Sushi rice without sushi rice vinegar?!
I have tried lesser and lesser amounts of rice vinegar, but they are nasty. So far the only good sushi I have made has been without the veniger in the rice. Is this the way a bunch of people do it? Everything I read says to put the vineger in it.
I've been putting 1/4 cup in with a batch of rice. (started out as a cup of rice). thanks
Answers: I like sushi and I've been trying to make some spicey tuna california rolls.
I have tried lesser and lesser amounts of rice vinegar, but they are nasty. So far the only good sushi I have made has been without the veniger in the rice. Is this the way a bunch of people do it? Everything I read says to put the vineger in it.
I've been putting 1/4 cup in with a batch of rice. (started out as a cup of rice). thanks
That is probably too much vinegar. You actually need to sprinkle the vinegar on lightly, folding the rice gently with a wooden paddle to cool it (you don't want to mix the rice up to much as this tends to mash it). The rice should be slightly moistened and sticky enough to be able to be molded in your hand, as for nigiri sushi. You want to still be able to taste the rice - the vinegar should not overpower it. For a cup of cooked rice you probably need closer to an 1/8 of a cup or a little more - it will vary according to how the rice cooked up, type of glutinous rice, humidity, etc.
The other problem is that you don't say if you are using Seasoned vinegar. The vinegar used in making sushi isn't straight vinegar - it has sugar, salt, kombu and sometimes saki added to it. You should also try to find rice wine vinegar, if you can. These ingredients can be varied according to taste, but the sugar, salt and kombu (the kombu is allowed to soak in the vinegar mixture to season it) are a must.
Sushi isn't sushi without the vinegar, unfortunately. You can make sushi without vinegar (technically, you can even make it using something other than the polished short-grained rice traditionally used - brown glutinous rice is a common substitute now-a-days), but it won't taste the same and it won't feel the same in the mouth.
try cooking your rice without the vinegar then when you put your rice on the seaweed, get the vinegar and put it in a spray bottle and give the rice a light spray with the vinegar.
A lot of recipes I've read for sushi rice uses a little vinegar and a lot of sugar.
Personally, I like it a the rice vinegary. However, since you're making it, make it the way you like it.
Rereading your question, I get the impression that you cook the rice with the vinegar. I usually mix the vinegar solution into the cooked rice.
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups Japanese-style rice
3 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
PREPARATION:
After washing the rice well, cook it by pan or rice cooker. See how to cook Japanese rice. Prepare sushi vinegar (sushi-zu) by mixing rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small pan. Put the pan on low heat and heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool the vinegar mixture.
Spread the hot steamed rice into a large plate (if you have it, use a wooden bowl called sushi-oke) by shamoji (spatula). Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold the rice by shamoji very quickly. Be careful not to smash the rice.
To cool and remove the moisture of the rice well, use a fan as you mix sushi rice. This will give sushi rice a shiny look. It's best to use sushi rice right away.
Makes 4-6 servings.
just use white vinegar dude!
I usually don't put the rice vinegar in the sushi rice i usally use a very small mixture of plain white vinegar, salt, and sometimes sugar depending on the type of sushi i am making it depends on how much rice you have though when making it.
You don't have to put any vinegar in it if you don't want to. Ancient Japanese started putting vinegar in rice to preserve it. As long as you eat it right away, it will be ok. Have you tried not-rice vingar, there is a sushi vinegar that is very mild that is especially made for sushi. Try that and if you don't like it, put vinegar on a small sauce pan, boil it, and put a tablespoon of sugar in it. Put it over freshly cooked rice. Cool it off with a fan. Eat and see whether or not you like it.
Goof Luck
I use 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt per 2 cups of uncooked rice. While my rice is cooking I heat the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat just until the sugar and salt dissolve. The sugar takes away some of the tartness of the vinegar, and the salt brings out the flavor. When the rice is done cooking, I spread it out in a 9x13 pyrex casserole dish and pour the vinegar mixture evenly over it. Then use a wooden spoon to carefully fold it into the rice while fanning it down to room temperature. The end result is really delicious lightly flavored rice. I don't like too strong of a vinegar flavor myself, so you might like those ratios.
But if you don't want to use vinegar at all, that works perfectly fine too. My husband has made sushi that way before. It's just a matter of preference.