Copyright Thomas Saaristo All Rights Reserved
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Sushi meshi is the rice used in Sushi dishes. It is made by tossing freshly cooked rice
with a dressing made of vinegar, sugar and salt [Asian markets carry a packaged mix
of this dressing]. The rice-dressing mixture is fanned during tossing to help cool the
rice quickly. Sushi meshi is also called shari.
Japanese rice is a medium-grained rice and gets sticky when it is cooked. The
long-grained American rice isn't proper for sushi because it is drier and doesn't stick
together.
Ingredients
3 cups Japanese-style rice
3 1/4 cups fresh cold water
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Method
After washing the rice well, cook it by pan or rice cooker. Prepare sushi vinegar
[sushi-zu] by mixing rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pan. Put the pan on low heat
and cook until the sugar dissolves. Cool the vinegar mixture. Spread the cooked hot
rice into a large plate [if you have it, use a wooden bowl called sushi-oke] by spatula.
Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold the rice by shamoji very quickly. Be
careful not to smash the rice. To cool and remove the moisture of the rice well, use a
fan as you mix sushi rice. This will give sushi rice a shiny look. It's best to use it right
away.
Makes 6 cups of sushi rice.
