Yesterday was a day of firsts. Since coming to college and not having a rice cooker I’ve had to have my mom ship me microwaveable rice. I had dinner with my Hawaii kids last night and small packs of rice are just not going to cut it. I still don’t have a rice cooker so I cooked the rice on the stove. You have to understand, this is a big deal. My mom doesn’t really know how to cook rice on the stove.
On the back of my Nishiki rice there are directions and ratios (rice to water). But the day before, I luckily spent the day with ASIA (Asian students for intercultural awareness) who taught me the finger trick. You wash your rice, drain it, then level it. You put your finger at the top of the rice and fill it about an inch from the top and you’re set. I measured out the water then stuck my finger in; it really does work.
The back of the bag says to let it cook for about 20 minutes and my friends just say just wait till the water is gone. I did it! It was moist, not burnt, not dry; it was just regular rice. I was so proud of myself. I even made sushi! The vinegar wasn’t as flavorful as I thought it’d be and I didn’t know what size the nori should have been but it was a really good first start. It kept falling apart. I made california rolls without the avocado (yucky!). I think a few more tries and I’ll have this figured out hopefully.
