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
- 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.
- Place rice and water into the rice cooker, turn it on, and wait for rice to cook.
Finishing rice
- Allow rice to rest covered for 20 minutes.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Wet a dish towel (or 2 layers of paper towel) and cover the rice. Let it rest for 20 minutes to develop flavor.