Sushi rice is pretty easy to make at home. I love doing this when I'm craving sushi, and just want to stay in for the night or dont feel like spending 2-3x the cost at a sushi restaurant. As long as you have a good Japanese or Korean market nearby with sushi grade fish, you are good to go!
2cups(410g)short grain ricemedium grain works in a pinch too. organic
tap waterfor rinsing rice
2cupsfiltered water
2tbsp(27.8g)rice vinegar
2tbsp(26.4g)sugarorganic
1tsp(3.5g)kosher saltif using granulated table salt, you may need less
Instructions
Cooking the rice
Rinse the rice in a bowl over running tap water. Add about 1-2 cups of water, stir then drain. Do this about two or three times until the water is clear.
Cook the rice in a rice cooker: Add the rice and water to the rice cooker pot, make sure the rice is flat and level with the bottom of the pot since it can shift during the rinse or transport. Push the start button. After the rice cooker beeps in about 15-20 minutes indicating it's ready, take the pot out and let it cool on the counter for about 10 minutes.
Or cook the rice on a stovetop: Add rice and water to a medium pot over high heat without a lid and bring to a boil. Once it hits a boil, lower heat to low and cover with a lid. Don't open the lid, don't mix the rice or bother it while it does its thing. After 15 minutes, open the lid and try a grain of rice for doneness. It should be slightly firm, but fluffy, and not hard or chalky inside. If it's too raw, close the lid and add more cook time as needed. Once done let the rice cool for 10 minutes off the heat.
Vinegar mixture
While your rice is cooling, in a separate microwave safe bowl, combine the rice vinegar, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine and microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir to see if its fully dissolved and microwave another 15 seconds or so until the sugar is dissolved.
Combining rice + vinegar mixture
Move the warm rice to a large mixing bowl. A wooden one will help by absorbing the water a bit as it cools, but metal or glass works fine too.
Stir the vinegar mixture before each addition into the bowl of rice, adding 1/2 tbsp at a time as you gently fold the mixture into the rice. The goal is to cover each grain evenly with this mixture, without smashing the grains of rice. Once you've added all the mixture, let the rice cool to almost room temperature before using.
Notes
1/11/2021: I make this recipe A LOT, so updated the measurements with weight for the seasoning, so you can measure it all out without having to wash any measuring spoons.