"rufus" wrote in message
oups.com...
I don't think that this subject has come up recently, so here goes:

What do sushi chefs and enthusiasts buy when they make sushi rice for
themselves? I've tried Nishiki, but I want to try others for
comparison. Also, where can one buy the rice in reasonable quantities
(maybe 5 or 10 pounds but not the huge bags that I've seen in
restaurants.)

And also, what are all the MI5 and News Server messages doing in our
nice little sushi group?


I use Nishiki, or sometimes Kokuhou. There are countless others worth trying
but what you should be looking for is rice that tends to come out "on the
hard side".
For exanple you can pay more and buy Akita Homare, but the rice tends to be
stickier
and softer.
Here is the inside information on sushi rice. In Japan the best rice for
cooking is "shin mai"
meaning new crop or new harvest. However, while this great rice for most
Japanese dishes,
it is too soft for making good sushi rice. The best Sushi restaurants in
Japan use a blend of
old and new rice, in a ratio up to 70:30. There are actually two reasons for
this. One is the
"hardness" I just mentioned. The other little known fact is that old rice
develops small cracks on
the surface, not readily visible to the human eye. However, it permits a
greater absorption of
vinegar. So, the best sushi rice is one that is blended, usually by the rice
dealer.
In he US, Japanee short grain rice in 5, 10, 20., 25 lb bags are always
available
in most Japanese grocery stores. Most "Asian" food stores will also carry 5
to 10 lb bags.
Musashi