoning is that it can be made ahead and used to season a wide variety of foods, from Japanese potato salad to nanbanzuke. It's even delicious used to dress raw vegetables to make sunomono. The balance of tangy, sweet and savory tastes makes it the perfect base for a salad dressing.
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Why This Recipe Works
- The balance of savory, sweet, and sour tastes gives seasoned sushi rice the perfect balance of tastes while infusing it with an additional layer of rice flavor from the vinegar.
- Because this recipe only has three simple ingredients, it's essential to use the best quality rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.
- Mixing a big batch in a squeeze bottle only takes a few minutes, making it super easy to prepare a batch of perfect sushi rice quickly.
- This condiment can be stored at room temperature, so there's no need to take up valuable space in your fridge.
Ingredients
- Rice Vinegar - Rice vinegar, which is also sometimes called rice wine vinegar, is brewed with fermented Japanese short-grain rice. It's milder and less acidic than other types of vinegar, with a subtle sweetness that mellows it out. This makes it perfect for sushi, where you want the flavors and textures of the other ingredients to shine through. There are a few types of Japanese rice vinegar. "Seasoned rice vinegar" already contains sugar and salt, so look for bottles labeled "rice vinegar" or "komezu" when shopping for it. Since this is the primary ingredient, the more flavorful your rice vinegar is, the better your sushi vinegar will taste. Look for the best quality rice vinegar you can find at Asian or Japanese grocery stores. If you can't find unseasoned rice vinegar, the closest substitutes are apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, or white wine vinegar. They're not quite the same, but will work in a pinch.
- Sugar - Sugar is crucial in sushi vinegar as it adds sweetness to balance out the acidity of the rice vinegar. I prefer using evaporated cane sugar as it tends to be more flavorful with some caramel notes, but white granulated sugar will work too. I don't recommend using sugar with a strong taste, like brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey, because they will overwhelm the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Salt - Salt seasons the vinegar, rounding out the sweet and sour tastes. I like to use a nice sea salt with a lot of umami, such as mojio or a salt infused with kelp (kombu) extract. You also want to ensure that the salt crystals are not too large or won't dissolve properly.
How to Make Sushi Vinegar
To begin, you'll need a container and scale for accurate measurement. I prefer using a squeeze bottle because it lets you mix, store, and dispense the sushi vinegar more conveniently, but a bowl will work too.
Place your container of choice on a scale and tare or zero out the scale before measuring in the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Once you have all three ingredients in your container, it's time to combine them. If you use a squeeze bottle, close the lid tightly and shake the mixture vigorously.
If you're using a mixing bowl, a set of chopsticks or a whisk will do the job nicely. It will take a few minutes. Just stir until you can't see any more sugar or salt granules.
How to use Sushi Vinegar
This versatile seasoned vinegar can be used in many ways, but here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Season rice - Sushi vinegar gives sushi rice its characteristic flavor: sweet, tangy, and savory. This vinegared rice is the hallmark of good sushi, ensuring each bite is perfectly seasoned. It's not hard to make, but the key is in how you mix in the vinegar. Master this technique for homemade sushi rice, and you'll be on your way to making restaurant-quality sushi rolls.
- Sunomono - Sunomono is a Japanese vinegar-dressed salad most commonly made using thinly sliced cucumbers. The cucumbers are salted and sweated before they're squeezed to transform their texture. Then, you can dress them with this sushi vinegar mixture.
- Nanbanzuke - Nanbanzuke is a dish where deep-fried fish or meat is marinated with shredded carrots and sliced onions in a vinegar-based sauce. I'll often make this if I have leftover karaage. Just mix the veggies with a generous amount of seasoned vinegar and pour the whole mixture over your fried chicken.
- Quick Pickles - While it's not Japanese cuisine, you can quick pickle veggies like radishes, carrots, cucumbers, red onions, or cabbage by salting and squeezing them and then covering them with sushi vinegar. Let them sit in the refrigerator overnight, and you'll have delicious and colorful pickles to serve with any meal.
- Condiment - Sushi vinegar can also be used as a condiment or base for various sauces, marinades, salad dressings, or even as a stand-alone seasoning. Mix it with boiled potatoes and mayonnaise to make potato salad, use it as a base to make an agrodolce sauce, or drizzle some on grilled vegetables to bring out their sweetness.
Sushi Recipes
- California Rolls
- Spicy Tuna Roll
- Tempura Shrimp Roll
- Seafood Chirashizushi
- Caterpillar Roll
- Temaki Sushi
FAQ
Sushi vinegar is a mixture of rice vinegar seasoned with salt and sugar. It gets its name because it is most commonly used to season sushi rice, but it can also be used to season other foods.
You'll need to add sugar and salt to the vinegar to make rice for sushi, but once you have sushi vinegar, you can add ⅓ cup of it for every 2 rice cooker cups (1 ½ US cups) of cooked Japanese short-grain rice. Using the proper type of rice is also important. Follow my sushi rice tutorial to learn how to mix sushi vinegar into the rice in a hangiri with a rice paddle.
Because of sushi vinegar's low pH and high salinity, it has a long shelf life and can be stored unrefrigerated. Just keep it in a sealed, airtight container or bottle with a lid that won't rust.
Both the rice vinegar and salt should be vegan. For the sugar, make sure you are using one that is labeled as vegan.
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Units
Ingredients
- 175 grams unseasoned rice vinegar
- 120 grams sugar
- 17 grams salt
Instructions
- Put a mixing bowl or plastic squeeze bottle on a scale and measure in 1175 grams unseasoned rice vinegar, 120 grams sugar, and 17 grams salt.
- If you use a bottle, close the lid tightly and shake the vinegar mixture for a few minutes until the sugar and salt dissolve fully. If you're using a bowl, you can do this with chopsticks or a whisk.
- Your seasoned vinegar is now ready to use. Store it in a cool, dry place in a non-reactive airtight container. It will keep for several months.
Lien Le says
Best seasoned sushi vinegar.
Marc says
Happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know!