How To Make Sushi Rice - The Full Recipe

Preparing the sushi rice might look complicated and pedantic at first, but as you go along with it you might notice that it's just like making ordinary rice, only with rice vinegar added to it, and a bit of Japanese methodology.

I've de-complicated the requirements into five simple steps:

Choosing right

[justify]Wouldn't you say that the Japanese have already thought of everything? Well, they did. They even made a special rice for sushi, they call it "shari", some folks simply call it "sushi rice". And they even took the time and effort to make it round, so that you can find it easily in the supermarket. Here is how a bag of sushi rice should look like.

Measuring and preparing the rice

Wash the rice (1 cup = 3 rolls) with running water for 1-2 minutes until there is no more starch coming out of it. After you are done washing, take the rice and place it gently in a pot, add a little bit more water than rice ( the ratio is about 1.15:1 in favor of the water). Don't put too much water, or you'll get dough instead of rice.

Cooking the rice[/justify]

[justify]The rice should be cooked on high heat at first, stir every minute or two, until the water boils. Then, lower the heat to minimum and cover the pot. Stop stirring, the rice will handle itself from now. Why? That is just the Japanese way...

After 6-8 min, check the water level - If there is no more water, only bigger grains of rice in the pot, that means the rice is ready. If not, check back every minute, making sure not to burn the rice at the bottom.[/justify]

Taking out the rice

There are a few important issues to keep in mind while taking the rice out of the pot. You think I'm kidding right? Well I'm not. First, use only a wooden spoon to handle the cooked rice. A metal spoon will damage the rice, and can also react with the vinegar we'll add later. Second, don't scrape the rice out from the bottom of the pot. If it comes out easily, good, if not - leave it be. The rice at the bottom is dry and burned so it won't taste so good. Use a wooden or plastic bowl to put the rice in to chill.

Seasoning the rice

In order for the rice to taste like sushi rice (and not like ordinary rice), you need to add rice vinegar to it right after it is taken out of the pot.

How is this done?

For 3 cups of (uncooked) rice, use ½ cup of rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of salt. Use only rice vinegar! Any other kind of vinegar will taste bad. -Alternatively, you could use Sushi rice seasoning powder.

Mix together in a small pot, on medium heat until all solids are mixed in.

Pour mixture on rice and stir well.

Let the rice cool down for a few minutes until it reaches room temperature. Don't put the rice in the fridge to make it cool faster - that will damage the rice. You can however use a fan, A/C or put it by the window.

Important tip - Some people prefer their sushi rice less seasoned. Also, there might be differences in strength and flavour between different brands of rice vinegar. If it's the first time you are making sushi rice, and you are not sure, prepare the amount of seasoning described above, but only use half of it. Mix it with the rice and taste. Trust your own senses if you like to use the full amount or not.

Final thoughts

That's it, you've made it! For the sake of the internet, please take a moment to share your experience in the comments section below. Did it turn out as you expected? Better? Ask any question you have, someone should be able to answer and it might even help other people with the same question in the future. And most importantly, enjoy making sushi!

http://makemysushi.com/index.php/Sushi-Preparations/how-to-make-perfect-sushi-rice.html

Holy Water May be Harmful to Your Health, Study Finds

By LIZ FIELDS | Good Morning America – 8 hours ago

Despite its purported cleansing properties, holy water could actually be more harmful than healing, according to a new Austrian study on "holy" springs.

Researchers at the Institute of Hygiene and Applied Immunology at the Medical University of Vienna tested water from 21 springs in Austria and 18 fonts in Vienna and found samples contained up to 62 million bacteria per milliliter of water, none of it safe to drink.

Tests indicated 86 percent of the holy water, commonly used in baptism ceremonies and to wet congregants' lips, was infected with common bacteria found in fecal matter such as E. coli, enterococci and Campylobacter, which can lead to diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever.

Nitrates, commonly found in fertilizer from farms, were also identified in the water. If ingested, water containing nitrates over the maximum contaminant level could cause serious illness, especially in infants younger than 6 months, which could lead to death if untreated, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"We need to warn people against drinking from these sources," said Dr Alexander Kirschner, study researcher and microbiologist at the Medical University of Vienna.

The study, published in the Journal of Water and Health, also found that all church and hospital chapel fonts contained bacteria -- the busier the church, the higher the bacterial count.

"This may represent a problem that has hitherto been underestimated, especially in hospitals, since there a lot of people with weakened immune systems there," Kirschner said.

There have been advances made for the more hygienic use of holy water, including the invention of a holy water dispenser a few years ago by an Italian priest, while studies have also indicated that adding salt (at recommended levels of 20 percent) can help disinfect the water.

But Kirschner cautions that salt is not a reliable way to prevent infection and instead recommends priests regularly change the holy water in churches and erect signs to inform congregants about the dangers as well as of the history of the holy springs.