Also known as sticky rice, this rice is a preparation used in making sushi rolls, hand-formed sushi, and scattered sushi.

• Rinse the rice in cold water several times until the water runs clear, then drain it.

• Put it in a saucepan with 1¼ cups cold water over high heat. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low, and set the timer for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the lid on 10 more minutes.

• Turn the rice out into a large wooden or glass bowl. Sprinkle the rice vinegar over it and stir it in with a wooden spoon, making slashing motions through the rice. Fan the rice from time to time as it gets turned over. Do not refrigerate, let cool naturally. It will keep at cool room temperature for 4 to 6 hours for making sushi.

Different Kinds of Sushi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Among the different kinds of sushi, a very popular one is the roll, known as maki in Japanese. There are inside-out rolls with rice on the outside and nori (seaweed) on the inside around the filling. Nigiri sushi is hand-formed “fingers” of rice with fish or Japanese omelet on top, and “battleship” sushi is an oval of rice surrounded by nori and topped with salmon roe, flying fish roe, or oysters. Other types are hand rolls, scattered sushi (in a bowl), and pressed sushi. Sashimi is just the sliced raw fish with no rice.