What Is Sushi Rice?
Sushi rice, or sushimeshi (鮨飯) in Japanese, is steamed short-grain rice seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar and salt. It's the common component that all sushi recipes share; you could even say it defines the dish.
Here in Japan, good fish is a given, so the best sushi restaurants differentiate themselves based on the quality of their sushi rice recipe. The best sushi rice teeters the line between tender and firm, and the individual grains of rice stick together without being gluey or gummy. The seasoning gives the rice a balance of tangy, sweet, and savory tastes without distracting from the other ingredients in the sushi. Most importantly, each grain of sushi rice should sport a lustrous shine that would make a shampoo model jealous.
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Why My Recipe Works
- Good sushi rice starts with the right type of rice, which is why it's important to use Japanese short-grain rice, known as uruchimai in Japanese.
- How you wash and cook the rice affects its texture, and this authentic sushi rice recipe will teach you the techniques you need to make rice that's not mushy or hard.
- Properly seasoned sushi rice will elevate your homemade sushi, and it's not just about the ratio of ingredients. How you mix the sushi rice seasoning into the rice is just as important.
Sushi Rice Ingredients
- Japanese short-grain rice: This type of rice has a high ratio of amylopectin to amylose, giving it a sticky texture; this is how to make sushi rice hold its shape when formed into sushi. Although stickier than long-grain rice, it is not as sticky as glutinous rice (a.k.a. "sticky rice"). Read my post about Japanese short-grain rice for everything you need to know about selecting the right kind for sushi. It's also important to use white rice, as the bran that covers each grain of brown rice prevents the grains from sticking to each other. To give your sushi rice extra umami, you can cook it with a small piece of kombu (kelp).
- Water: Washing and soaking your rice in cold water is important. This allows it to absorb the water gradually and evenly, resulting in perfectly cooked rice with a consistent texture throughout.
- Rice vinegar: Rice vinegar has a mild acidity and sweet, nutty flavor, making it the perfect base for sushi rice seasoning, without overwhelming the other ingredients. When selecting rice vinegar, buy unseasoned rice vinegar (it should not contain any salt or sugar). If you can't find it, other mild vinegar or citrus juice, like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, will work, but keep in mind that this will alter the flavor of your sushi rice.
- Sugar: Sugar balances out the rice vinegar's tartness and is an essential component of the seasoned vinegar for sushi. I like evaporated cane sugar because it has a caramel flavor, but white sugar or other relatively neutral sweeteners will work.
- Salt: Salt enhances the natural umami in sushi rice while balancing out the sweet and tangy notes of the sushi rice seasoning. I like to use an umami-rich sea salt, but any type of salt will work. Be sure to keep in mind that the 1 teaspoon measurement is for sea salt, so you will need to adjust the amount for flakier varieties like kosher salt.
How to Make Sushi Rice
How to Cook Sushi Rice
Place the rice in a sieve over a bowl and rinse it under cold tap water. This initial rinse removes any remaining bran left over from when the grain was milled. Gentle rubbing of the grains during rinsing helps this process while removing any powdered starch from the surface. When the water runs mostly clear, drain the rice.
To cook it, you can opt for a rice cooker or the stove-top method. If using a rice cooker, transfer the washed rice to the cooker bowl and add cold water just under the 2-cup line. Reducing the amount of water prevents the grains from getting mushy after adding the seasoning vinegar. Let it soak for 30 minutes before turning the rice cooker on. This soaking time allows the grains to absorb water, leading to shinier and better-textured rice upon cooking.
If you are cooking your short-grain rice on the stove, add the washed rice and 1 ½ cups of cold water to a heavy-bottomed non-stick pot with high sides and cover with a lid. Before cooking, let it soak in the water for at least 30 minutes. When it's done soaking, bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to low and cook until there's no water left in the pan (this will take 12-15 minutes). Turn off the heat and continue steaming for ten minutes. This controlled cooking method ensures each grain is cooked evenly, resulting in firm yet tender rice, where each grain retains its shape and has a glossy appearance.
Make Sushi Seasoning
While the rice cooks, prepare the seasoned vinegar by whisking the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt together until the solids are dissolved. If you're having trouble getting the salt and sugar to dissolve, you can heat the mixture until it's warm (I usually do this in the microwave oven), but don't let it boil.
How to Season Sushi Rice
Once the rice is cooked and steamed, transfer it to a large bowl or sushi oke. Gently break it up to fluff it, and then pour the seasoned vinegar over the hot rice and fold it in with a rice paddle or spatula. You want to use a gentle cutting motion with the side of your rice paddle, followed by a folding motion to distribute the vinegar mixture evenly without crushing the grains. Once the vinegar is evenly distributed, use a fan or clean hairdryer (set to cool) while mixing to rapidly cool the sushimeshi while evaporating any excess vinegar. This will enhance the sheen of your sushi rice while preventing it from getting mushy.
The rice is ready when it's no longer wet or slippery and has a fluffy, sticky texture with a shiny glow. Cover your perfect sushi rice with a damp towel to keep it from drying out until you're ready to use it.
Ways to Use Sushi Rice
Now that you have my best sushi rice recipe prepared, you're ready to explore all the ways you can use it. With its tangy, sweet, savory taste and chewy texture, sushi rice is a versatile foundation on which you can build a variety of dishes. One popular option is to craft homemade sushi rolls, like California Rolls, Cucumber Rolls, Oshinko Rolls, or Caterpillar Rolls. If rolling sushi seems too daunting, temaki sushi or hand rolls are fun ways to make a cone of sushi rice and nori with your hands and stuff them with your favorite fillings such as avocado, tempura shrimp, or ikura.
A more traditional use is to make nigiri sushi, small balls of sushimeshi topped with a slice of sashimi or other seafood. Gunkan maki is another popular style of sushi with a small ball of sushi rice surrounded by a cup of nori that holds another filling, like spicy tuna. I also stuff sushi rice seasoned with sesame seeds and pickled ginger in my Inari Sushi, fried tofu pouches seasoned with a sweet and savory glaze. For a more casual presentation, consider chirashi sushi, a sushi bowl with a bed of sushi rice artfully topped with a mix of sashimi, vegetables, and garnishes. Sushi rice also makes an excellent base for poke bowls, a Hawaiian-inspired dish topped with marinated ahi tuna. Whatever you decide to make with my best sushi rice recipe will be a success.
Recipe
Perfect Sushi Rice
Ingredients
- 310 grams Japanese short-grain rice (2 cooker cups, see note)
- 1 ½ cups cold water
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Why it works- Put 310 grams Japanese short-grain rice in a sieve over a bowl and rinse it with cold tap water.
- Use your hands to remove the excess starch from each grain by using a gentle rubbing motion.
- When the water that runs off is mostly clear, drain the rice.
- If you're using a rice cooker, add the washed rice to the cooker's bowl and add cold water to just under the 2-cup line. If you're using the stove, add the washed rice to a small heavy-bottomed non-stick pot, then add 1 ½ cups cold water and cover it with a lid.
- Let this soak for at least 30 minutes before you start cooking it. This allows the grains to soak up water before cooking, resulting in shinier rice with a better texture.
- If you use a rice cooker, turn it on and let it do its thing. If you are doing this on the stovetop, turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil (be careful not to let it boil over). Turn down the heat to low and set a timer for 15 minutes. Once no liquid remains in the pot, turn off the heat and let the rice steam for 10 minutes.
- While you wait, combine 4 tablespoons rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. You can microwave it for a bit to help dissolve the sugar.
- When the rice is done, dump it into a large bowl or sushi oke (the wooden bowl in the photo). The key is that you want a container with a lot of surface area to spread the rice out to cool it rapidly. Gently break up any clumps, then pour the vinegar mixture evenly over the hot rice.
- Use a shamoji (rice paddle), spatula, or a flat wooden spoon to gently combine the rice and vinegar using a side-to-side cutting motion followed by a folding motion. You want to separate each grain so seasoned vinegar coats every surface, but you don't want to break the rice grains or mash them together.
- While mixing, use a fan or a clean hairdryer set to cool and blow air on the rice. This cools the sushimeshi and helps the excess liquid evaporate quickly, giving it a nice sheen while keeping it from getting mushy. It's a bit tricky mixing and fanning simultaneously, so a second set of hands can be helpful here.
- The sushi rice is done when the surface is no longer wet and slippery, and each grain is shiny. It will still be lukewarm, but it should not be hot.
- Mound up the sushimeshi and cover it with a damp towel until you're ready to use it.
Notes
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FAQs
The best types of rice suitable for making sushi are Japanese short-grain rice cultivars such as Koshihikari, Akitakomachi, Sasanishiki, or Hitomebore. Japonica rice is highly prized for its stickiness, mellow sweetness, and slight chewiness, which makes it an ideal choice for making sushi rice.
Long-grain rice, such as Basmati rice or Jasmine rice, has a dry, fluffy texture, and the grains don't stick together due to a higher ratio of Amylose to Amylopectin. This also causes long-grain rice to get hard as it cools. These traits make long-grain rice unsuitable for making sushi rice.
Calrose rice and Kokuho Rose are a medium-grain rice cultivars that were originally hybridized to grow in the dry climate of California. Although they're commonly labeled as "sushi rice," they are not used in Japan to make sushi because they contain a lower ratio of amylopectin when compared to Japonica rice.
That being said, these medium grain cultivars are widely available in many parts of the world, making it a more convenient option for sushi making if you cannot get Japanese rice where you live.
By some accounts, the word sushi is a contraction of the words su, which means "vinegar," and meshi, which means "rice." One of sushi's earliest iterations in Japan is what's known as narezushi (馴れ寿司). Fish was salted and then buried in cooked rice and allowed to ferment. The ensuing lacto-fermentation would break down the rice, lowering the pH and preserving the fish. Eventually, someone figured out that adding vinegar to the mixture would shorten the fermentation time, making the fish taste better.
The next step in the evolution of sushi happened near Osaka, where the fish was salted, vinegared, and pressed onto a bed of sushi rice using a wooden mold. The bar of sushi would then be cut into bite-size pieces. This style of sushi is known as oshizushi (押し寿司), or pressed sushi, and is still popular in the region, especially for bento since the vinegar helps preserve the fish. The style of sushi we enjoy today wasn't developed until the Edo Period. Edo, the former name of Tokyo, was situated next to a bay teaming with seafood.
Around 200 years ago, an enterprising chef started topping small balls of sushi rice with fresh fish from Edo Bay without curing it first. Never before had sushi preparation been so easy or fast, so nigiri sushi was brought into this world as an early form of fast food, sold out of stalls near the bay.
Cooling the sushimeshi as the seasoning is folded in is a part of the process of making sushi rice. That said, it does not need to be cooled to room temperature, and some sushi chefs like lukewarm rice.
This recipe makes about 700 grams (25 ounces) of sushi rice. It depends on the type of rolls you make and how thick you lay the sushimeshi, but it should make anywhere from 9 hosomaki (thin rolls with the nori on the outside), 8 uramaki, or 4-5 thicker rolls (full-sheet of nori).
I usually make a large batch of sushi vinegar and store it in a bottle. As long as the sugar and salt are fully dissolved, this will keep in the refrigerator for months. Then, if you want to make sushi rice, you can use ⅓ US cup of sushi vinegar for every two rice cooker cups of uncooked rice after you've cooked it according to the directions in this recipe.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jason, I can't really recommend storing sushi rice at room temperature for more than a few hours for food safety reasons. That said, in theory the pH and salt content of the rice should in theory preserve it for longer than plain rice. Putting it in the fridge will ruin the texture, but reheating it in the microwave will kind of of fix it.
Jason Gastaud says
Hi Marc, this blog is awesome, I got almost all of my sushi knowledge from here ! I've been making a lot of sushi rice lately and getting tired of having to make the rice and wait for it to cool each time, I started making bigger batches now in order to use again the day after. I've read a couple alarming things about storing rice, and I wondered what's your take on that. Do you store cooked sushi rice ? What's the best way to do so ? I kept it in a deep plate covered in plastic film at room temperature over night, and it was pretty ok. Thanks !
Riza says
Can I use sticky rice?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi FairSkiesSailing, you could certainly do that, but the texture of the rice will not be good once it's been refrigerated (even after coming up to room temperature).
FairSkiesSailing says
Can the rice be made a day ahead, refrigerated, then allowed to come to room temperature before using?
Marc Matsumoto says
You could, but the texture will not be right. Thai sticky rice is closer to Japanese mochi rice than sushi rice. Sushi rice is stickier than most long-grain rices but doesn't have the chewy glutinous texture of a sticky rice.
deee says
Can you use thai sticky rice instead
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jenell, doubling is fine, but you'll want to use a bowl that's big enough that you can spread the rice into a fairly thin layer on. You want a lot of the liquid from the vinegar mixture to evaporate rather than soak into the rice. That's why it's important to use a bowl with as much surface area as possible.
Jenell says
Would doubling the recipe be ok?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Islam, if you’re asking if using soy sauce in sushi rice is traditional then no it’s not. If you’re asking for my permission to try it then sure go for it. One thing to keep in mind is that soy sauce is not as salty as salt, so you’ll probably need to add more to the mixture, which may cause problems with the total amount of liquid.
—
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Islam says
Hi Marc ... can I use light soya sauce instead of salt
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Rasslin, while adding ginger to the sushi rice isn’t very traditional I think it could taste quite good. I say go for it!
—
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Rasslin Good says
Hey Marc! Great guide, easy yet it makes the quality sushi rice one wants. Cudos!
One question though, could I substitute the grain sugar for some other kind of sweetener? I'm thinking of using ginger syrup, something I use for many dishes (sweet/sour tomato soup, coleslaw salad, etc.). You get the same sweetness, but also that very slight ginger taste. Would this work for sushi, or would it ruin the intended taste?
Greetz,
Jan
Leo says
Don’t try to do it in rice cooker ot other – it will be not so beautiful. If u wanna to get and tasty and good
looking rice, use multicooker like me (Redmond 4502) – it can do it faster is
much better, also it do it n the time I come to home after work. Perfect sushi!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi guest, while what you've said is accurate, I've started listing all non-liquids as a weight rather than volume because volumetric measurements are not precise for non-liquids. You can read more on this here: https://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/five-reasons-to-use-a-kitchen-scale/
Eva says
hey since 2 x 180 ml rice cooker cups is 1 1/2 American cups (plus 2 tablespoons if you really want to get picky), same as the water required, why not just say so? Pretty simple to use the same amount of water and rice.
Breanna Sumner says
Yes! You're so right. I was saddened to read that High Fructose Corn Syrup was of of the top two ingredients. Anyways, I tried your recipe and I must say the taste is so much better without all those unnatural ingredients. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Breanna, the sushi restaurant you worked at was probably using premixed “sushi seasoning” meant for making sushi rice. If you read the ingredients these usually include corn syrup, salt and MSG in addition to the rice vinegar, which is why I prefer to make my own sushi seasoning. —
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Breanna Sumner says
In the sushi restaurant I worked at we never added salt or sugar to the vinegar. It was already a perfect sweet and tangy flavor. Why does the recipe require those two ingredients?
Michelle says
Marc, thanks so much for this recipe - its perfect xx
shaqura says
hi marc bye marc
from sahqura elias
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Emily, I'm not sure about what will happen in a sauce pan, but rice cookers don't handle making 1 cup of rice very well. The rice ends up more crumbly than sticky. As for cooking times, since you have less water, it will take less time to bring to a boil, but the 15 minutes of cooking and 10 minutes of steaming remain the same.
lovesirbecky says
Hi Marc,
I am planning on halving all ingredients that this recipe states as I only need a small quantity. Would I need to reduce the cooking time of the rice as I am using a saucepan?
Thanks,
From Emily.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kayla, a rice cooker cup is 180ml, which is 0.760816 US Cups. Or roughly 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon.
peggynames says
Hello Marc... I wold love to use your recipe for sushi rice using brown rice...is it possible? What adjustments would I need to make? Thank you
Kayla says
Could you give an estimated US cup measuremnet for the rice? I have no way of measuring by weight and im going to try to make California rolls for the first time for Valentines and i really don't want to mess this up.. Thank you to anyone who can help
Vernon Chan says
Thanks Marc. Will continue testing and experimenting 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
The lower amount of sugar you used probably had an impact, the shine on the rice needs a higher sugar content. Also, it's important that the water is measured precisely. Lastly it's possible that the type and age of the rice your using will require some adjustments to the amount if water. The newer rice is, the higher the water content.— Sent from Mailbox for iPad
Vernon Chan says
Tried a couple of times but came out a little lumpy and soft. Will need to keep an eye out on the amount of water. Also I used 3 heaped teaspoons of sugar instead of tablespoons.
camilio4u2 says
Thank you Marc .
Ezal says
There's rice vinegar in Malaysia too.. Im from Brunei and rice vinegar is not rare. I use it often. I believe thay are sold in most local markets. Just search for it.
Tammie Smith says
California Rolls may be a bit tricky but I took away a great deal of information from your post that gives me the confidence to try making them now. Thanks so much, I'll let you know how I do!
Gintama says
Hey, I'm in Malaysia too. Quick question: are you living somewhere out in the woods? (I very much doubt it, else you shouldn't be on the internet.) Anyway even if you're living where there is no sign of human life, see if you can find your way to a "kedai runcit" (Malay for grocery shop) or "chap hui tiam" (in Hokkien), and ask for "bee chor" (in case the old shopkeep doesn't speak English). It should cost only RM2.80 for a bottle the size of a large Tiger Beer. The brand I use is Narcissus, came all the way from Fujian China.
There's a lot of heated talk lately in my country, about the Islamic ruling party tagging Malaysia-born Chinese like me as "Pendatang" (immigrants), and that we deserve to get kicked back to China. I brought this point up because, well, if it weren't for the pendatang, how are Malaysians supposed to get common, everyday kitchen stuff such as rice vinegar? Desho?
Marc Matsumoto says
Actually, rice vinegar does not include salt or sugar. I think you might be confusing it with sushi rice vinegar(sometimes known as seasoned rice vinegar), which is what this recipe is for.
Lindsey V says
Rice vinegar can be duplicated by taking white vinegar, salt and sugar and cooking them together in a pan over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
The portions should look like:
half cup of white vinegar
1 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of sugar
Add more salt, sugar or vinegar until it tastes "right". You need something acidic or the rice will fall flat.
I used to prepare the vinegar this way, and my family liked it sweeter, so I would add more sugar to the mix. Everyone enjoyed the rice thoroughly.
Marc Matsumoto says
I'm not sure I understand your question, are you asking about the rice? vinegar?
omelette aux truffes says
What is the best ingredient used in making sushi?
Marilia says
I am trying your recipe now but i just realised that i accidentally bought sushi vinegar (with the sugar and salt already added) Could you suggest a total amount of liquid that i should be adding to my rice as i'm not sure how much the sugar in your recipe condenses down to?
Marc Matsumoto says
It's not going to have the same taste, but if you're okay with that I don't see why you couldn't use a different vinegar. Also, some vinegars are more acidic than others, so you may need to adjust the amount of vinegar based on the acidity. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with cane vinegar so can't really give you any guidance there.
Marilia says
hi marc, i just want to ask if i can use ordinary vinegar, cane vinegar? thanks 🙂
Mel says
Is it ok using cane vinegar instead of rice vinegar? Than for sharing this recipe. I always wonder why the rice in Japan is shinier. I know the technique now.
Tree Lady says
Sushi rice is short grain rice. Shorter grain rice is starchier than long grain, and you need the starch to make the rice stick together in the sushi roll. Jasmine or Basmati would be long grain and would not have enough starch.
Marc Matsumoto says
I'm not very familiar with what kinds of ingredients you can get in Malaysia, so I can't really suggest a substitute. That said, I'm a little surprised you can't find rice vinegar there as it's used widely in Asian cooking. If you have a market that sells Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, or Korean ingredients they should have it as it's used in all those cuisines. In the US it goes by a couple names including: white rice vinegar, rice wine vinegar, or simply rice vinegar.
marina says
hey, i live in malaysia and i tried making sushi rice before but i can't find the rice vinegar. is there anything else that can replace the rice vinegar? thanks 🙂
Sandra H. Jordan says
I use a cup of white vinegar, cup of sugar, two of salt and simmer with shaved ginger. Once it cooks and thickens a bit, I remove the ginger for serving. Very yummy
Marc Matsumoto says
Rice for onigiri is not seasoned. You can follow the wash step and use the same proportion of water to rice, add a pinch of salt, then use the same cooking instructions, but you do not add the vinegar mixture and mix it like with sushi rice.
daftasanything says
Would I use this same technique for rice for Onigiri(sp) ? Thanks! Love this blog!
Not True says
There also may or may not be another apostrophe hiccup in the same area (step number 9).
Sorry!
Not True says
Typo spotted! Step number 9 in the recipe: "you're rice is fresh".
I'm not pointing it out maliciously. Figured you'd like to know, considering there's a certain quality to the writing on the site I've come to expect (in a good way).
Your site is great.
🙂
Laura says
Love that you specified rice cooker cups! 🙂 my biggest pet peeve is rice cooker or Asian rice recipes that don't specify, and i am always wondering whether to you regular cups or rice cooker cups.
Olen says
Rice cooker measures are 3/4 of a standard (8oz) cup...in other words, 6oz liquid measure.
Laura says
Love that you specified rice cooker cups! 🙂 my biggest pet peeve is rice cooker or Asian rice recipes that don't specify, and i am always wondering whether to you regular cups or rice cooker cups.