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Japanese rice in a rice cooker

Cooking rice in a rice cooker is easy and guarantees consistent results. However, especially when cooking Japanese rice varieties, it is good to know a few things that will allow you to enjoy this exceptional ingredient in the best possible condition. I can guarantee that these few steps will quickly become second nature to you and will become so automatic and quick that you won't even think about them. I just want to add that you can skip seasoning the rice before and after cooking, but you will be missing out on a significant part of the experience of the fully developed flavor of the rice.

Preparation

  1. Fill the measuring cup with rice, leaving a little finger's width of space at the top. This corresponds to the volume of a main meal for one person. The side dishes that accompany rice in donburi are usually much smaller in volume, as rice is the main ingredient here...
  2. Pour the rice from the measuring cup into a strainer, which you then place in a bowl. Then wash the rice under running water in the sink:
    • Thanks to the bowl, you can fill the sieve with enough water and there is no need to let it run throughout the entire washing process.
    • There's no need to put youn hands or fingers into the rice. Wash the rice as if you were panning for gold, using quick circular movements.
    • The first rinsing is the shortest or fastest. The main goal is to remove dust and impurities from the rice. Rice absorbs water quickly, and we don't want it to drink this first rinse.
    • We rinse the rice a total of three times. Each time, we pour the cloudy water into the sink and fill the bowl with fresh water. Always use cold water.
    • You will often hear that rice should be rinsed until the water is completely clear. Don't be fooled by this; you are not a Michelin-starred sushi restaurant, and even they don't often do this because it is not necessary. Rinsing three times to remove excess starch and impurities is sufficient.
  3. Drain the rinsed rice in a sieve to remove excess water and tip it from the sieve into a cooking pot.
  4. Rinse the measuring cup and fill it to the brim with water, which you then pour over the rice in the cooking pot.
    • This ratio of water to rice is ideal for short-grain Japanese rice prepared in a rice cooker, but the ratio can vary depending on the type of rice and the method of preparation.
    • You will often find recommendations to pour enough water into the rice cooker so that the water level is about an inch above the rice. In our case, this amount is often too much!
    • For most types of Japanese rice, you can rely on a standard ratio of 1 part rice to 1.3 parts water. But l am sure you will find your own preferred one after some time.
  5. Season the rice with a pinch of salt and MSG, then swirl the pot a little to mix the salt evenly with the water and rice.
  6. Set the rice cooker to the short-grain rice mode. This cycle usually takes around 30-40 minutes.
  7. Pour about 5 ml of water and 5 ml of sushi vinegar into the measuring cup.
  8. Some types of rice cookers have a steeping mode. This mode usually lasts 10 minutes. In any case, as soon as the rice cooker beeps to indicate that the rice is ready, open the rice cooker and carefully mix the hot rice in the pot with the original rice paddle. The purpose is to aerate it and separate it from the sides of the pot. Gradually drizzle the prepared mixture of rice vinegar and water from the measuring cup over the mixed rice. Ideally, do this in two steps, stirring the rice again each time.
  9. Then close the already completely off rice cooker and let the rice stand for another few minutes.

Now the rice is done and ready to serve.