Sushi Rice Recipe - Japanese Recipe

The Origin of Sushi
Since Japan is surrounded by ocean, seafood has always been widely consumed as well as rice. Originally, raw fish was fermented in salt to preserve it and eaten with seasoned rice. In Japanese cuisine, sushi indicates dishes that use sushi rice, which is seasoned with a sweet vinegar mixture. Although you can make sushi without using any fish/rawfish, many kinds of fish are used in sushi dishes.

Japanese rice is short grain rice and gets sticky when it is cooked. Long grain rice isn't proper for sushi because it is drier and doesn't stick together.

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups Japanese rice
2. 3 1/4 cups water
3. 1/3 cup rice vinegar
4. 3 Tbsp sugar
5. 1 tsp salt

Preparation:
After washing and soaking Japanese rice, cook and let it steam. See How to Cook Japanese Rice.
Prepare sushi vinegar (sushi-zu) by mixing rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a sauce pan. Put the pan on low heat and heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool the vinegar mixture.
Spread the hot steamed rice into a large plate or a large bowl. Please use a non-metallic bowl to prevent any interaction with rice vinegar. It's best to use a wooden bowl called sushi-oke. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold the rice by shamoji (rice spatula) quickly. Be careful not to smash the rice.
To cool and remove the moisture of the rice well, use a fan as you mix sushi rice. This will give sushi rice a shiny look. It's best to use sushi rice right away.

Makes 4-6 servings.