Just thought I’d share an easy, time-saving tip for packing your weekday bento boxes. During the weekend, I make a batch of rice.Then, when the rice is cooled, I individually wrap them using a 1/2 C measuring cup (or ice cream scooper) and pop them in freezer. So, when making your lunches the night before (or even in the morning) you just pop I serving out, unwrap and stick it in your bento box. By lunch, they are defrosted & ready to eat. And the packaged endamame makes a great afternoon snack. Tada!

So, get to making your sushi rice & enjoy lunch! Continue reading to learn how to make great sushi rice…

How to make sushi rice
Adapted from Beyond Salmon
Makes enough rice for 8 rolls

Ingredients

2 cups short-grain Japanese sushi rice
2 cups water
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet sake)
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Rice cooker method

1. Place rice in a fine sieve and place the sieve in a bowl of water. Rinse thoroughly changing the water in the bowl at least 3 times until the water runs completely clean when you remove the sieve from the bowl. Drain well. *To improve the texture of the rice, after rinsing, let the rice drain 30 minutes in the refrigerator before cooking.
2. Place rice and water into the rice cooker, turn it on, and wait for rice to cook.

Finishing rice

1. Allow rice to rest covered for 20 minutes.
2. Combine the vinegar, mirin, sugar, and salt in a small non-reactive saucepan and set over medium heat until the mixture is hot and sugar dissolves. Do not allow it to boil.
3. Invert rice into a large wooden bowl. If you don’t have one, you can use a glass or stainless steel one, but wood works best.
4. Fold half of the vinegar mixture into rice with a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. Use a cutting and folding motion when stirring rice to avoid squashing the rice grains and releasing their starch. It should have a pleasantly sweet-acidic edge.
5. Wet a dish towel (or 2 layers of paper towel) and cover the rice. Let it rest for 20 minutes to develop flavor.