This authentic sushi rice recipe is so easy to make from home and perfect for making sushi rolls, poke bowls, sushi burritos, and more.
Perfect Sushi Rice is the key to mastering sushi nights at home.
Perfect Sushi Rice is the key to mastering sushi nights at home.This sushi rice recipe is extra special because it's from our sweet friend Maria, who graciously welcomed us into her home and shared her love of Japanese cooking. We spent a day gathered around her kitchen island, learning how to shape rolls, mix the perfect vinegar seasoning, and really understand what makes great sushi.
Sushi rice is easy to make, but there are a few tricks Maria helped us to make it really authentic, flavorful, fluffy, and just sticky enough. Now, it’s one of our favorite family traditions to have homemade sushi nights where everyone makes their own roll.
Use this sushi rice to make California Rolls and Spicy Tuna Rolls!
How to make Sushi Rice:
Wash and Cook Rice: Pour rice into a fine mesh strainer then rinse under the water in a circular motion, while gently massaging it with your hands. Keep washing your rice until the water runs clear. Don't skip this! It could take several minutes. Drain well, gently shaking off any excess water. Maria uses this rice. Cook the rice on the stovetop, instant pot, or rice cooker. The recipe card has instructions for each.
Fluff and Add Sushi Vinegar: Using a flat plastic rice paddle (rice cookers usually come with one) or a silicone spatula, cut through the rice in slicing motions at a 45 degree angly to fluff it. In a cup or small bowl, combine sugar, salt, and rice vinegar. Heat for 20-30 seconds in the microwave, then stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.
Combine: Get a wooden sushi bowl wet with water (or a large plastic shallow bowl) then dump out any extra water. Add the rice and continue doing the “slicing” motions at a 45 degree angle to separate any chunks and fluff it. While the rice is hot, gradually drizzle the vinegar mixture over the rice. Keep doing the slicing technique while fanning it at the same time with a fan or paper plate. This will help cool the rice, it will get shiny and not mushy. Stop fanning once all of the vinegar mixture is incorporated.
Cool: It's so important to allow the rice to cool to room temperature before making sushi! If the rice touches the Nori when it's warm, the Nori will wrinkle and shrink. Once the rice is at room temperature, cover sushi sticky rice with a damp towel so it doesn't dry out while you make your California Roll or Spicy Tuna Roll!
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Recipe
Sushi Rice
Equipment
- Sushi Rice Bowl , (we use the 14 inch size), or use a shallow plastic bowl
- Japanese Fan , or paper plate
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups Japanese short grain rice (405g)
- 2 1/4 cups water (540mL)
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar (80mL)
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar (38g), see note
- 1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt (6g)
Instructions
- Wash rice*. Add rice to a fine mesh strainer and run under water in a circular motion, to wash the rice. Wash it, massaging it gently with your hands, until the water runs clear, this will take a few minutes. (I like to place a bowl in my sink, to catch the water and be able to see if the water coming down is murky or clear). It’s very important to wash the rice well.2 ¼ cups Japanese short grain rice
- Drain well, gently shaking off any excess water.
Cook Rice:
- Stovetop: Add water and rice to saucepan. Close the lid and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Once water is boiling, reduce heat (keep covered) and cook for 13 minutes. Remove from heat and rest for 10 minutes.
- Instant Pot: Add water and rice to Instant Pot. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes, with a 10 minute natural release.
- Rice Cooker: Add water and rice and cook on white rice setting.2 ¼ cups water
- Make Sushi Vinegar: Meanwhile, make the rice vinegar mixture. Stir sugar, salt, and rice vinegar together. Heat the mixture for 20-30 seconds in the microwave, and then stir it, to make sure the sugar is dissolved.⅓ cup rice vinegar, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- Fluff/Slice Rice: Use a flat plastic paddle (rice cookers often come with these), or silicone spatula, to “slice” the rice in the pot, at a 45 degree angle to fluff it.
- Wet a wooden sushi rice bowl, or a large plastic shallow bowl or container with water (to help keep the rice from sticking). (Pour off any excess water. in bowl.) Add the rice and continue to “slice” the rice at a 45 degree angle to fluff it and separate the chunks of rice.
- Add vinegar. Fan and Fluff/Slice. While the rice is hot, drizzle the vinegar mixture over the rice, and continue to slice it at a 45 degree angle, while fanning it at the same time with a fan or use a paper plate. This helps to cool the rice so the rice will shine and doesn't get mushy. Stop fanning once all of the vinegar mixture is incorporated. Allow the rice to cool uncovered.
- Cool to room temperature: It’s essential to allow the rice to cool to room temperature before making sushi! If the rice touches the Nori when it’s warm, the Nori will wrinkle and shrink.
- Once at room temp, cover rice with a damp towel to keep it from drying out, while you prepare sushi.
Notes
Rice Vinegar: You may notice “sushi vinegar” at the store, which already has salt and sugar added, but Maria prefers the taste of regular rice vinegar with sugar and salt mixed in.
Rice bowl for sushi: If you're serious about sushi making it's worth it to buy a wooden sushi bowl , but a large shallow plastic bowl or container will work. Make sure to wet it before using, so the rice doesn’t stick. Pro Tips:
- Wash rice! Traditional sushi rice instructs you to soak the rice in water for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Maria skips this step as she has found it unnecessary, as long as the rice is properly rinsed very well until the water runs clear. Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer, over a bowl, so you can see if the water coming through is murky or clear.
- Make sure all water is absorbed from cooked rice before removing rice from pot. Wet or soggy rice will not work!
- Add the vinegar mixture when the rice is HOT!
- Slice the rice with a rice paddle at a 45 degree angle to fluff it, so it doesn’t get mushy and fan the rice (a paper plate would work!) to help it shine and cool.
- For authentic sushi rice, add Kombu. Traditional sushi rice is cooked with kelp called kombu, because it gives it umami flavor. It has a distinctive smell and taste that not everyone loves.
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe January 2023. Updated July 2025.
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This was insanely sweet. I used 2 Tbs instead of 3 and it was still grossly sweet.
It can be done! It is possible to make soft, sticky rice that isn’t mushy from home. The rice came out absolutely perfect and is a total game changer!