The Secret to Perfectly Steamed Japanese Rice
“Steamed rice sounds simple. And it is if you follow these steps. If you don’t, you’d have issues inviting Japanese guests to dinner, they’ll look at the rice with the knowing look of disapproval – and who wants that!” – Ken Yamada.
If you have a rice cooker, wash the rice until you have clear water and add water to the set amount in the cooker and press ‘cook’. Easy.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, you’ll need a heavy iron stewing pot with a heavy lid. But you’ll need to be careful about the amount of water you add. As you wash the rice, inevitably you are adding water to the rice and you won’t be able to drain away all of the water.
INGREDIENTS
Japanese rice: 300g
Chilled water: 430ml
METHOD
Weigh the dry rice in a large bowl and note the weight (bowl as well). Then wash the rice and drain the water, then weigh again in the same bowl. The difference so far is what you have effectively added in water, so top up with water to make up the required 430ml (430g). Then pour into your heavy pot.
Leave for at least 10 minutes but ideally 30 mins.
Turn the heat on full blast. Once you can see steam coming out of the gaps of the lid and the pot, turn the heat to the minimum and time 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, turn the heat to the highest for around 20 seconds then turn off heat. Allow to rest for 12 minutes.
Being careful not to squash or break each grain of rice, using a moist spatula, turn the rice over and let the steam escape. When the rice is cooked to perfection, the Japanese say the grains of rice are ‘stood up’ – which probably means each grain is nice & plump and slightly aldante to have the right bite.
Oishii!
Don’t forget to snap a pic and share your perfectly cooked Japanese rice with us on Instagram, tagging us with @TonkotsuLondon