The Most Simple Sushi Rice Recipe

There is no Japanese celebration without sushi. Okay, maybe that was a bold statement, but sushi is such a big part of Japanese holidays/celebrations! Have you had some sushi at home? You can use this recipe and transform your home to a sushi restaurant!

When do people eat sushi in Japan?

In the States, people may go to a restaurant for special occasions to enjoy some sushi. However, in Japan, sushi is casually enjoyed at home as well. From ordering sushi deliveries to making some homemade sushi, families enjoy their delicious sushi at home for both non special and special occasions. Sashimi grade fish are sold at local grocery stores, and all you have to prepare at home is sushi rice.

What Kind of Sushi Can You Make at Home?

Once you purchase Sashimi grade fish from a grocery store, there are several types of sushi you can make at home. Technically, you don’t even have to have a bamboo sushi rolling mat to make homemade sushi. Also, if you prefer not to have raw fish but still would like to be able to have some sushi, you can always use imitation crabs, deep fried shrimps, vegetables, cream cheese, etc to make your own sushi at home as well! The possibility is endless really, and you can always prepare your favorite filling to make your own sushi. Here are some types of sushi you can enjoy with your friends and family at home.

1. Nigiri Sushi

If you enjoy the simpleness of having raw fish and rice together, you might enjoy Nigiri sushi the most. After you make your own sushi rice, slightly wet your hands with water and scoop out about 2 TBS of sushi rice. Shape it into oval shape in your hands and place a piece of raw fish (sashimi) on top of the oval shaped rice. There it is, your Nigiri sushi is ready!

2. Hand Roll Sushi

If you would like to have some sushi at your home party, Temaki (Hand Roll) sushi is the best kind since this is a “make your own” kind of sushi. You have a plate of several kinds of sushi fillings, a big bowl of rice and seaweeds on your dinner table, and everyone makes and enjoys their own kind of sushi. You place rice and sushi fillings on a sheet of seaweed, roll it up into a cone shape and take a big bite to enjoy! No chopsticks needed. If your friends and family are not very familiar with Japanese culture or sushi, Hand Roll might be the best style of sushi to introduce them since they get to make it to their liking and eat them with their hands.

3. Sushi Rolls

This is the type of sushi where you use a bamboo sushi mat and roll up a sheet of seaweed with sushi rice and fillings inside. Cut them up into bite size pieces and eat them with hands or chopsticks, whichever works for you. I like how unique the varieties of sushi rolls can be in the States. For example, I’ve noticed that cream cheese and deep fried foods are popular ingredients for sushi rolls here. I was surprised to see them at first, but I’ve grown to like them over the years!

4. Chirashi Sushi

Chirashi means “spread out” and “scattered” in Japanese, and Chirashi Sushi is often served in a big sushi bowl called Sushi Oke for special occasions in Japan. Seasoned sushi rice is placed in the bowl first, and several colorful vegetables and seafood are placed and served on top of it. The colorful and beautiful toppings definitely stand out, and it makes a great party food. It’s nice that people can just use a rice scooper and serve themselves too!

5. Sushi Bowl

This may not be a proper style of Sushi, but I wanted to add it to the list here because I love making sushi bowl with leftover sushi ingredients after a party. It’s super quick and easy, and you have everything in one bowl (like a burrito bowl you’ve probably seen and had before.) I usually just put some sushi rice in a small bowl, place all the leftover ingredients on top, add a little bit of soy sauce. Ta-da! it’s ready to be served!

What are some keys to make good sushi rice at home?

The recipe of sushi rice is quite simple, and making sushi rice at home is not difficult at all. But there are a few key points that you don’t want to miss in order to make GOOD homemade sushi rice!

1. Use Japanese Sticky Rice

There are many different types of rice at grocery stores, but it’s very important that you’re using Japanese sticky rice when making sushi rice at home. I usually buy a big bag of BOTAN Calrose Kraft Rice at my local grocery store, but I’ve also seen Nishiki Rice at many grocery stores as well.

2. Mix the Vinegar Mixture Very Well

When you’re making the vinegar mixture to add to your freshly cooked rice, you want to make sure and mix it very well. Sometimes white sugar does not mix in with vinegar well and stay at the bottom of a bowl, but it’s crucial that everything in the vinegar mixture gets added to rice to create the perfect sushi rice flavor. So if you set a bowl of your vinegar mixture aside for a little while, please don’t forget to mix it again right before adding it to rice! (Heating the vinegar mixture up in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds helps sugar melt into vinegar too.)

3. Let Your sushi rice cool down before you use it

After adding the vinegar mixture to your cooked rice, it’s best to let it sit for a little bit before you use it to make sushi. After mixing the vinegar mixture and cooked rice well in a big bowl, you can cover it with a slightly wet towel or paper towel and wait till the rice reaches room temperature. If you let it sit for about 30 minutes or so, it will give the rice enough time to absorb the vinegar mixture and be a perfect temperature for sushi.

Like I mentioned at the beginning, making sushi rice at home itself is not difficult at all, but you do want to pay attention to the points I mentioned above during the making process!

I hope this post was helpful and that you will be able to enjoy some sushi with your friends and family at home! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below or via email if you have any!