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This Sushi Rice recipe is the one I use anytime I want homemade sushi, sushi bake, musubi, or rice bowls that actually hold together. It’s sticky, lightly seasoned, and so much easier to make at home than you might think.
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I find this recipe the best I have tried so far. Previous tried recipes made the rice too vinegary or too wet. This recipe works. Two thumbs up from my son.” – Jay
“Yesterday was the first time I made sushi at home. I followed this recipe and it was awesome! The best sushi rice I have ever eaten and it was so easy to make and work with.” – Karin
“This was my first time making sushi rice and it turned out absolutely perfectly using your recipe! Thank you so much!” – Raquel
Why I Love This Sushi Rice Recipe
If you’ve ever wanted to make sushi at home, this is the first recipe to get right. Good sushi rice makes such a difference. It should be sticky enough to hold its shape, but not mushy, and it should have that lightly sweet, tangy, savory flavor you get from sushi restaurants.
I love this recipe because it works for so much more than sushi rolls. I use it for California Rolls, Musubi, a Sushi Bake, Spam Musubi Bowls, and simple rice bowls when I want a lightly seasoned Japanese-style rice on the side. Once you learn how to make sushi rice at home, you’ll find so many ways to use it.
Happy sushi making!
🩷 Erica
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sushi rice: Look for Japanese-style short grain rice labeled “sushi rice” for the best sticky texture.
- Water: Use cool water for rinsing and the right amount of fresh water for cooking the rice.
- Rice vinegar: This gives sushi rice its signature tangy flavor, so use Japanese rice vinegar if you can.
- Sugar and salt: These balance the vinegar and give the rice that lightly sweet, savory sushi rice flavor.
- Kombu: This dried kelp is optional, but it adds a subtle umami flavor while the rice cooks.
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Long grain rice: Avoid jasmine rice, basmati rice, and regular long grain white rice. They cook up too fluffy and dry for sushi and won’t hold together the same way.
- Calrose rice: If you can’t find sushi rice, Calrose rice works in a pinch. It won’t be quite the same as Japanese short grain rice, but it is a good backup.
- Seasoned rice vinegar: If you use seasoned rice vinegar or bottled sushi vinegar, you may not need the full amount of sugar and salt. Taste the vinegar first and adjust from there.
- Mirin: Some sushi rice recipes include a little mirin for extra sweetness and depth. I keep this recipe simple, but you can add a small splash if you like that flavor.
- Honey: You can use honey instead of sugar, but it will slightly change the flavor of the rice.
- Apple cider vinegar: This can work in a pinch, but rice vinegar gives the cleanest, most traditional flavor.
How to Make Sushi Rice
- Place the rice in a mixing bowl and add cool water. Use your hand to gently swirl the rice, then drain the water. Repeat this process 2 to 3 times, or until the water runs clear. Give it a few extra rinses for good measure.
- Once rinsed, transfer the rice to a colander or strainer and let it drain for about 1 hour. It should be totally dry at this point.
- After the rice has finished draining, place it in the rice cooker with 3 cups of water. Cover and start the cooker.
- While the rice cooks, make the vinegar mixture. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Warm just until the sugar dissolves. Don’t let it boil. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Spread the cooked rice on a baking sheet. Lightly drizzle with the cooled vinegar mixture. Gently fold the rice with a wooden spatula, fanning as you go to help it cool evenly. Once it reaches room temperature, it’s ready to use. The rice should be tender but firm enough to hold its shape.
- If you’re not using the rice right away or working on your sushi rolls, transfer it to a large bowl and cover with a damp paper towel to keep it from drying out.
Recipe Tips
- Keep the rice covered. A damp towel keeps the rice soft while you prep sushi rolls or toppings.
- Use the right rice. Sushi rice needs short grain rice because it has the right sticky texture. Long grain rice won’t hold together for rolls.
- Rinse well. Rinsing removes excess starch so the rice is sticky but not gummy.
- Let the rice drain. Draining helps the rice cook evenly and keeps it from turning mushy.
- Don’t skip the rest time. If cooking on the stovetop, let the rice steam with the lid on after cooking. This helps finish the texture.
- Warm the vinegar mixture gently. You only need enough heat to dissolve the sugar and salt. Boiling can make the vinegar flavor too strong.
- Add the vinegar mixture slowly. Drizzle, fold, and taste. You may not need all of it, depending on your rice and your taste.
- Fold, don’t stir. Use a cutting and folding motion so you don’t crush the rice grains.
- Fan the rice as it cools. This helps excess moisture evaporate and gives the rice a glossy look.
- Use a wide bowl or baking sheet. More surface area helps the rice cool faster and season more evenly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sushi rice is short grain rice that is cooked and seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. The word sushi refers to the seasoned rice, not just the fish or fillings, so the rice is really the foundation of the whole dish.
Sushi rice seasoning is a simple mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. It gives the rice that slightly sweet, tangy, savory flavor with a hint of vinegar. You can buy sushi vinegar at the store, but homemade sushi vinegar is so easy and tastes great. Kombu, or dried kelp, can also be cooked with the rice for deeper umami flavor, but it is optional in this recipe.
Japanese-style short grain rice is best. Look for a bag labeled sushi rice. Calrose rice can work if that’s what you can find, but avoid jasmine, basmati, and long grain white rice because they are not sticky enough for sushi.
I don’t recommend it. Jasmine rice is a long grain rice, so it cooks up more fluffy and separate. The rice needs to be sticky enough to hold its shape in rolls, musubi, and bowls.
Yes, rinsing is important. It removes extra starch from the outside of the rice grains so the finished rice is sticky without turning gummy or overly thick.
This recipe drains the rice after rinsing, which works well. Some cooks like to soak the rice for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking to help it absorb water more evenly, but I keep this method simple and reliable.
Yes. Add the rinsed and drained rice and water to a heavy saucepan. Bring it just to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest, still covered, for 15 more minutes.
Yep! This tried and true Instant Pot Sushi Rice method will make your life even easier. Give it a try!
Yes, but you will need to adjust the sugar and salt. Seasoned rice vinegar already has sugar and salt added, so taste it first and either reduce or skip the added sugar and salt.
It may have too much water, it may not have drained long enough, or it may have been stirred too hard after cooking. Rinse the rice well, drain it before cooking, and fold the vinegar mixture in gently.
It may have cooked too long, had too little water, or sat uncovered after cooking. Keep finished rice covered with a damp towel until you are ready to use it.
It is best at room temperature or slightly warm. It should not be hot when you roll sushi because it can make the nori soft and hard to work with.
Add it gradually. Drizzle a little over the rice, fold gently, and taste. The rice should be lightly seasoned, not wet or overpowering.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Make ahead: Sushi rice is best fresh, but you can make it earlier the same day. Keep it covered with a damp kitchen towel at room temperature til you are ready to use it.
- Storing: Store leftover rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It will firm up and dry out a little as it chills.
- Freezing: You can freeze sushi rice for up to 1 month, but the texture is better for bowls than for sushi rolls after freezing.
- Reheating: Sprinkle the rice lightly with water and microwave it covered with a damp paper towel until softened. Let it cool back to room temperature before using it for sushi.
Pairing Ideas
This sushi rice is perfect with General Tso’s Chicken, Bang Bang Shrimp, California Roll Cucumber Salad, Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad, Mongolian Beef, Egg Roll Bowls, and Mango Sticky Rice for dessert. It’s a great base recipe to keep on hand anytime you’re making sushi-inspired dinners at home.
Recipes to Make with Sushi Rice
Sushi rice is a key component of all kinds of sushi and popular dishes, including maki (traditional sushi rolls), nigiri, hand rolls, chirashi, sushi bowls and burritos, and of course, my kids’ favorite: Spam musubi.
Homemade Sushi Rice is simple once you know the right rice, the right seasoning, and the best way to fold and cool it. This recipe gives you tender, sticky, lightly seasoned rice that works for sushi rolls, sushi bake, musubi, rice bowls, and so much more.
If you try this sushi rice recipe, leave a comment and let me know what you made with it! 🍣🍱
Sushi Rice Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups sushi rice, (It should say "sushi rice" right on the bag. Calrose rice works okay if you can't find sushi rice.)
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 cup Japanese rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 piece Kombu (dried kelp), (2×2" square, optional)
Instructions
- Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water with your hand, pour off and repeat 2-3 times or until the water is clear. Rinse a few more times.
- After the rice is rinsed, let the rice drain in a colander or strainer for 1 hour.
- After the rice has drained, put the rice in the rice cooker with the 3 cups of water, cover, and start. If you are using kombu (optional), add it to the rice and water before cooking and allow it to cook along with the rice.If you don't have a rice cooker place rice and water in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice rest, covered, for 15 additional minutes.
- While rice is cooking, prepare the vinegar mixture. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Heat mixture just until the sugar dissolves (do not let it boil). Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
- When the rice is done cooking, gently spread out the rice over a cookie sheet. Evenly distribute the cooled vinegar mixture over the rice. You may not need all of the vinegar mixture. Just sprinkle it over the rice until it is lightly spritzed.
- Gently turn rice over from time to time with rice paddle or wooden spatula so that rice cools evenly. To speed things up, fan the rice each time you turn it over. When rice has cooled to room temperature, it is ready to use for sushi!
Notes
- Use Japanese-style short grain sushi rice for the best sticky texture.
- Calrose rice can work if you can’t find sushi rice, but avoid jasmine, basmati, and long grain rice.
- Rinse the rice well to remove extra starch and prevent a gummy texture.
- Let the rice drain before cooking so it cooks evenly.
- Kombu is optional, but it adds a subtle umami flavor.
- Warm the vinegar mixture only until the sugar dissolves. Do not boil it.
- Add the vinegar mixture gradually. You may not need all of it.
- Fold the rice gently with a cutting and lifting motion so the grains don’t get crushed.
- Fan the rice while folding to help it cool and give it a shiny finish.
- Keep finished sushi rice covered with a damp towel so it doesn’t dry out.
- Sushi rice is best used the day it is made and at room temperature.
- See our Instant Pot Sushi Rice post for a quicker method.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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We want to hear from you! Please leave a review.
I have already sweetened vinegar. Do I need to add the sugar?
Probably not if you are using sweetened vinegar. That being said, I haven’t tried that so I can’t be certain.
Great recipe & clear, simple instructions! Really pleased with how my rice turned out!
So glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the 5-stars!
Please fix the measurements. This was not ok to waste good sushi rice. Too much vinegar and sugar. Do not attempt unless you scale down to 1/4 to rice ratio.
The measurements are correct, sorry it wasn’t to your liking. If you don’t prefer that amount of vinegar and sugar, you can always cut down on the amount you use.