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Japanify: How to Wash Rice Umami Mart

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September 2, 2010

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Welcome to Umamimart, an international food + drink blog with focus on Japanese cuisine. And so much more!

Japanify: How to Wash Rice

BY YO KO

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One of my tasks as a wee lass in the early 90s was to wash the rice for dinner while my single mom did the rest of the preparation and cooking. She told me that the ultimate goal in rice-washing is to get the water clear. With my tiny hands, I would grind the rice together to get all the milky dirt off. My ultimate goal was to be done with my rice-washing task and go straight back to my room and do whatever I had to do as a 12 year old. My method was very crude, I would basically swish the rice around, then take a handful and grind them together so that a bunch of white stuff would be released. I would also press as I swished the grains around succeeding in probably breaking 50% of the rice in the mixing bowl. My mother was too tired to correct my juvenile method. Not until I worked at a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, did I learn how to properly clean my rice. My job included cleaning rice every morning at 10:30am, so it would be ready for the lunch rush at 12pm. But this time I wasnt dealing with a quantity of rice for two little Japanese kids and a thin single mom I was preparing rice for a restaurant full of about 40 people on lunch break. This meant I was handling about 2 gallons of rice (dry). The first thing that my mentor at the restaurant taught me was that you really want to avoid any kind of rice breakage. You must treat the rice very gently. There is no grinding or pressing motion necessary. Instead, he told me to just rake a bunch toward me and fold it over. Repeat. Because I was literally dealing with a vat of rice at the restaurant, we just kept a steady stream of water running while I did this raking and folding process. It was a waste of water and boy do those Japanese know how to waste water. The idea of overflowing liquid in Japan is a sign of luxury and celebration.

Yoko: I am totally going to m ak e this. Gre at tim ing for this post too! W e are ove rflowing in citrus ove r he re in... Culinary Schools: O ne day I will finally be able to visit Japan and I will pig out lik e ne ve r be fore . The y truly have ... sakura: Moto: Thats insane . But I also he ard that a frie nds frie nd doe s it and he r sk in is tsurutsuru. Moto: I have a frie nd who ge ts place nta shot e ve ry tim e she is ove rwork e d, and ove r fatigue d. Afte r the ... A nders: @Taark : O MG thats horrible ! I be t that happe ns around town m ore ofte n than the m aids in the caf s hope ...

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Japanify: How to Wash Rice Umami Mart

Anyway, my experience at Konohana really changed my rice-washing habits at home. I apply the same methods to my 4 cups of rice I make at home every few days. In a bowl, add your rice and enough water to submerge all the rice. Wash the rice as if you are taking handfuls and piling it onto one side. Repeat. Heres a video to clarify.

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Drain the water the first time into the sink (you dont reuse it because there is a lot of dirt released during this first wash). Add water to the rice again and wash the rice. Eco points: This time drain the water in to a bowl. Save this water to rinse your face with for later. Rinsing your face with rice-washed water is said to make your skin softer. I dont know if its because of the starch, but I will second that rumor. Plus, its a nice way to reuse the water that would otherwise go to waste. You can also water houseplants with this water.

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I usually repeat the add water, wash and drain course about three times. The water is clear enough and I am not so crazy about wasting so much water on washing rice.

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