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I have an advanced built-in food memory system. I easily recall the smells, textures, colors and tastes of food...especially the food I am trying for the first time. But I don’t remember my first sushi experience. I don’t know where I was or how it went. I can only speculate that it happened somewhere in California, and it must have been a positive experience.

I spent most of my time living in California during my post-university carefree life, which involved a lot of travel and eating out in restaurants. My travels were mostly work-related, and Hawaii was often a location in my itinerary. This was the early-1990s when the Japanese enjoyed a strong Yen and invested heavily in California and Hawaii. They also brought a healthy appetite for sushi, which influenced creative California restauranteurs looking for new ideas. Sushi quickly became a thing, and I was all in.

Fresh fish was abundant. California short-grain rice was inexpensive, plentiful and worked well in sushi preparations. And there were no set rules for making sushi; it was completely open to creative spirits or those preferring a more traditional approach. Anything and everything was acceptable.

Well, no rules except for the rice preparation.

I’ve learned over the years that nothing is more important to the sushi experience than the taste and texture of sushi rice. All of those unusual ingredients and creative presentations don’t matter if the rice is not right... and the rice must be slightly sweet with a hint of acidity. It must have enough surface starch to hold together when formed into a shape. It must have a slight bite that instantly dissolves and blends with whatever tops it. And sushi rice must never be served chilled.

Of course, getting sushi rice to this ‘perfect’ condition requires knowledge, patience, and a lot of practice...and that’s costly to any establishment looking to churn out sushi rolls like fast food burgers.

When I arrived in Switzerland in the late 1990s, I quickly noticed that sushi was no longer a thing in the dining scene – it was enjoyed while on holiday or in a few local Japanese restaurants. And it was expensive...not just normal expensive, but the outrageous expensive that separates the mega-rich from the merely rich. I wasn’t part of that class. If I wanted to eat sushi, I would need to learn how to make it for myself...and that was a scary thought because I knew sushi chefs invested years in learning their chosen craft.

Eventually, my appetite for sushi was too much. I bought a book and began my journey. I figured out what rice to buy and how to cook it to (dare I say) perfection. It turned out it wasn’t as difficult as I expected. The process is exacting but simple to master. And I was soon preparing sushi rice that I used in various ways to satisfy my taste for sushi.

As stated earlier, sushi begins with good-quality rice. I recommend choosing Japanese-style short-grain rice from Japan or California, available from any shop specializing in authentic Japanese ingredients. The packaging should specify ‘sushi rice.’

The next step is to rinse and soak the rice to soften the outer bran, then allow time to let the rice dry a bit. This entire process is critical to the success of the rice. Be sure to use a timer...and be patient because you will need about 45 minutes. Once dried, the rice is cooked – either on the stovetop or in a rice cooker (cooking steps are explained below), then allowed to sit for 10-15 minutes to gently steam. The warm rice is transferred to a non-reactive bowl (traditionally, a bamboo bowl) and flavored with sushi vinegar (rice vinegar, sugar and salt) while gently fanned to encourage cooling. Once prepared, the rice is covered with a damp towel until needed, always on the same day and never refrigerated.

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