This Sushi Rice Recipe is really sticky and slightly sweet, which makes it perfect for making your own sushi rolls or sashimi at home. This perfectly sticky rice is easy to make and lasts for days in the refrigerator. I will teach you how to make sushi rice with all my tips and tricks. Don’t even think about skipping tip #3, even though you will try to…..
Sushi is one of my all time favorite foods. That statement is one that is newer for me because I would have never thought I was a sushi type of gal, but I am completely obsessed with it. Now, the price of a handmade sushi roll is what keeps me from eating it as often as I would like but I’ve spent some serious time learning how to make my own at home and now I make it all the time! This recipe is the only one I use because the seasoning is spot on and the end result is super sticky, which is a must to make the perfect sushi or sashimi roll at home.
There are a couple key points for making killer sushi rice recipe and this one hits them all. Don’t be afraid of trying out your own sushi or sashimi because you will be amazed at how easy this is!
Is Sushi Rice Sticky Rice?
Sushi rice and sticky rice are two different types of grains and have different textures and flavors. Sushi rice is a short grain rice from Japan that becomes sticky when prepared properly and is used for sushi and sashimi rolls. Sticky rice is from Thailand and is a round grain that becomes extremely sticky when cooked and is often used in desserts.
Why Sushi Rice Needs Vinegar?
If you didn’t season your sushi rice with rice vinegar, as well as sugar and kosher salt, you would have an extremely bland piece of sushi. The subtle tang from the rice vinegar, along with the hint of sweetness and salt make a perfect bite of sushi. It doesn’t require a lot of vinegar but if you want the best tasting sushi roll, don’t skip out on it!
How to Make Sticky Rice or Sushi Rice
- Only use sushi rice. Sushi rice, which is a form of short grain rice and that is what makes it so sticky. (This brand is my personal favorite). Don’t try to use the standard long grain rice you already have in your cupboard or your roll will not work. At all. Not to mention the texture will be much too mushy.
- Rinse your uncooked sushi rice well. It may seem odd or an unnecessary step, but be sure you rinse your rice until the water runs clear. This step is skipped by people in a rush but if you do, you will end up with more of a rice paste than anything. Nasty!
- Sticky rice comes as it cools. Allow the finished rice to come to room temperature before using it. As the finished rice cools, it becomes even stickier so don’t rush this process. If you are in a rush, you can always transfer your cooked sushi rice into a shallow pan and allow it to cool faster.
Why Sushi Rice is Sticky?
This short grain rice has a ton of starch in it, which is why you have to rinse it well before cooking or you end up with rice paste. Even after you have rinsed the sushi rice grain, more starch is released while it cooks and then as it cools, those starches act like the perfect glue to hold the rice together.
If you are new to making sushi, you will need a Basic Sushi Making Kit and I love this one because it is only a few bucks and has everything you need. There are more expensive or fancier ones out there, but unless you are planning to become a sushi master, this is perfect for the home cook like you! Just click on the picture to grab your own!
Looking for more Asian flavors? You have to make my Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce.
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The Best Sushi Rice Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Boiled
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
Sushi rice recipe that is easy to make, super sticky and perfect for homemade sushi and sashimi
Ingredients
- 2 C sushi rice
- 2 C water, plus more for rinsing
- 2 Tb rice vinegar
- 2 Tb sugar
- 1 Tb kosher salt
Instructions
- Place the rice in a strainer and rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Use your hands to be sure all the grains are rinsed well. Place the rinsed rice into a medium pan with the 2 cups of water over high heat. Once the water begins to boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to the very lowest setting. Cook for 15 minutes. Once the rice has finished cooking, remove from the heat, leave the lid on and let it sit for another 10 minutes.
- Combine the vinegar, sugar and kosher salt in a small microwave safe cup and microwave for 30 seconds. Once the rice has sat for 10 minutes, toss it well with the seasoning liquid. Allow the rice to come to room temperature before using. Store leftover rice in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 C
- Calories: 128
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 207 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: sushi rice recipe
it s very good
Thank you! It is the only recipe I use
What sort of rice vinegar do you use? The kind that I have available to me already has some sugar/seasoning in it which makes me worried that if I add more sugar it will make the rice sickly sweet.
Hey there Tia! I use just standard rice vinegar, not the seasoned rice vinegar. It is a sweeter vinegar but I promise that the level of sweetness is perfect for sushi. Without any sweetness, the sushi roll would be very bland
How do you reheat the rice after being in the fridge?
Hey there Wendy! For sushi, you don’t want warm or hot rice. It needs to be nice and cold so it sticks together for your sushi or sashimi.
would any vinegar be sufficient? I have red wine vinegar, ACV or regular.
Hey there Sarah! For the most authentic recipe, you really do need rice vinegar. However, if you are going to make a substitution, the apple cider vinegar would be best since it is the sweetest.
Hi! So if I use the apple cider vinegar instead, will the sugar be no longer necessary? Thanks in advance.
Hi Cindy! I would stick with the rice vinegar as stated. The apple cider vinegar will be too strong and overpower the sushi.
I am using this recipe for ten years now. So it is really not a novelty.
Hey Dieter! It is a great, classic recipe which is why I love it.
It is for me, being a beginner..
This recipe is PERFECTION!
I am so glad you loved it too Sandy!
Thanks so much for the.perfect recipe! I will use it often. Happy sushi eating!
You are very welcome Lydia!
Hallo!
really cant wait to try this out!
so far the best and well detailed recept! 😉
It is awesome! I would love to hear how it works for you when you do give it a try 🙂
Hallo!
The sushi was really great, we loved the texture and the taste. Seems like Homemade Sushi is gonna stay in the menu for a while
Greetings!
That makes me very happy to hear Amira!
Very easy to follow recipe. Delicious
I’m glad you enjoyed it Marjorie!
Have you ever frozen your sushi? I’d like to make a very large batch and freeze. Any suggestions?
Hey Michele! I have never frozen sushi but worry a bit about how it would work. I have refrigerated it with each roll wrapped tight in plastic wrap before cutting it.
Hey, Carole. I’m learning to make sushi and I used this recipe today. The result was yummy. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
I am so glad you loved it Rafael! Learning to make sushi is a fun way to start of the new year.
Ok! So this is my second time using this recipe and it’s a winner! The first time I used it I promised my kids veg sushi rolls for afternoon snack.. that was before I read to let the rice cool all the way down. . Not to be out done, I threw the rice in a couple of bowls and into the freezer for about ten minutes stirring every so often to get it to cool!! Ha! My ten year old caught a glimpse of what I was doing and was intrigued, although somewhat baffled.. We laughed later as I assured him sushi isn’t *really* made that way lol! Needless to say we went threw the entire pack of Nori (10 sheets!) and my last roll was only filled halfway with rice due to my *ahem* taste testing!
This time around I’m excited to be making veg sushi rolls again for lunch on the road so I decided to prep the rice ahead. I just finished cooking my rice only to realize that I’m all out of sugar!! AGAIN!, not to be outdone a second time, I subbed confectioners sugar a little at a time until I got what reminded me of the previous batch. The struggle!! Anyway.. I love this recipe and I’m committing it to memory so I can make it for years to come! Thanks so much for sharing!
That is awesome Nichole! Thank you for coming back and sharing it with me.
Can you use a rice cooker instead?
Hi Shane! That is a great question and I think it would work fine but I don’t have any experience with a rice cooker.
I have used my rice cooker and it worked out fine! I followed the rice cookers amount of rice and water recommended.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for this recipe!! It came out so perfect and was so delicious!! We plan to make it often!!
★★★★★
I love to hear comments like this Bunnie!
How many rolls does this usually make?!
Around 10
How many rolls do you get from 2 cups rice. I’m making for 10 persons. And thanks for your guidance
It makes around 10 roll or so Kiki.
made this in my instant pot, followed as instructions stated except I didn’t rinse the rice. used the rice setting. turned out awesome!
Thanks Melanie for sharing!
Hi Carole!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! We are hosting a sushi making party with some friends and I’m wondering if I can make the rice in the afternoon and then keep it in my fridge so it’s ready to go when everyone comes over. Is this adviseable? Will it compromise the texture?
Hi Carley! It will work, but it just doesn’t work quite as well as freshly made.
Thank you for the recipe! I am trying it now with a rice cooker. I will let you know about the results later tonight. So excited to try this as I got a sushi rolling kit as a gift and wanted to try it out.
Hi All, I tried this using a rice cooker and it came out great! Will definitely use it in the future since I love my rice cooker!
I do need to work on rolling sushi, but not bad for my first time. Love the recipe, it’s a keeper!
★★★★★
Hey there Tamela! Rolling sushi is a challenge and still a bit frustrating for me 🙂
Hi Carole! OK – can I use regular salt with this recipe instead of Kosher? I made it once (with the wrong kind of vinegar so it was a wash anyway) and I used 1 TBSP regular table salt and it was SO salty. Would I do say half a TBSP, if you’re using coarse Kosher salt? Thank you!
Hi Ally! Yes, if you use regular salt, you need to reduce the amount of salt considerably. Kosher salt is light and flaky so it doesn’t take much to fill up a tablespoon.
Hey Carole! Can you give me some advice on how to combine the rice vinegar and the rice without smashing the rice? I have to say that I am a beginner at this and I can’t distribute the vinegar well enough without destroying the beautiful rice kernels. Thanks!
Hi Ashley! It sounds like your rice might be a bit overcooked if it is getting smashed when you toss in the seasoning liquid. Be sure your liquid measurement is precise using a liquid measuring cup. If that isn’t the problem, try fluffing the rice with a fork before tossing in the seasoning liquid.
I want to try making sushi. I’m new to eating sushi. My granddaughter loves sushi. I looked in my regular grocery store for sushi rice and couldn’t find it. Where do you buy your rice?
Hello Linda! It is a fun skill to learn. If your local grocery store doesn’t carry it, you can always order it from Amazon or another online retailer!
I love this recipe, I use it often. Just one question. Why microwave or cook the vinegar mixture before using it?I’m not a huge fan of the overpowering vinegar smell I get from doing that
Great question Courtney. The warm vinegar will help the sugar dissolve so when you toss it into the rice, it evenly mixes in the seasonings.
Can you use Rice Wine instead of rice vinegar?
Hi Shannen. No, that really isn’t the same substitution. You need that acidity from the vinegar.
Can I use Mirin instead of sugar if so would this improve the flavor or do you prefer the flavor of the sugar
★★★★★
I’ve never tried Mirin in this recipe so i can’t say for sure. The sugar flavor is very slight. Just enough sweetness to balance the nori.
This recipe sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it. As far as mixing…. In my experience, it’s better to kind of “slice and fold” rather than stir the rice. If that makes sense. Hope this helps.
Thanks Tally for your great tip!
Great recipe! I only have a technical issue. I found your font to be to small for comfortable reading. Age could not possibly be a factor!
Glad you liked the recipe Stan, and boy can I understand about the struggles of small fonts! Isn’t aging so great 🙂
Oh my this was incredibly unedible. I’m unsure if it’s a typo, but 1 whole Tablespoon (Tb) of salt was too salty! We had to throw the rice out it was so bad. (Yes we cooked 2 cups of rice)
We will try again using a teaspoon (tsp).
Sad this recipe seemed to have good reviews, unless those before me didn’t use the listed amount of salt, I can’t imagine how they ate it.
★
Hey Rose! Bummer that this didn’t work out but did you use Kosher salt or regular table salt? Kosher salt is a flaky salt so 1 Tb really isn’t that much. If you used regular table salt, then yes, I am sure this was waaaayyyy too salty. Give it a try again using the proper salt and you will perfect!
This recipe turned out SO tasty and it was so incredibly easy! I rolled mine up using a silicone baking mat, which was perfect for flexibility and sturdiness, all while reducing waste by not using plastic wrap! I also didn t quite chop up the veggies. I instead cut them up into little slivers which I think helped the veggies stay in place. I definitely can t wait to make this again!
I’m so glad it worked well for you and I love the idea of using my baking mat! Thanks for sharing that great tip!
I finally found the perfect sushi rice. It truly is the best
★★★★★
So glad you love it Anastasia!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I do have one question though. I saw in a post that you responded to that “the sugar flavor is very slight. Just enough sweetness to balance the nori.”
However I don’t use nori or any other seaweed, I use soy wrap because I hate the taste of nori. So would adding the sugar in the rice seasoning, in this case, be to sweet?
Hey Theresa! It will be perfect for your soy wrap as well. Sushi rice really needs that bit of sweetness to balance all the other flavors. Please come back and let me know how it goes!