In ancient times, rice served as a meansfish preservation. The fish was cut into small pieces and sprinkled with salt and mixed with rice. Rice, undergoing natural fermentation, ensured long-term storage of the product. As needed, the fish was taken out and served to the table, and the rice that was cleaned from the fish was simply thrown away or a new portion of fish was marinated in it. In the 16th century, someone thought of trying the product after marinating the fish in it and only after that it began to be used as food. This dish has come down to us in the form of sushi. Nowadays, when sushi and rolls are increasingly gaining popularity among the population, many express a desire to cook these dishes themselves. And along with other questions on this matter, the main one arises: how to cook rice for sushi correctly? It should be clarified right away that traditional sushi rice cannot be cooked without certain products. In addition to rice suitable for the dish, you need rice vinegar and kombu seaweed, or, as they are also called, nori, without which it is impossible to make the rolls themselves. Today, you can buy the necessary vinegar and seaweed in many large retail chains. As rolls and sushi become more popular, the necessary ingredients are becoming easier to find. Special Japanese rice for making sushi cannot be found in Russia (unless friends bring it from the Land of the Rising Sun); any round-grain rice is used in this dish. And it is very suitable for sushi, which has long been tested in practice by many chefs.

Calculation and general principles of making sushi

Before you start cooking the cereal, you need to at leastto roughly calculate the required amount. 1 kg of dry product usually makes 16-18 servings of rolls. 2.5-3.5 servings are usually enough for one person. For two people, you will need 330 g of dry rice. Recipes for making rice for sushi exist in many interpretations, as with regular rice preparation, but there are principles that all recipes are guided by:

• groats should be boiled until cooked;
• of sugar, salt and rice vinegar preparing refueling;
• Finished croup is filled with the finished mixture in a large container.

Rice, no matter what it is:special or round grain, - is washed in running water until it becomes completely transparent. According to the rules of the Japanese, floating grains should also be removed, as they are considered bad. In addition, dark grains of rice and everything that is not rice are removed. If you adhere to all the requirements of traditional Japanese culinary art, then the grains should be washed like this. The required amount of the product is poured into a large container, filled with plenty of water and quickly mixed. The cloudy water is then drained and the rice is rubbed with palms and washed again with water. This procedure is repeated until the water is clear. Then the washed product is thrown into a colander to drain all the water and only after that it is again soaked in cold water for 20 minutes or more. In a rice cooker, sushi grain is prepared as follows: the required amount of rice is measured out with a special measuring cup, which is included with any rice cooker. Wash in the manner described above, then place in a rice cooker, add water to the mark corresponding to the amount of rice. If after washing the rice it was not kept in water, then it is worth putting it in this form for 20 minutes and only then turn on the rice cooker.

Preparation of rice in a saucepan

If you don't have a rice cooker, you can cook rice in the following ways:

• The recipe is the first. The washed rice should be put in a pan with a thick bottom. For every 200 grams of rice, 250 grams of water should be added. For flavor in the grain you need to put a square of algae, which is necessarily removed before the boiling water. Then it is better not to open the pan until the rice is ready. The pan should be sized so that it is filled with rice and water by a third. With the lid closed, the rice is brought to a boil over medium heat. Then the fire is removed to the minimum value, and in this mode the rice is cooked for 10-15 minutes. When the grain completely absorbs the water, the pan is removed from the plate and another 10-15 minutes the lid should remain in place;
• The second recipe. The washed grain is laid in a pan, the water is added in the ratio of 1 part of rice and 2 parts of water. All this is left for half an hour and only then put on a strong fire before boiling. Then, on minimum heat, cook for 10 minutes. The fire is removed, but the rice is left under the lid for another 20 minutes;
• The recipe is the third. Proportions, as in the second method, but the grain is poured into boiling water, covered with a lid. The fire is removed to a minimum and the product languishes until it completely absorbs the liquid;
• The recipe is the fourth. Rice is thoroughly washed and dried on a paper towel, then in equal quantity (1: 1) is poured cold water and left for 20 minutes. Then the pan covered with a lid is put on a slow fire, but just before boiling, the fire should be added to a slight boiling. Then the fire again decreases to a very weak one and in this form is left for 20 minutes until all the water has absorbed. Before switching off the fire, add 10 seconds and turn it off. On an open pan, put a paper towel and cover. After another 20 minutes, the rice will be ready for processing with acetic mixture.

Preparation of peeled rice

There is also a recipe for making husked rice with plum vinegar, for this you need:

• 700 g of peeled rice;
• 700 g of cold water;
• 1 teaspoon of salt;
• 70 g of plum vinegar;
• 3 tablespoons myrin.

Thoroughly washed and dried rice is placed insaucepan, fill with water and add salt. Then boil as usual, cool slightly and mix with mirin and plum vinegar. Then the finished product is left to stand for about 15 minutes and transferred to a large bowl, preferably wooden. The rice is poured with a traditional vinegar mixture for sushi and quickly but carefully mixed with a flat wooden spatula so that the grains of rice are not crushed. When the mixture is evenly distributed over the rice, it is worth fanning it with your palm so that the product cools faster. After this, the rice is ready for making sushi.

The recipe for rice filling

A special dressing for rice, whichis prepared for sushi, made from sugar, vinegar and salt. For 450 g of boiled rice, you will need 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt and sugar. Salt and sugar are placed in rice vinegar, and everything is put on medium heat and stirred until completely dissolved. You can also add seaweed to the vinegar if it was not added to the rice during its preparation. Before adding to the finished product, both the dressing and the rice itself are slightly cooled, but mixed while hot. According to Japanese tradition, the seasoned grain must be cooled with a fan, as this is believed to give the rice a pearly shine. If the rice is cooked in advance, then the seasoned rice should not be stored in the refrigerator. It must be placed in a large plastic bag and divided into several pieces that will not touch each other. One large lump of rice inside will be oversaturated with moisture and will not be suitable for rolls. Rice in this form should be stored simply on the table or windowsill in the cool season. And in this form it can be stored for two days. Before using it, small portions should be heated in the microwave. If you want to surprise your guests, then, if desired, white polished rice can be cooked and dyed in different colors to give the dish a festive look. For example, if you use red plum vinegar in the mixture instead of rice vinegar, the rice will have a delicate pink hue. If you add a teaspoon of turmeric to the water with rice before boiling it, the rice will be bright yellow. And if you mix two tablespoons of seaweed into the finished rice, the rice will be delicate green. If desired, you can get rolls of different shades in one preparation. But no matter what color the rolls turn out to be, if you properly follow the technology of cooking rice, sauce and with high-quality seafood, they will not only look beautiful, but also have wonderful taste.

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