Sushi rice

Quick info

Servings: 3
Prep: 40 minutes (soaking included)
Cooking: 30 minutes
Tools: pot with a lid, bowl for rinsing, wooden spatula or spoon (shamoji), hand fan or small electric fan, sushi oke (traditional wooden bowl, optional). No metal.
Heads-up: Japanese rice must be rinsed thoroughly and soaked for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Rinse the rice. Put 300g (10.6 oz) of rice in a bowl or in the pot you’ll cook it in. Add plenty of water, then swirl gently with your hand to wash off the starch. When the water turns cloudy, tip it out while holding the rice back with your hand. Repeat 3–5 times, until the water runs almost clear. Then leave the rice to soak for at least 30 minutes, then drain.
Cook the rice. Tip the drained rice into the pot with 390ml (13.2 fl oz) of fresh water. Cover with a lid and bring slowly to a boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and simmer for 15–20 minutes. For a perfect result, never lift the lid while it’s cooking: the steam is what makes the rice soft and tender.
Let it rest. Once cooked, take the pot off the heat but leave the lid on. Let the rice rest and keep steaming for another 10–15 minutes.
Season the rice. Transfer the rice while it’s still hot to a wide bowl (ideally a wooden one, sushi oke). Pour over 80ml (2.7 fl oz) of sushi vinegar — roughly 12% of the cooked rice’s weight. Mix gently, “folding” the rice from the bottom up so you don’t crush the grains. As you mix, fan it with a hand fan or small electric fan: this helps the moisture evaporate and makes the rice glossy and fragrant.
Make the sushi. Once the rice is warm and has soaked up the seasoning, it’s ready for nigiri, maki, uramaki or chirashi sushi.

If you don’t have ready-made sushi vinegar, mix 3 parts rice vinegar, 2 parts sugar and 1 part salt, warming gently to dissolve the sugar.