Stovetop Sushi Rice

Making sushi rice on the stovetop is easier than you think and it doesn't need to be intimidating. Follow this simple steps for perfect sushi rice without a rice cooker.

Recipe highlights

This simple stovetop rice is ready in under 1 hour, it is fragrant, fluffy and tender. Perfect to use in bowls or sushi.

I made this batch of rice to make this easy Salmon Sushi Bake and these tasty air fryer Salmon Sushi Bowls.

Ingredients

For this recipe you only need 3 ingredients; short grain rice, water and seasoned rice vinegar.

• Sushi rice: sushi rice is smaller and starchier than other varieties of rice. It is important to rinse it well to remove some of the extra starch and make the rice perfectly fluffy. I'm using California sushi rice, Japanese sushi rice is different and requires a different water to rice ratio.
• Water: For this recipe I used a 1.5:1 ratio of water and rice to make to create the perfect texture for the sushi casserole.
• Seasoned rice vinegar: This kind of rice vinegar has a small amount of sugar and salt added to create the perfect flavor in sushi rice.

Cooking method

The trick to making perfect stovetop sushi rice is in the water to rice ratios.

Use a 1.5:1 ratio and follow the cooking instructions closely and you will have perfect rice in less than 30 minutes.

Rinse sushi rice

This is an important step in making sushi rice. You will need to rinse the rice 5-6 times until the water runs clear.

This process can take a few minutes but it is worth doing. If you don't rinse the rice there will be too much starch and you will end up with a blob of rice.

You want the sushi rice to be sticky but still have a nice fluffy texture.

Cook the rice

Before cooking the rice, I let it sit in the water I will cook it in for about 30 minutes.

To cook the rice I like to use a non-stick skillet. This recipe makes 4 cups of cooked rice so the skillet needs to be big enough to hold that amount.

When the rice is fully cooked, I like to transfer it to a glass bowl and use a wooden spoon to fluff it and season it with the vinegar.

Do not use metal utensils when mixing in the vinegar as this could result in a metal taste in the rice.

Cool the rice down

For this recipe it is important to allow the rice to cool down before adding the seasoned rice vinegar.

Use a glass bowl with a wooden spoon to combine the cooked rice and seasoned rice vinegar. If you use metal utensils, the rice will have a metallic after taste that is unpleasant.

Depending on what you will use the rice for, is best to refrigerate it overnight. If making crispy sushi (frying the rice) is best to use rice that has been refrigerated over night.

Storage, reheating, freezing

Store the cooked sushi rice in an airtight container. The rice will be good for up to 3-4 days.

To reheat the rice, use the microwave using 30 second intervals until the rice is heated thru.

This rice freezes well. You can store it in a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months.