Shirakiku Dried Grains & Rice - Japanese Style Short Grain White Koshihikari - Uncooked Premium Quality Sweet Sticky Sushi Rice, 4.4 Pounds bag

Best rice for sushi or a side dish or any where you would normally need rice. Have to got to Japan to find anything better. Only rice I use any more.

I love this luxurious rice. I make it in my Instant Pot (using a modified Alton Brown's Sushi Rice recipe) and it comes out amazing every time. It aint cheap but it is delicious and reminds me of the rice The Hubs and I enjoyed in Japan two years ago. Ingredients 2 cups sushi or short grain rice 2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon kosher salt Directions Rinse the rice with water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water runs clear. Spray the inner pot with cooking spray, then dump the wet rice and 2 cups of water into the pot, seal the lid, and select the rice button. Once done, remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi or sashimi.

I am not a rice connoisseur, but I can cook many styles of rice successfully in a traditional stove-top pot. What I like about this brand is that all the grains hydrate and cook properly every time, with an excellent texture. Many short-grain "supermarket" sushi-style rice often cook inconsistently (hence the need for a rice cooker). I'm very pleased, as it is expensive rice.

Before this rice entered my life, I thought rice was just… rice. A side dish. A supporting actor. Little edible packing peanuts you shovel underneath something more important. I was living in ignorance. The first time I cooked this Shirakiku Koshihikari rice, my entire kitchen atmosphere changed. The steam rising from the pot carried the energy of an ancient promise. Even my rice cooker seemed more confident, like it finally had a purpose worthy of its engineering. And the texture. Dear God, the texture. Every grain somehow exists in a perfect state between fluffy and cohesive, as if thousands of tiny rice architects held emergency meetings to optimize mouthfeel. This rice doesn’t just sit on the plate. It arrives with dignity. The first bite caused me to stop chewing mid-conversation and stare silently into space while reevaluating every sad bag of generic rice I had ever purchased in my life. I suddenly understood why entire cultures take rice seriously. Meanwhile I had been out here boiling bargain-bin gravel with the confidence of a man who didn’t know any better. This rice has ruined restaurants for me. I now judge sushi places by grain integrity like an emotionally unstable rice sommelier. Too dry? Failure. Too mushy? Cowards. Poor cling structure? Shameful. I’ve started making rice when I don’t even need rice. Sometimes I cook a batch just to stand near it while it cools. Last night I caught myself gently fluffing it with a rice paddle while whispering, “You did so well.” I don’t think this is normal behavior anymore. Five stars. This rice did not accompany the meal. This rice became the event.

Great rice but way too expensive. Bought it today at my local store for half of the price.

This koshihikari cultivar grown in California is half the price of similar rice I bought on Amazon from Niigata, Japan, but tastes just as good, if not better. It has a pleasant hint of sweetness than the rice from Niigata lacked, but otherwise the texture, aroma, and flavor are extremely similar. The Niigata rice had fewer broken pieces and a slightly smoother, plumper surface, but that's not enough to make it worth twice the price. I've also tried several other popular short grain, "sushi," and koshihikari rices from California, both from Amazon and from my local Asian market, and this is my clear favorite. I buy it regularly and enjoy it in Japanese and Korean dishes. I cook it in a rice cooker on high pressure mode. This gelatinizes more of the starch than boiling or low pressure cooking does, resulting in perfectly sticky, chewy rice.

very good flavor, i used it for onigiri, it turned out perfect

I eat rice all the time, from when I was a kid. There is a difference between Koshihikari rice and the normal stuff you might get from your specialty food store. Everything you hear about Koshihikari is true, from its stickiness to its taste. Excellent stuff. That's what I will buy and this is the brand I've gone with recently because on a per ounce basis, it so much more reasonably priced than other brands, without sacrificing texture and taste.

Very good quality very tasty

Frighteningly over priced even if tastes good