No wonder they call rice "the second bread of the planet." In Asian countries, wheat and rye are not successful, and these grains grow poorly there. Therefore, the bread we are used to is replaced there with rice. A lot of different dishes are prepared from it, including desserts. In Japan, this product is especially popular. Paper, powder, vodka are made from rice.
But now we will talk about sushi, and more specifically, rolls. By the way, this dish first appeared in the XVII century. The cookbooks of the time mentioned rolls of rice, vegetables and seafood. But the rolls familiar to us with a leaf of nori, raw fish and various wasabi sauces were invented in the 19th century by the Tokyo chef Yehei Hanai. He left clear guidelines on what to do to make delicious rice for rolls.
Choose a variety
When rolling rolls, special attention should be paid to choosing the right rice variety. After all, it is important for us that it does not boil, as in pilaf, but at the same time so that a viscous mass does not come out of it, as for a children's casserole. The grain should contain a large amount of starch. Then, during cooking, it will remain attractively whole, and the porridge will be sticky, and the products will not fall apart.
What kind of rice is needed for rolls? A resident of a big city will not have any problems with this. Go to the supermarket and buy a pack of Nikishi. The packaging often says: “For sushi.” This rice is perfect for sculpting. Not porridge, but just plasticine. There is also a variety of "Japanese" or "Mistral." They have rounded grains and a dull color. Well, if you live in a rural area, away from globalization with its supermarkets, then which rice to use for rolls? The usual "Krasnodar". It is also round-grain. Good for giving a lot of viscosity. True, he is inclined to lose the shape of grain.
Cereal washing
Before boiling rice for rolls, it must be very thoroughly washed. We take a large container with wide edges. Pour rice there. The rule of a large bowl for washing should be strictly followed, even if we have only a hundred grams of rice. Fill the grain with water, mix, filter. Dip your hands in a new portion of liquid and gently rub the rice between the palms. We repeat this procedure three to four times until the water becomes completely transparent. After this, we discard the grain on a sieve. After all the liquid has drained, we again fill it with clean water and leave it for half an hour or even an hour.
How to cook rice for rolls
In a slow cooker, of course, it will be easier. But when the rolls appeared, they did not hear about such devices. If we follow the traditional way of cooking, take a small saucepan and place the washed rice in it. Pour exactly the same amount of cold water. That is, if we have a glass of grain, we need a similar capacity of liquid. Advanced chefs can put a piece of kombu algae in the water .
We put the saucepan on the biggest fire. As soon as the water begins to boil, we take out the combo, switch the flame to a minimum and cover the rice with a lid. Cook until all the liquid from the saucepan evaporates. As soon as this moment comes, we switch the fire to maximum. Keep it under a tightly closed lid for about fifteen seconds. Turn off the stove.
The main secret of cooking rice
So that the cereal does not lose its stickiness and is just right (that is, not damp and not overcooked), it is important not to let a single gram of water out of the pan. Liquid and steam must act inside it. When we cook rice for rolls in a multicooker, there are no problems with this. We simply fill the cereal with the required amount of water and set the mode ("Rice, buckwheat") and time (25 minutes). Naturally, we do not remove the cover from the device during the process. But what about a regular pan? How do we know that all the liquid from the rice porridge has evaporated?
Yes, it will be necessary to open the lid a couple of times (and at the same time stir the contents so as not to burn). After turning off the fire, condensation will be released from the steaming porridge. To prevent it from dripping back into the rice, put a paper towel between the lid and the walls of the pan. Then the condensate will be absorbed by this blotter, and you will get a wonderful sticky porridge.
Marinade preparation
As you probably already noticed, we did not advise you to add salt to the rice for rolls - in a slow cooker or in a saucepan. So far, we've got absolutely tasteless porridge. To bring it to the right condition and make it suitable for rolls, we need to saturate it with marinade. Traditionally, it is prepared like this: pour a large spoonful of sugar and the same amount of sea salt into a glass, pour 100 ml of rice vinegar. In European conditions, this last ingredient can be replaced with white table wine. The mixture must be thoroughly mixed until the bulk products are completely dissolved. After that, we hide the marinade in the refrigerator for an hour.
Impregnation
No matter where we cooked the rice for the rolls - in a slow cooker or in a saucepan - impregnation, the last phase of our work, requires a wooden bowl. Gently cool the cereal to room temperature there and gently chop it with chopsticks or a wooden (this is an indispensable condition!) Spatula. Fill with cold marinade. Leave for five to ten minutes. Then, with a spatula, we more carefully work out the rice to exclude all sorts of lumps. Leave another quarter of an hour. Now you can cut a sheet of nori, shift it with the rough side up on the makisu rug and start twisting the rolls. Place a bowl of cold water next to it and dip your fingers in it regularly so that the rice is not sticky to your hands.