Okay, yeah, healthy food month. And I actually do have a healthy recipe going up on Friday that goes along with (or at least can go along with) this recipe, but a) the weather here is dark and drizzly and rainy and I don’t want to waste a super yummy, pretty recipe on really bad light, and b) there comes a time in every girl’s life when her husband is on a 2-week-long business trip and she has been busting her butt to shed a few pounds and, due to PMS-y bloatiness (sorry, guys), it’s starting to feel like she’s trying to run down the up side of the escalator at the mall (and subsequently straight to the pretzel place) and all she wants is sweet, salty, carbiness. And since the escalator and the mall and the pretzel place here are all metaphorical, the next best thing is sushi rice. Yes, people do actually eat sushi rice when it’s not in sushi. And by “people,” I mean me. And I mean that you should, too–even if you don’t make your own sushi (I’m not that cool), it’s a fun twist on regular white rice.
For this recipe, you’re going to need a super short grain rice (I found this sushi rice at my local Kroger), rice wine vinegar, sugar, a tablespoon of oil (vegetable or oil), and salt.
Rinse 2 cups of rice in a fine-mesh strainer and place in a medium saucepan. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer on low for 20 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, combine 1/2 cup rice vinegar, sugar, oil, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
When the rice is done cooking, allow it to stand covered for 5 minutes and then remove the lid and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes. When it’s done cooling, place it in a serving bowl. Pour the sugar/vinegar mixture over the rice and combine. It will be very wet at first, but in 5-10 minutes, it will dry out and the rice will be just the right texture.
Stay tuned on Friday! You can put this to use in a fun and fresh snack or light lunch that won’t destroy your diet!
Sushi Rice
Recipe from Allrecipes
Ingredients:
2 cups sushi rice (or very short grain glutinous rice)
3 cups water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon oil (vegetable or olive)
Instructions:
Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer until the water runs clear. Place in a medium saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to stand covered for 5 minutes and then remove the lid and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and oil. Bring to a boil and then reduce, cooking until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool while rice is cooling.
When the rice has cooled for 20 minutes, transfer to a serving dish. Drizzle the vinegar/sugar mixture over the rice and stir to combine. The mixture will be very wet. Allow to stand for a few minutes to firm up. Serve with your favorite Asian dishes, veggies, or from the serving bowl with a spoon to your mouth.
Questions & Reviews
I had stored this recipe away whilst I tracked down sushi rice. Could only find it at Whole Foods. I just made it this evening because I needed something mild for my unsettled innards. It is delicious, as I knew it would be. Your recipes always are. Thank you so much!
Sounds cool, one of my best dish, I’ll try from these recipe
Another fun idea for ease…from a tv commercial oer here for a kids’ birthday party, sushi cups:
http://www.mizkan.co.jp/k-plus/cooking/recipe/5635.html
Hey, everyone slaving away with sushi mats (or not!), give “te-maki” (hand-rolled) sushi a try, it’s how we roll in Japan…get lots of “insides” together, have some of the above sushi rice available, and a stock of nori squares and ba-da-bing ba-da-boom, everyone can make their own sushi, it’s terrific fun! Here’s some ideas, and you don’t even have to have any fish (ex. – scrambled eggs, ham, veggies…):
https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E6%89%8B%E5%B7%BB%E3%81%8D%E5%AF%BF%E5%8F%B8&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=XNcSUdmUA4mIkQWfg4CQCQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=672
Or one of my faves lately is to take sushi rice, wrap it in thin strips of pork (I dip it in boiling water to cook it a bit healthier), then sunny lettuce with a citrusy or sesame-y dip, yummmm!!!
Now this is my idea of a good snack. The vinegar and sugar mixed with rice, which I LOVE anyway… gotta make this!
It is funny that you have posted this recipe today! I have just been making sushi for a youth group that met at our home on Sunday and for a birthday party last night. Someone mentioned difficulty making sushi itself…when I tried it a few years ago, it really eluded me and I thought it was too hard to make. This time it worked like a dream. I had just been to a sushi-making evening with some church ladies and felt confident.
At the sushi place in a supermarket near our home I was able to purchase a sushi mat for about $3. They had the nori seaweed, too, so adding sushi rice to that I gave it a go. It worked! I put a picture up on my blog and am hoping today to put up a “process” blog post.
Besides all this drivel, I can say that there was a bit of the sushi rice left over yesterday so I put it in a bowl, chopped up the rest of the ingredients that went into my sushi and just ate it as a bowl of rice. Really nice!
This looks great! I can not wait to try it. Thanks for the break up of healthy food too… I enjoyed it. (:
oh yum! i adore sushi, my mind reels with all the things i could do with this.
Another fun fact… Stuttgart, Arkansas is considered the “Rice Capital of the World”. We’re your upstairs neighbor Kate!
It looks like your written dialog is different then the posted recipe (different amount of vinegar, no sugar?)…check it out. Probably the recipe is correct, but…
Just a bit of trivia here… did you know that the short grain “sushi” rice consumed here in the US is not imported. It is typically grown in California as Japan does NOT export any sushi rice. and sushi rice is so good after a “up & down fever induced coughing my lungs out” night… yeah for nummy carbs in the form of sushi rice and panera bagels!
Fun note – rice wine vinegar (unlike white vinegar) does not act as a cleaning agent when it falls out of your cabinet and shatters all over your floor. It’s more of a sticky mess that gets under everything. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything đŸ™‚
????
I too am a carb-o-holic, PMS’ing or not. Quick question… Do you always rinse your rice or is it just for this recipe or this specific type of rice? You and Sara truly are a gifted blog writers!
I don’t generally rinse my rice, although it’s often recommended on the rice package. Most American rice is externally enriched with additional vitamins and minerals that don’t occur naturally in the rice, so when you rinse the rice, you’re rinsing away that stuff, so then you’re pretty much eating fluff. đŸ™‚
Sounds like a fun alternative to slaving away over sushi! Although I love eating it, I am not a fan of the complicated and irritating sushi rolling đŸ™‚