The Rice Is Right

Rice is one of the main ingredients in any sushi meal. But it’s more than that. At least to a sushi chef. Most people probably don’t know that rice even has grades, but a Bento sushi chef is only interested in the highest of them. First-rate short and medium grain rice make the cut because only they have the level of starch required to bind the grains together in a sushi roll once cooked. After all, nobody wants their California Roll to be a California Pile Of Loose Rice. And the chef puts a lot of care into how the rice is prepared; multiple washings, precise measurements of rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and precise cooking times.

Speaking of rice, according to traditional Japanese sushi rules, a piece of Nigiri was supposed to have exactly 200 grains of rice in it. And, according to legend, old-school Japanese sushi apprentices would spend time every day, blindfolded, grabbing handful after handful of rice from the large storage baskets until they could routinely grab exactly 200 grains without looking. Like some kind of sushi ninja training.

You might never look at the rice in your sushi the same way again.

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Nov 18, 2011