# Sushi Rice

Learn how to make sushi rice with secret tips from Japanese Michelin-starred Chef Yama using a rice cooker.

- Total time: 70 min
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 450 gram rice
- 540 milliliters water
- 90 gram sushi vinegar

## Instructions

1. Measure the rice using a food scale.
2. Rinse the rice about 4 or 5 times.
3. Throw the first water away immediately, because the rice absorbs the most water at the beginning.
4. Gently stir and massage the rice with your five fingers.
5. Rinse the rice about 5 times.
6. Add water after rinsing for the next step.
7. Soak the rice for a minimum of 10-15 minutes.
8. Soak the rice for 1 hour if you have enough time.
9. Keep it in the fridge during summer, if the temperature is around 30 degrees Celcius.
10. Discard the soaking water.
11. Dry the rice by leaving it to drain in the sieve for 10 minutes.
12. Put the dried rice into a Japanese rice cooker.
13. Add 540 milliliters of water to 450 grams of dry weight rice.
14. Cook the rice in the rice cooker. Cooking the rice will take around 40 minutes.
15. Add 90 grams of sushi vinegar to the cooked rice.
16. Gently mix the rice with a slicing motion. This is called "cutting" the rice.
17. Cut any lumps in the rice immediately when you see them.
18. Cover the rice with a wet thick kitchen towel.
19. Let it cool down to a perfect temperature for about 10 minutes before shaping it.
20. Put the sushi rice into a Japanese Ohitsu to keep perfect moisture and temperature.
21. Cover the rice in the Ohitsu with a wet thick kitchen towel again.

## Equipment

- food scale
- sieve
- metal bowl
- rice cooker
- Donabe
- Japanese Ohtsu
- Shamoiji
- wet thick kitchen towel

## Tips

- The first water is the most important when rinsing the rice, so throw it away immediately.
- Do not let the rice absorb the dirty water.
- Gently stir and massage the rice with your five fingers, instead of pressing with the palm of your hand, because the rice is already pre-polished.
- Be careful not to break the rice by applying too much pressure. The best and perfect sushi rice is made when the grains are still intact and uniform.
- Over-rinsing can cause the rice to break and may result in a loss of flavor.
- Keep the rice in the fridge if it's summertime and it is around 30 degrees Celcius.
- The time rice spends soaking in the water before cooking affects its final quality, flavor, and texture.
- Beyond one hour of soaking, the rice won't absorb any more water and won't give any more benefits to the rice you use.
- The best bowl for mixing sushi rice with sushi vinegar is made from Hinoki or Sawara Cypress wood.
- Make sure that your mixing rice spoon is covered in vinegar to prevent the rice from sticking.
- Mix the rice with sushi vinegar immediately once the rice is cooked and thus still warm.
- Gently fold the rice with a slicing motion and breaking up any lumps gently without crushing the grains.
- Do not press the rice while mixing.
- Cover the sushi rice with a wet thick kitchen towel to keep it from drying out.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=196q4mxbjWY
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/ee3d7aa4-913a-4e0c-8c6e-19bd9d57c460
- Extracted: 2025-11-27

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt