If fish is the visible star in sushi, rice is the entire stage. Poorly cooked or seasoned rice will ruin the best salmon in the world. In this technical guide, we will teach you—from Mercat del Ninot, where we have been working with seafood since 1990—how to make sushi rice according to Japanese tradition: shiny, loose shari with the right balance of vinegar, salt, and sugar.
Quick Summary: Use short-grain Japonica rice. Wash 4-5 times until water runs clear. Cook with a 1:1.2 ratio (rice:water) for 12 min + 10 min rest. Season with sushi-zu (60 ml rice vinegar + 30 g sugar + 8 g salt per 300 g rice) using a paddle and fanning. Ready at 30-35°C.
Why rice is 70% of sushi
In the hierarchy of traditional Japanese sushi, the itamae (sushi chef) dedicates the first years of apprenticeship exclusively to rice. They do not touch fish until they have mastered shari. The reason is simple: fish provides the flavor, but rice provides the texture, temperature, and cohesion of the bite.
Three reasons why rice is the most important component:
- Volume: in each piece of sushi, rice accounts for 70-80% of the bite.
- Temperature: warm rice contrasts with cold fish and releases aromas.
- Structural cohesion: if the rice falls apart, the roll falls apart.
Making good sushi rice does not require talent: it requires following a precise process. If you skip a step, you'll notice. If you respect all of them, the result is always good.
Which rice to use and which to avoid
| Type | Is it suitable? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Short-grain Japonica rice (Yume Nishiki, Kokuho) | ✅ IDEAL | The standard. Just the right stickiness, short grain. |
| Commercial "sushi rice" or "shari" rice | ✅ Yes | Pre-processed, reliable. Sanchi, Tamanishiki brands. |
| Calrose Californian rice | ✅ Yes | More affordable alternative. Works well. |
| Spanish bomba round rice | ❌ NO | Too sticky. Designed for paella. |
| Basmati or jasmine rice | ❌ NO | Long grain, does not compact. Impossible to roll. |
| Brown rice | ⚠ Difficult | "Integral sushi rice" exists but the texture is very different. |
| Arborio rice (risotto) | ❌ NO | Too starchy, milky flavor. |
Ingredients and exact proportions
For the rice (4 people · base for makis + nigiris)
- 300 g short-grain Japonica rice
- 360 ml filtered water (1:1.2 ratio)
For the sushi-zu seasoning
- 60 ml rice vinegar (kome-su) — Mizkan, Marukan brands
- 30 g white sugar
- 8 g fine salt (not coarse sea salt)
- Optional: 1 cm kombu seaweed for infusion (1 hour before)
The proportion remains scalable: if you make more, multiply everything proportionally. The only thing that doesn't change is the 1:1.2 rice:water ratio.
Necessary utensils
- Pot with a tight-fitting lid or rice cooker (preferred).
- Fine-mesh strainer for washing the rice.
- Large wooden bowl (hangiri) or glass bowl. NEVER metal: it reacts with vinegar.
- Wooden paddle (shamoji) or large spoon.
- Fan, stiff cardboard, or low-speed fan.
- Clean, damp cloth to cover.
- Kitchen scale (for precision).
Step-by-step technique
- Weigh the rice. 300 g in a large bowl. Precision is important: the seasoning is calibrated for this amount.
- Wash until water runs clear. Pour water over the rice, gently stir with your hand, and drain. Repeat 4-5 times until the water runs clear. This removes the surface starch responsible for the rice being pasty and dull.
- Drain for 10 minutes. Transfer the rice to a colander and let it drain for 10 minutes. This homogenizes the moisture before cooking.
- Measure the exact water. 360 ml for 300 g of rice. Use a measuring jug, do not eyeball it.
- Bring to a boil (pot method). Rice + water in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to minimum as soon as it boils, and cook for exactly 12 minutes without uncovering.
- Mandatory rest. Turn off the heat and leave for 10 more minutes with the lid on. The rice finishes cooking with the residual steam. This step is essential: if you open it sooner, it will be hard.
- Prepare the sushi-zu in the meantime. Heat vinegar + sugar + salt over low heat (without boiling) until completely dissolved. Set aside.
- Transfer the rice to the large bowl. Use a paddle moistened with vinegared water. Spread the rice around the bowl.
- Pour the sushi-zu. Drizzle it over the hot rice in a thin stream, not in the center. This prevents some areas from being more seasoned than others.
- Mix by cutting. With the paddle, make cutting and "folding" motions, not circular ones. The idea is for each grain to be seasoned without being crushed.
- Fan while mixing. With your other hand (or ask for help), fan the rice while mixing. The air evaporates excess moisture and leaves the grains shiny and separate.
- Cover with a damp cloth. Once integrated, cover the bowl with a well-wrung cloth to keep the rice at its best. It is ready to use at body temperature (30-35°C).
The sushi-zu seasoning: the secret recipe
Sushi-zu (寿司酢, "sushi vinegar") is what differentiates cooked rice from sushi shari. The classic recipe is 3 parts vinegar, 2 parts sugar, 1 part salt by volume, although in typical weight/liquid it is adjusted to:
| Per 300 g raw rice | Quantity | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Rice vinegar | 60 ml | Natural preservative + base flavor |
| White sugar | 30 g | Softens acidity, shine |
| Fine salt | 8 g | Enhances flavor + preserves |
| Kombu (optional) | 1 cm | Deep umami (Tokyo style) |
Japanese regional variations:
- Edomae style (Tokyo): more vinegar, less sugar. More pungent flavor.
- Kansai style (Osaka): more sugar, less vinegar. Softer and sweeter.
- Kyushu style: they add mirin (sweet rice wine) instead of sugar.
If you make sushi at home regularly, prepare a large jar of sushi-zu and store it in the fridge: it lasts for weeks. That way you just have to measure and add.
Common mistakes that ruin the rice
- Using bomba round rice. It's for paella. For sushi, Japonica.
- Not washing the rice. It will be grey, pasty, and dull.
- Too much water. The rice overcooks and breaks apart. Stick to 1:1.2.
- Uncovering during cooking. It loses steam, leaving the center uncooked.
- Skipping the 10-min rest. The grain doesn't finish hydrating.
- Seasoning with cold rice. It won't absorb the vinegar. Do it while hot.
- Mixing circularly. Crushes the grains and releases starch. Use cutting motions.
- Putting the rice in the fridge. It hardens it and makes it dull. Store at room temperature, covered.
When it's ready: visual cues
Perfect sushi rice has 5 visible characteristics:
- Shine: reflects light. If it's dull, it lacks seasoning or has too much starch.
- Separate grains: each grain is distinguishable; it's not a compact mass.
- Just the right stickiness: it compacts when pressed but melts in the mouth.
- Pearlescent white color: slightly translucent at the edges of the grain.
- Warm temperature: body temperature (30-35°C). If it burns, too hot; if cold, a failure.
Once the rice is ready, the doors open: nigiri, makis, uramaki, gunkan, temaki, chirashi, onigiri... It all starts here.
If you want to delve deeper into the ingredients you put on the rice, the complete guide to smoked salmon and the guide to ikura salmon roe are essential reading. To understand why we choose Domínguez as our main salmon, check out the Norwegian vs. Scottish vs. Irish salmon ranking. And if you fancy something different from sushi, try the smoked salmon tataki.
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