To call sushi fast food the language does not turn. After all, twisting rolls is a real art, which is carefully studied by masters. Yes, and eating sushi from the Japanese turns into a complex and lengthy ceremony. And although the ingredients for rolls and sashimi are, in general, simple products (rice, fish, seafood, soy sauce), it is rather difficult to cook these dishes. But it is possible, even at home. In this article we will not talk about how to twist rolls. We will focus only on one stage of their production - we will discuss how to make rice for sushi at home. This is the basis of the dish. If we compare rolls with fine art, rice is the primer for the painting, on which the artist must apply paint. Yes, of course, the taste of sushi is determined by fish or seafood. But if the rice in them looks like porridge from a kindergarten, all the art of creating this dish will come to naught.
Japanese vinegar and noriya: we cook rolls on our own
For sushi, special devices are needed - at least makisu, a bamboo mat for professional folding products. Exotic products are also required. For example, nori are sheets of dried and pressed edible algae. Or wasabi - a special paste of horseradish. Gary - thin layers of pickled ginger - is also hard to cook at home. But Japanese vinegar can be created independently. To do this, you need to dissolve two large tablespoons of sugar and one teaspoon of salt in a third of a cup of a regular table (or apple) acidifier. Japanese vinegar we do not need very much. For two glasses of rice, only two tablespoons. But it determines the basis of taste. And now we’ll start making rice for sushi at home. Recipes in this case advise us not to show initiative, but strictly adhere to the Japanese tradition. After all, it has been practiced for centuries.
What kind of rice is suitable for sushi
As for cereals, it is required special. Small and round grains containing a lot of gluten. In large supermarkets, special departments sell special “Sushi Rice”. At home, recipes suggest taking Krasnodar or Crimean cereals. In appearance, it resembles the Japanese. Elite basmati is good for pilaf, but not for rolls. Sushi rolled out of it will crumble. Also, one does not need to be wise and show imagination where it is not required: all sorts of steamed, brown, unpolished and wild varieties will not work. Also, masters of Japanese cuisine rejected rice in bags. Only round grits, polished and uncrushed, will do. If not, long-grain rice should be poured with cold, preferably filtered water for a couple of hours. Then rinse and cook.
Product replacement secrets: how to turn Krasnodar rice into Japanese
Croup, ripened in the flooded fields of the Land of the Rising Sun, is not only small and round, but also contains a large amount of gluten. It is thanks to her that the rolls hold their shape well. How to use Krasnodar rice for sushi at home? Recipes offer us to thoroughly rinse the cereals. Pour two glasses into a sieve or a small colander and keep under running until clean and clear water flows from the cereal. Thus, we will get rid of excess rice powder. In no case should porridge for sushi be crumbly. But an overly viscous and watery base also will not work. Therefore, the ratio of water to cereals when cooking porridge is the second very important condition for creating successful rolls.
How to cook rice for sushi at home
The recipe offers us to fill the cereal with cold water. But if for pilaf or porridge we observe one to two proportions, then rolls require a different approach. Rice and water should be equally divided. Two glasses of cereal should go the same amount of liquid. “How will porridge cook,” you ask, “will it burn?” The whole secret is how to cook rice for sushi at home. The recipes for creating pilaf, casseroles, attendants, baby cereals and rolls are very different. Rice is a universal grits. From it you can make a solid, similar to bread, gingerbread man, and pudding, and a viscous mixture. So, fill the washed rice with cold water and put on the stove. The saucepan is best taken with a thick bottom and not enameled. The ideal solution would be a small cauldron for pilaf. After the contents of the saucepan boil, cover it with a lid and cook for one minute over high heat. The time limit should be taken seriously - 60 seconds, no more and no less. Then the fire should be reduced. Do not remove the lid and cook porridge for about fifteen to twenty minutes. As soon as we see that the liquid has completely evaporated, turn off the fire under the saucepan. Let stand under the lid for another ten minutes. So we get moderately sticky rice for sushi.
Recipe at home in the multicooker
Many doubt: can a machine make grits for rolls? After all, Japanese cooks put their hearts into every step in the preparation of this matchless dish. We cast aside all doubts. A slow cooker not only copes with such a task, but creates just the perfect rice for sushi. Cooking at home in a slow cooker will not take you much time. And the result will be even better than if you cooked cereal in a pan. After all, you do not need to open the lid, which means that you will not let off steam from the tank, which makes the rice reach perfect stickiness. The only thing you should take care of is rinsing the cereal well. Water needs to be poured a little more - two cups of grain 2.5 measures of liquid. The multicooker bowl should be filled no more than two-thirds of the volume. Set the buckwheat or rice mode. In machines of a different design, you can use, setting the timer for ten minutes, the program "Baking", and when the time runs out, then start the "Extinguishing" for twenty minutes.
Authentic sauce
Even properly cooked cereal will remain a simple porridge, if sauce is not added to it. Authentic Japanese dressing for sushi includes culinary wine Mirin (or vodka sake), special rice vinegar, sea salt and sugar. A special charm is given to the algae kombu roll base . It is put in the sauce when it warms up, and later pulled out. Dressing and rice when connected should be approximately the same temperature - warm. Believe it, but real masters cool the cereal with a fan so that it glistens beautifully in rolls. But on the agenda we have rice for sushi at home. Recipes, photos and useful tips teach us how to do without exotic ingredients and get a product that is as close to authentic as possible. So, let's prepare the sauce based on 250 grams of cereal.
What is rice vinegar
Although it is called Japanese, the Chinese invented it. According to some reports, this happened more than two thousand years ago. How was this vinegar made? The fish was cut into small pieces. Then it was salted and mixed with rice. The enzymes that the fish secreted acted on the cereal, and lactic acid was secreted. She, on the one hand, canned the fish, increased its shelf life to a year, and on the other, gave it a sour taste. In the fourth century AD, rice vinegar became famous in Japan. He was very expensive and only used to know him. For ordinary people, vinegar became available only from the sixteenth century. Why do we bring all these details? To show that, compared to other European sauces, rice has the mildest taste. In addition, it is an excellent antibacterial agent. And if you take into account that in Japan, raw fish is often served at the table, it is very important to protect yourself from various infections. And most importantly, the sauce ennobles rice for sushi. The recipe (at home to follow it is not a problem), which we will give below, suggests the presence of this vinegar. Getting it when the popularity of rolls around the world grows is not so difficult. It is sold in the same stores as wasabi and nori seaweed.
Vinegar sauce
Well, we will season our sushi rice. The recipe at home is not much different from that used in professional Japanese restaurants. The main thing is to have Mitsukan rice vinegar. It will need 180 milliliters. 120 grams of sugar and a spoonful of sea salt should be dissolved in this vinegar. It is also worth putting at the initial stage a small piece of kombu algae. Ten minutes later, it can be thrown away. We warm all the ingredients, but do not bring to a boil. Then we cool, pour into glass, tightly closed dishes and put them in the refrigerator. That is, the sauce can be prepared for future use. But if you want to use a small fraction for already cooked rice, cool the sauce to the temperature of the cereal. Pour a small amount of myrin or sake. If there is no Japanese alcohol at hand - it’s okay, skip this cooking step. We lay out the rice in a wide bowl. Pour over the sauce. With a wooden spatula, gently turn the rice over, but do not interfere with it (otherwise, porridge will turn out). Cool to room temperature. Everything, you can twist the rolls.
Rice Vinegar Alternative
All European types of acidifiers have a more pronounced taste, so you need to add them in small quantities. There are several ways to make dressing to fill with sushi rice. The recipe (at home) with apple cider vinegar is one of them. Mix a tablespoon of the acidifier with a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of iodized salt. We pour one and a half tablespoons of hot water into this solution. Stir until crystals disappear completely. Pour rice with this sauce.