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How to make rice for sushi
Introduction
It is a common misconception indeed that the word SUSHI implies raw fish. SASHIMI means raw food of some sort, sans rice. SUSHI on the other hand means there is sushi-rice, whether it is with scrambled eggs, pickled vegetables, cooked fish, raw fish, stuffed into a bag of fried tofu, or served in a bowl with all of the above sprinkled on top. Most sushi restaurants in the States seem to have tasteless, bland, boring, sushi rice. None of the restaurants in Japan are like this.
(Soap box on) Over there, if you see a sushi chef actually preparing you the final product, he's practically guaranteed to have at least 10 years of experience, and probably much more. Have you heard of an sushi apprenticeship over here?. (Soap box off).
Of course, the other parts are key, including the raw fish in NIGIRIZUSHI, and even the soy sauce (regular Kikkoman is fine).
The recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups rice
1.5 tbsp sake (optional)
40cc rice vinegar (a little less than 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Use a high quality white calrose rice. Kokuho Rose and Tamaki are two very good brands. (No instant rice, no cheap rice, no brown rice). Rinse to remove powder, then add sake and cook normally. If you are using a rice-cooker wait about 15-20 minutes after it stops cooking, as the heat will dry the very-wet rice to a normal consistency.
In a separate container mix together rice vinegar, sugar, salt. Do not confuse rice vinegar with the pre-mixed sushi vinegar which is typically sold next to it. We're making our own here & no MSG!
Remove the rice to a large bowl or even a frying pan. Form it into a small mountain. Pour the rice vinegar sauce evenly and quickly over the rice. Fan vigorously to cool as rapidly as possible while mixing the rice by using slicing motions to open the rice mass then, mixing it over again. Turning the rice thus cools the entire 2 cups. Sometimes I use a big electric room fan, but having a second person fan is more fun. It's done!
If you have a 5 cup or larger rice cooker, you might have better results if you did after cooking it, you did the mixing by 2 or 2 1/2 cups of rice at a time, just because it is easier to cool. For 2 1/2 cups, sensibly increase amounts of ingredients slightly (e.g. 50cc rice vinegar or 1/4 cup). Exactness is not essential, for we are mixing it to your taste!
Save a small bowl of the sauce to clean & coat your hands with as you shape pieces of sushi rice by squeezing between your two palms. (you don't need those "sushi makers!")...
NOTES ON PREPARING WASABI FROM POWDER:
Wasabi is hotter if you make it yourself. First put a glass of water in the freezer to get it very cold. Then put powder in a teacup and pour in this chilled water a little at a time until it is at the correct consistency of wasabi (i.e. thick paste, not runny). Then, the important secret: put the teacup upside down on a saucer for about a half-hour. The fumes stay in and the wasabi will become very hot if you do this right. . . the cold water is important too!
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