How to prepare and cook Japanese Rice

Click here to see the Japanese rice that I buy in Superquinn and the Asian market on Drury St in Dublin (they also have another store in Merrywell Business park, Ballymount, Dublin 22).

Instructions:

1. Measure 2 cups of Japanese white rice.   
2. Place the rice in a medium sized bowl and add cold water. To wash the rice use your hand to gently rub the rice grains against each other.
3. Drain the rice and add more water. Continue to clean the rice and replace the water until the water runs almost clear.  
4. Add the rice to a heavy based saucepan if you don't have a rice cooker.  
5. Add 2 cups of cold water to the rice in the saucepan (always add the same amount of water as rice).  
6. Put the lid on the saucepan and turn the heat to maximum. When the water starts to boil reduce the heat and leave the rice cooking for about 10 minutes (try not to remove the lid).
7. Then, turn off the heat and leave the rice standing for another 10 minutes. Now, remove the lid and using a rice spatula turn the rice from the wall of the saucepan towards the middle to get a nice fluffy and sticky white rice. 

How to eat:
Serve in individual bowls if you're having a traditional style Japanese meal. Since Japanese rice is sticky it's easy to eat with chopsticks compared to other types of rice.

Tips:  

1. To make the rice tastier leave the drained washed rice sitting for about 10 minutes before cooking. Or my Japanese homestay mother use to leave the rice and water sitting in the rice cooker for about an hour before cooking.
2. Make sure to wash the rice properly using your hand. How you wash the rice is just as important as how you cook the rice to get the perfect bowl of sticky Japanese rice! 

Why not: 

Add your favourite vegetable and some sake to the rice (tiny pieces of carrots or peas go very well).

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