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Recipe: Rice for Sushi

Makes about 6 cups

Rice for Sushi is prepared almost exactly the same way as regular short-grain rice, with the addition of a small piece of dried seaweed (kombu), if it's available, and a splash of sake. After the rice is cooked, a sweet-salty vinegar dressing is applied, and the rice is fanned as it cools to form a shiny surface.

For the Rice

2 cups short-grain (preferably Haiga) rice

Water for washing the rice, plus 3 cups for cooking

1-inch-square piece of kombu, optional

2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)

For the Vinegar Dressing

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1. Put the rice in a large mixing bowl and cover it with several inches of tap water. Swish the rice around in the water to release any clinging residue from the milling process. Pour off the water and repeat 2 or 3 times until the water that comes off the rice is no longer cloudy, but almost clear.

2. Pour the washed rice through a large strainer and allow all the water to run off. For the best texture, let the rice stand in the colander for an hour before cooking. But if you don't have an extra hour, you may proceed.

3. Put the washed and drained rice in a rice cooker or a heavy 4-quart saucepan with a close-fitting lid and pour on 3 cups of cold tap water. Add the piece of kombu and the sake.

4. Use the instructions that came with your rice cooker to cook the rice or put the saucepan over high heat until the rice is boiling and steam is escaping from under the lid. Immediately reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer, tightly closed and undisturbed, for 20 minutes.

5. While the rice is cooking, whisk together the vinegar, sugar and salt. If you have a hangiri, the round wooden tub made specifically for cooling sushi rice, soak it in cold water. If no hangiri is available, you may use a large wooden salad bowl, or a crockery bowl.

6. If you did not use a rice cooker, take the cooked rice off the stove and let it stand at room temperature, still covered, for 10 minutes before proceeding. Toss the cooked rice with the rice vinegar dressing fanning it lightly with a fan or a piece of cardboard.

Greg Atkinson, 2006