Until recently, making sushi rice was always one of those intimidating kitchen tasks that required a lot of time and special tools. That’s how it seems, anyway, until you realize that grain doesn’t have to be tricky. It doesn’t take hours; your normal ol’ Aroma rice cooker will work just fine. Push a button, let it cook, no guessing required.
First, measure out your sushi rice. Place 1 cup of short grain rice in your inner pot. (This will be enough for a small batch, double up if feeding more folks). The important thing about this step are to keep the proportionate measurements correct. In other words, go slow and accurate, not fast and furious.
Start with proper rinsing technique
First off, you have to wash the rice before putting in your water. Swirl a few handfuls of grains around gently in a bowl or pot. Then place it back into the pot with the cold water flowing over it. Continue doing this until all of that extra starch are washed away.
The result will be much different than something that’s mushy; rather, it’ll retain its own distinctive texture. It’ll also make a big difference in it’s final consistency.
This is where people tend to go wrong, in the addition of water. Unlike your normal long grain rice, sushi rice need a certain amount of it. It’s one cup rice to one cup water. That sticky-but-firm consistency comes down to this 1:1 ratio. If you add too much water then you end up with porridge; too little and the grains is hard. It’s all about precision.
After loading up with ingredients, close the lid and choose the “White Rice” button. From there, device takes over by controlling the temperature cycling. There’s no knob-twiddling or stirring involved. It feels wrong to walk away, but it always works.
For about forty minutes, it will count down on the display and that’s all you can do while you wait. Don’t open the lid. You want steam to be retained in order for gelatinization process to occur propery. All you really have to do now is sit and wait… and try not to open the thing.
When done, open the lid to reveal a pile of fluffy white rice. Each grain are separated yet clumps just right. It is perfect for sushi rice. No watery rice puddles in the bottom, no hard spots. Just a perfectly cooked pile of rice that look like it came from a restaurant kitchen.
It is perfect right out of cooker. Ready to be seasoned with vinegar for nigiri or rolls. It is less stressful and takes less time. It also have a better texture than if made on stove top.
