SUSHI RICE RECIPE
Often, up to 80% of product consumed during a sushi meal is rice. Getting your sushi rice right is a crucial element in successful sushi making at home. The proper preparation of the rice is so important that in our shop as well as most quality establishments there are chefs whose sole responsibility is to cook the rice.

Let's Begin
If you do not have a Japanese rice cooker, a heavy pot with lid is essential( I like Lagostina cookware). One secret is to always measure your ingredients carefully. Following is a basic sushi rice recipe for rolled sushi. Also, the type of rice you use is most important.

We recommend the following brands: Kokuho Rose, Tamaki Gold, Tamanishiki, Nozomi and Yume.

Prepare Your Tezu
Your first step is to prepare your vinegar-water solution called tezu. Mix together 250 ml of water, 30 ml of rice vinegar (Marukan and Mitsukan are excellent) and 5 ml of salt.

Ingredients
(yields - 4 large rolls [futomaki] or 10 small rolls [hosomaki]) 500 ml Sushi Rice
600 ml Water
60 ml Rice Vinegar
30 ml Sugar
5 ml Salt

Wash The Rice
Wash the rice several times until the water runs fairly clear when draining. Let your wash rice strain for 30 minutes. Transfer the rice to your pot or Japanese electric rice cooker and add the measured water.

Cook The Rice
For electric rice cookers, turn on and wait for rice to finish cooking. For stove top cooking heat to boiling , cover tightly and simmer at lowest heat allowing the rice to steam for 18 minutes. You must leave it covered... no peaking!

Remove your pot from the heat and let stand covered for another 15 minutes.

Prepare Your Sushi Vinegar
Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let your sushi vinegar cool to room temperature.

Take a wooden spatula or spoon and cut and fold the rice. Be gentle as you do not want to smash the cooked grains.

Prepare Your Mixing Bowl
Moisten your bowl with a cloth dampened with your TEZU mixture. The traditional bowl to use is the flat-bottomed wooden sushi oke or hangiri. The porous wood absorbs excess moisture and the large surface allows the rice to cool more quickly and evenly.

Put the hot rice into your mixing bowl and add 1/4 of the sushi vinegar solution. Mix with a folding motion so as to not smash your perfect sushi rice. Repeat until all sushi vinegar is used.

Fan Your Rice
After mixing, fan [electric fan will work] the hot rice mixture for about 5 or 6 minutes in order to remove excess moisture and create a glossy shine to your rice. Your rice should have a slight chewiness and be sticky to the touch.

You're Done
Et Voila! Sushilinks' perfect sushi rice – ready for rolling!
Miyamoto's California Rolls
Ingredients for 5 California Rolls [40 pieces]:

1 English Cucumber - remove seeds and cut into strip - 10 cm long and 1/2 cm thick [leave the skin on... looks great in your roll]
200g Imitation Crab Sticks - Oosaki brand is our preferred choice - North American product should be squeezed to remove excess water
2 Avocados - Haas is the best - not to ripe [buy them green/hard and wrap in newspaper for 24 hours] peel and cut into wedges
5 Half sheets of Nori - Takaokaya Gold and Yamamotoyama Gold are excellent - Full sheets are to be halved width-wise by folding and then carefully pulling the sheet apart
50g Toasted Sesame Seeds - Buy Black and White for a decorative touch
50g Tobiko [flying fish roe] - You may use Masago but tobiko is a superior product - pick a color... a good Japanese food store will offer many colors. Our shop has red, orange, green wasabi, black, and gold.
Tezu Prepare a small bowl of water mixed with a small amount of unsweetened Rice Vinegar for moistening your finger tips [not your whole hands... we try to only use our fingertips!]
Wasabi and Japanese Mayonnaise [Optional Ingredients - QP is the best]

Let's Get Started
Place a sheet of cellophane wrap - same size as your rolling mat on your sudare [bamboo rolling mat]. Cool your hands down under a cold running water tap and dry your hands [cold hands will sweat less and stick less to your rice].

Dip your fingers in your Tezu and wave your hands to remove excess water. Take some rice with your finger tips [10 cm round ball]. Place the rice ball in the center of the wrap and gently distribute the rice the width of your nori sheet and 5 cm longer then then your sheet of seaweed. Don't work your rice too much [if you smash your rice grains you are pressing too hard].

Center your nori sheet on the sheet of rice. You may now fill your roll.

Almost Ready
Place a row of avocado wedges length-wise in the center of your nori sheet. Your nori should cover the entire rice sheet side to side and towards you. The extra 5 cm rice should be open along width-wise away from you [leave some room on the sides of your nori so the filling doesn't get squeezed out].

Put the cucumber strips alongside your avocado and do likewise with your crab sticks. Lay a strip of Japanese mayonnaise and/or wasabi.

Start To Roll
Roll the side nearest you to form a center core of ingredients surrounded by nori [there should be that 5 cm band of rice left after your nori].

Pull out you wrap at the end of your roll and overlap your ingredients roll over the last band of rice. By pulling and lightly squeezing your mat, form your roll circular or triangular-wise [gently hold your ingredient in on the ends while manipulating your roll].

Gently set your roll to the side and spread sesame seeds and/or tobiko on your cellophane wrap with your mat underneath. Re-position your roll on the cellophane and gently re-form your roll to embed slightly your outside ingredients. Carefully move your mat to one end of your roll to shape the end of your roll [a small amount of your ingredients squeezed out is normal... too much means your squeezing too much].

Cut & Serve
Cut your roll into 8 pieces. Your knife must be very sharp