How to Make Sushi Rice in a Rice Cooker
This is hands down the easiest way to make sushi rice for homemade sushi. Just use your rice cooker!
Yesterday I posted my how-to for making homemade sushi, and this post is completely dedicated to making the sushi rice.
There is an art to making perfect sushi rice, but I think that’s best left to the sushi chefs who have spent years learning how to make it perfectly.
When I make sushi at home, I leave the cooking up to my rice cooker. And as long as you have a somewhat decent rice cooker, the results should definitely be satisfactory!
I have this rice cooker, and at $60 I think it’s a very reasonably priced appliance. I use it a ton and I’m impressed with the rice it turns out.
UPDATE: After lots of research, I was convinced enough that more expensive rice cookers are in fact superior, so I ended up replacing my old rice cooker with this 5-star rated Zojirushi (affiliate). And WOW there is a huge difference. We had kept the box in case we wanted to return it, but the rice is so much better, we decided it’s indeed worth the cost.
To get started, combine rice and water in the rice cooker. I use Nishiki rice, which is easy to find and regarded as a high-quality rice. My Japanese friends say it’s the best!
As far as washing goes, I don’t rinse this particular brand of rice. A lot of people are adamant about this, but the directions for Nishiki instruct you to combine the rice with the water as is. You can wash the rice if you feel more comfortable.
While the rice cooks, all you need to finish it up is some seasoned rice vinegar. If you google sushi rice, you’ll see that most recipes call for rice vinegar, salt, and sugar, then you dissolve them together and season the rice with it.
Buying rice vinegar with the salt and sugar already in it takes that step away, so that’s why I keep this on hand:
For the 1.5 cups of uncooked rice that we used, about 1/4 cup of the rice vinegar is ideal. Add it to the rice:
Gently toss the rice around to further distribute the rice vinegar, trying not to mash or flatten the rice:
Then it’s ready to be used for homemade sushi. Enjoy!
How to Make Sushi Rice in a Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups sushi rice (I use Nishiki)
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (I use Marukan)
Instructions
- Place the rice and water into a rice cooker. Cook the rice according to the “white rice” setting on the rice cooker.
- When the rice has finished cooking, evenly pour the seasoned rice vinegar all over the rice. Toss the rice around to further distribute the rice vinegar, taking care to be gentle, and not mash the rice.
- It is now ready to be used for sushi. Here’s my post on homemade sushi.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
How to Make Homemade Sushi:
29 Comments on “How to Make Sushi Rice in a Rice Cooker”
Thank you
I learned something new, I did not know the vinagar was seasoned already.
Quick and easy !!
Love sushi, want to make my own
What if i do not have a rice cooker, can i do this same recipe in a pot?
Just made the sushi rice and it was was excellent! How long can I keep the sushi rice before it goes bad?
I love your recipe. I will try to do it. Love this kind of rice 💜 thanks for sharing.
what do you mean SIX rolls i have 6 people to cook for and what i’m making is not that filling so i need rice to fill them up.
Hi! If I doubled the recipe, will it still cook fine in the rice cooker but just take longer?
Yep! There should be a “max” line on your rice cooker so just don’t go above that but otherwise the ratios always stay the same for cooking rice