Togu: Washing Rice. Before cooking, white rice is first rinsed with water, then "washed" so as to remove rice bran from the outer hull: the word togu is used to describe this "washing," or rubbing together, of the rice grains.
Yes, in Japan rice is generally washed before cooking, although the English word “wash” doesn't begin to convey the energy you're supposed to expend. To give you a better idea, the verb in Japanese is togu, the same word used for honing a knife against a whetstone.
To best prepare Japanese rice to taste good as part of a meal, it's important to rub off any dirt or rice bran that might be attached to the surface of the grain. The rice absolutely needs to be washed before being prepared.
For between four and seven cups of rice, wash it three times, and for more than eight cups of rice, wash it four times. If the water remains cloudy, keep washing and rinsing until the rice grains are visible through the water.
If you do not rinse the rice, residual starch from the grains will gelatinized during the cooking process and create cooked grains to be of sticky texture. The rice will look more like risotto than the fluffy rice that are served at restaurants.
"When you start to look at the Italians, as well as the Spanish, there's quite a bit of rice in their risottos and paellas. "They don't really wash their rice because what they want to do is retain the [starch] that is essential in making sure the dish ends up tasting creamy.
Starch is itself composed of amylose and amylopectin. When the level of amylose is low and amylopectin is high, you get sticky rice. That's the kind of rice grown in Japan. The unique stickiness of Japanese rice is what makes a good sushi and defines the character of Japanese cuisine.
Japanese rice has a unique flavor that is different from other types of rice. Japanese rice is sweeter than other types of rice due to the way it is grown and milled. Japanese rice is also stickier than other types of rice, which gives it a chewy texture.
Soaking the rice ensures that the moisture penetrates each grain, so that they cook evenly and thoroughly in a relatively short time without getting mushy or leaving a hard uncooked center.
Rice in a Meal. The most common consumption of rice is with a meal. Rice is seen as a main dish and accompanied by other side dishes, such as miso soup, pickled vegetables, and any sort of cooked meat, seafood, and/or vegetables. This is called okazu.
Rice Vinegar/Sushi Vinegar
Rice vinegar or sushi vinegar is necessary for sushi rice. Vinegar works to reduce the pH level of the rice. Regular rice has a pH between 6.0 and 6.7, but once the proper amount of vinegar has been added, its acidity increases, putting its new pH a little higher than 4.
You absolutely need to rinse sushi rice with water before cooking. If not, the extra starch will cause it to clump together too much and make it too sticky.
Place the rice in a heavy-bottom saucepan and add 360ml of water. Bring the rice to the boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for approximately 12 minutes. Keep the lid on until the rice is cooked.
While wild, wholegrain or glutinous rice always need to be soaked before cooking, usually overnight, many plain white rices also do. Japanese short-grain rice, for example, once rinsed and completely drained for 10-15 minutes, is best soaked for 30 minutes in its actual cooking water before the heat is turned on.
Rinsing rice before cooking is an Asian practice to remove dirt, dust and excess starch; but it's actually optional. However, we recommend cooking with a little less water if you rinse, because, without the starch to absorb the bit of extra water, your white rice may turn out too mushy.
Rice should be eaten as soon as it is polished because it starts to lose its aroma once it is polished. Uncooked, freshly polished rice should be stored in an airtight container and kept in the refrigerator, not the pantry, to retain its nuances in flavour.
This friction between the dry grains of rice creates starch dust that coats the grains. If the grains aren't washed before cooking, this residual starch will gelatinize in the hot cooking water and make the cooked grains of rice stick to each other.
If you don't soak the rice before cooking, it will require more liquid and time, and be more likely to come out clumpy and overcooked. Most good markets have dozens of kinds of rice and each one does best with a different kind of process and finesse.
Almost 94 percent of Japanese consumers ate rice on at least one meal per day as revealed in a survey conducted in November 2022.
Compared to regular white rice, it's less dry and has shorter grains. 190 calories per ¼ cup of dry rice. Good source of plant-based protein and iron.
Rice is only harvested in the fall. White rice stores much better and lasts much longer. Brown rice is more nutritious and the rice bran is high in fat, so that means brown rice goes rancid and gets moldy, especially in a humid climate like much of Eastern Asia.
Mushy or soggy rice is simply overcooked rice that has absorbed too much water. Water over-absorption causes the rice grains to split open, ruining the texture and creating a starchy, gummy result.
Koshihikari. Arguably Japan's most popular rice brand, this short-grain cultivar was developed over 60 years ago in Fukui Prefecture. Koshihikari is well-known for its translucent, smooth, and pearly quality. With a distinctly sweet flavor, this rice is ideal for dishes that utilize rice as a base, such as sushi.
Rinse and soak the rice before cooking. Make sure the rice is washed and rinsed a few times until no more starch comes out from the water. Then let the rice be soaked for at least 30 minutes before cooking. This allows the rice grains to yield a better texture.