DH has recently developed a bit of an addiction to Spam musubi. I’ve been using Nishiki brand medium-grain rice, but have decided I’d prefer something stickier that holds together better. I use an Instant Pot to make rice, and do not put vinegar in it (I dislike vinegar).
Suggestions?
Jasmine long grain
I personally use Kokuho rice for my sushi, but it’s still a clean California rice, rather than any of the available Japanese-grown varieties. For me, myself, and I, it’s the best rice for the money. So still a compromise. To keep it stickier, I go with a single rise of the rice, rather than the 2-3 suggested elsewhere. You may even want to try it unrinsed, because I find most California grown options are a bit too clean for my tastes for this sort of application.
I’ve used Nishiki premium grade rice for sushi, but it’s been a while since I’ve made it. The grade really matters for sushi.
I like Koshikari rice (it’s a type of rice, not a brand), but I don’t know how easy it is for you to find. We have a Japanese supermarket called Mitsuwa out here in the Chicago burbs that stocks it. It’s the perfect rice for sushi with its short grain and stickiness. I do see it on Amazon if you search for “Koshikari rice.” At my supermarket, it’s about $5/lb, so a decent bit pricier than your usual rices.
Botan Calrose rice is pretty good as well.
Koshikari is the most popular style in Japan, Calrose is usually good enough. Make sure you soak the rice for some time ahead. Rinsing does reduce stickiness but you should still rinse it anyway.
Mild rice vinegar is really what makes it, if you want to avoid it you could experiment with other sources of acidity?
I was married to a Korean-American, and am now cohabiting with a Japanese-American. The former rinsed the rice repeatedly, while the latter never sees any point to doing so (although Japanese royalty traditionally ate only polished white rice; resulting in the death of Hirohito’s aunt from beri beri).
Anyway, speaking as one with an assortment of musubi molds in the kitchen drawer, sticky rice (medium grain, long grain, brown even) is made sticky by virtue of a big pinch of sugar in the rice cooker. The filling is sugared-fried crispy Spam or tuna & soy sauce + sweetener, ginger and garlic. Wrap with salty nori. Wash down with beer. It’s not heath food, but it break the mouth.
Spam musubi in Hawai’i is made with plain rice - the flavoring comes from the Spam, furikake, and the brown sugar and soy (plus maybe a little mirin) that the Spam is fried in.
A while ago, the New York Times, of all sources, published a Spam musubi recipe. It called for, appropriately enough, plain rice.
The comment section was instructive - all the sushi “experts” who don’t have any familiarity with food in Hawaii were all like “oh my, put sugar and salt and vinegar into that rice, otherwise it isn’t sushi” whereas all the Hawaiian readers responded, “don’t be silly, I was born and raised in Hawaii and no one in my family EVER put seasoning in the rice for Spam musubi.”
Well, I’m not by any means a Hawaiian culinary expert, but I will say I have gone out of my way to try Spam musubi in many local settings, and yes, the rice is always plain. Also, the NYT recipe makes the best musubi ever.
ETA: I use Nishiki, Calrose, or a medium-grain rice from the local convenience store that I think they buy in 50 lb bags and sell in smaller quantities in unlabeled Ziplock bags, so I don’t know what it is. Probably Calrose.
Nit pick: it’s Koshihikari. It’s a particular hybrid cultivar that was developed after WWII.
My Japanese husband doesn’t like sushi, so we never eat it. I don’t particularly miss it.
You can break the bank and buy the super expensive stuff imported to the US from Japan, or you can buy the Calrose at Costco (grown in California) in 50 lb bags. Either will make sushi just fine. Once the rice is properly seasoned (and most sushi joints in the US do not season their rice enough), the difference is negligible, although if you can get new crop, do so - new crop is best, and it’s available NOW. Musubi is made with unseasoned rice. Long grain and sweet/sticky rice are different paths to disappointment for both sushi and musubi.
My bonafides: learned to make sushi (and lots of other Japanese dishes) in my grandmother’s kitchen and was a professional itamae (sushi chef) for six years.
I’ve seen those California Calrose bags at the supermarket, yet somehow never got around to trying it. Thanks for the tip!
And interesting info about spam musubi. I’ve never tried making it at home, so it’s good to know that it’s made with just regular rice. (Which I assume means long-grain white.)
I adore the Lundberg wild rice. Though they hard to find, the 5 lb bags make the price more reasonable than the outlandish supermarket prices for the small bags.