Japanese rice washing secret to cook delicious rice

Anyone who has ever tasted Japanese rice must nod their heads in approval. Let’s see how the Japanese cook rice.

The first thing to mention is the type of rice they use to cook rice. Unlike the long, thin rice of Vietnam, Japanese rice has white, round and very hard grains. When cooked, the rice is very sticky, fragrant, the rice grains are shiny and very beautiful, and the sweetness is very rich. Nowadays, it is not difficult to find Japanese rice in Vietnam as this type of rice is imported by many stores.

The difference between Japanese rice (left) and regular rice.

The next difference lies in the way the Japanese cook and wash rice. A full cup of rice leveled with chopsticks will cook two bowls of rice. After measuring the rice, the next step is extremely important for the Japanese, which is washing the rice. Unlike the Vietnamese view that it is only necessary to wash the rice briefly to remove the dirt on the surface of the rice and retain the nutrients, the Japanese wash the rice very carefully, washing it twice. In the first time, after pouring water into the rice, they stir it twice and then pour the water out. In the second time, they wash until the water is clear enough to see the rice grains. The Japanese do not care how many times they wash, but pay attention to how clean the rice is after washing.

How Japanese measure rice

The next step is also quite important in the Japanese way of cooking rice, which is to soak the rice. After washing, drain the rice, put the basket containing the rice in the pot and cover the rice with a damp towel for 30 minutes to let the rice absorb moisture. After 30 minutes, you put the rice in the pot. With Japanese rice, you need to measure the water accurately when cooking. The usual water ratio will be 1:1 (rice packaged within 3 months) or 1:1.1 (rice packaged for more than 3 months).

Japanese people wash rice very carefully until the water is clear enough to see the rice grains.

Another special thing you should also note when cooking Japanese rice is to choose the "quick cook" mode when putting the rice in the rice cooker. The reason is because the rice has been soaked for 30 minutes, has absorbed the necessary moisture, so the usual step of soaking the rice in water is no longer necessary.

After washing, the Japanese will leave the rice to soak for 30 minutes to absorb moisture.

After the rice is cooked, do not immediately remove the pot from the stove. Instead, use chopsticks to stir the rice until it is loose, let the steam escape for about 1 minute, then cover the pot. Leave it for another 10 minutes before removing it.

The rice grains look very nice.

After 10 minutes, you will see the rice grains are very sticky, shiny and look very beautiful.

You should try this recipe.

TP (synthesis)