Just Hungry

Rice is the staple of Japanese food, and making it just right can be rather difficult if you don't know how. If you think you will be preparing rice regularly, an electric rice cooker will make your life so much easier. You can cook non-Japanese style rice in it too, though I tend to make those in a regular pan.

Japanese rice, or japonica rice, is a very particular variety. For traditional Japanese dishes you simply cannot substitute long-grain rice, basmati, Carolina type rice, etc. The one non-japonica variety that does work fairly well is Vialone rice, which is a medium-grain rice also. (Arborio is also medium-grain, but tends to have too much rice starch...which is what makes that creamy texture in risotto. Vialone has less starch coating and therefore works well.)

Ideally, the rice should be quite fresh - purchased within 3 months of harvest. Unfortunately, it's just about impossible to buy rice that fresh outside of Japan.

Once you have mastered plain rice, turning it into sushi rice (shari) just requires a few more steps. So I have included instructions for that too.

Note: I wrote some of the how-to steps below originally for the now defunct website of Sushisay, which was arguably the best traditional sushi restaurant in New York. Sushisay New York closed last year (I'm still in mourning), and I've gotten permission to use their old web material. So look for some more sushi-related stuff to be posted here in the next few weeks.

Japanese style plain rice

To make 4 cups of cooked rice, you will need:

• An aluminum pot with a tight-fitting lid or an electric rice cooker
• 2 cups of uncooked japonica rice (or substitute Vialone)
• 2 1/4 cups of water

Measure out the rice carefully into your pot and rinse vigorously under running water. Swish the rice around with your hands - the water will turn a milky white color.

Drain the cloudy water away and add fresh water, and swish the rice around again. Repeat this step 2 - 3 times.

Drain, leaving just a little water, and rub the grains together several times with the palms of your hands as if you were polishing them.

Add plenty of fresh water and rince out the rice. Drain and rinse until the water is almost clear.

Drain the rice in a fine mesh sieve and leave for a little while, preferably at least 30 minutes.

Put rice in a rice cooker or pot. Add the water to the rice. If you are using a rice cooker, close the lid and switch on. If you are using a pot, bring to a boil over medium heat then put on a tight fitting lid. Cook on high for 1 minute then reduce the heat to medium, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until you can see the surface of the rice, then reduce to low heat for about 10 minutes or until the water is completely absorbed. (Don't open the lid to peek!) Turn up to high heat for a few seconds to get rid of any excess moisture if necessary. Remove from heat and drape a cloth over the pan for about 10-15 minutes to let it fully absorb the moisture and rest. This final step really makes a difference if you want grains that stick together but are not mushy

Sushi rice

Substitute cooled dashi soup stock for the water. Cook as per above instructions.

You will need a large bowl or plate for the next step, preferably a wooden one, though I just use a large serving plate with a raised edge so the rice doesn't fall out. You also need a sturdy rice paddle or spatula.

Take 1/4 cup of sushi vinegar (sushi-zu, see note below). Moisten your spatula or paddle with this. Turn your hot rice out into the bowl or plate, Pour the sushi vinegar over this. Working rapidly, turn and mix the rice, taking care not to squish the grains. You should use a cut-turn-fold motion sort of like when you mix in egg whites into a cake batter. This you do with one hand. With your other, rapidly fan the rice to cool it as quickly as possible. This ensures that the grains will be nice and glossy. Rope in an assistant to do the fanning, or else do what I do and use a hair dryer on the 'cool' setting.

Sushi vinegar mix (awase-zu)

If you can't get prepared sushi vinegar you can make it thus:

Mix 1/4 cup of rice vinegar or mild cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of mirin, sake or sweet brandy, and 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Heat over low heat in a small saucepan, and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. This is enough to flavor 4 cups of rice, so adjust the amount according to the amount of rice you have.