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I've heard a couple of suggestions for cooling the rice prior to making rolls and both seem to contradict each other. What works for you guys (and gals)?

What I do is just remove the liner from the steamer, add rice vinegar solution and fold the rice while fanning it for a few minutes, then just leave it alone for 30 minutes with a towel over the container to prevent drying. Seems to work for me, but I don't like waiting that long to start making the rolls.

JustRightMenus
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Kilhoffer
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4 Answers4

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It looks like your process is the accepted one around the web.

If you put a cool, damp (not wet), clean kitchen towel on your counter and fold the rice on top of it in front of a fan may help to cool it more quickly. Otherwise, cooling it to room temperature just seems to take a bit of time.

Vecta
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If you're impatient, you can plop it in front of a fan ad continue folding until it is cool enough to handle. It shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your batch.

Make sure to lift the rice when folding to expose plenty of the rice to the moving air.

Adam Shiemke
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The instructions I use are out of my Sushi book...

The big difference from the other answers and what I do seems to be the container used.

  • Place the hot rice in a wooden rice tub or a large, nonmetallic, flat-bottomed bowl. I actually use a 13x9 glass casserole pan. This is key - have it in something wide and shallow.
  • Use a flat wooden paddle to stir the rice, slicing it across the bowl rather than normal stirring.
  • Make some space in the center of the rice and slowly add the vinegar dressing.
  • Continue lifting and mixing the rice with the paddle, using a slicing motion.
  • Use either an electric or hand-held fan while you're doing this.
  • Put rice into a rice holder that has a lid and will keep it warm.
  • Spread a piece of damp cheesecloth over the top, and put the lid on.
JustRightMenus
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I like to use a large non-metallic board (preferably unfinished wood), I spread the rice across the board so the rice is less than 2cm high.

I then add my seasoned vinegar and fold the rice over until it is well mixed.

I make sure the spread it out again and will then either let it cool alone or fan it, depending what I'm using it for.

jessecurry
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