Calrose is the name used originally for a medium-grain Japonica cultivar developed in 1948, and now as a generic term for California medium grain Japonicas. Types: Japanese sushi rice, short-grain glutinous rice; Characteristics: sticky, starchy; Popular cooking methods: absorption method, stove-top stir method; Used for: sushi, paella, rice pudding, sticky rice desserts (like mochi), rice balls; 2. Haigamai is rice that has been partially milled to remove most of the bran but leave the germ intact. I never could cook short-grain East Asian-style rice until I learned this method from Japanese cookbooks. Buy our best-selling e-cookbook for 33 more easy and simple recipes! Some high-end rice cookers have a GABA rice setting to automate the process. The Tokyo Grain Exchange was founded in 1952 in the same location as the Kakigaracho Rice Trading Exchange, established in 1874. That would be a better substitute. When the container is empty, I’d refill it from the bag. It is also used to produce sake. Glutinous rice, known in Japan as mochigome (もち米), is used for making mochi (餅) and special dishes such as sekihan. The Dojima Rice Market in Osaka was the first known futures market, with trading in rice contracts established sometime around 1730. However, Japanese rice is most commonly consumed as plain rice (also known as Gohan) as part of Ichiju Sansai, a typical Japanese meal, or as part of bento boxes in Japan. In 2005, the Tokyo Grain Exchange announced that it would create a futures contract on rice with trading starting in the summer of 2006. Buy our best-selling e-cookbook full of 33 easy and simple Japanese recipes! The kernels are plump and short in length. Please read my disclosure policy for details. It is also known as GABA rice, as the germination process greatly increases its gamma-Aminobutyric acid content. I knew what I was after: the rice should stick together enough that mouthfuls can easily be picked up with chopsticks, but not be at all sticky or gummy. Most Japanese use suihanki (rice cookers) to which measured amounts of washed rice and water are added. Soaking times also depend on the quality and freshness of the rice. You can tell they are short grain by what they look like. To preserve the moisture and the freshness of the rice, buy the package size that can be finished by your household within a month or so. Cultivated for thousands of years in Japan, Japanese rice is the quintessential staple of the Japanese diet. "cooked rice" or "meal of any sort") consumed as part of a typical washoku meal accompanied by several okazu dishes (おかず), tsukemono (various pickles), and miso soup. Most rice in Japan is processed and consumed as white rice, the staple food of Japan. This market ceased with economic controls in 1939. Japanese short-grain rice (also known as ordinary rice or Uruchimai 粳米) refers to a short-grain cultivar of Japonica rice that is characterized by its unique stickiness and texture. When buying Japanese rice, there are a few things to consider: freshness, sweetness, texture, stickiness, flavor, and place of production. If the price is your concern, there is another variety of rice known as ‘Calrose’ rice that was developed and cultivated around 1950s in California by Japanese American producers. However, we do not eat vinegared sushi rice for regular meals. In Hokkaidō, Japan's northernmost prefecture, hardier cultivars such as Oborozuki and Yumepirika have been developed to withstand the colder climate. The rice cooker can also keep rice moist and warm, allowing it to remain edible for several hours after cooking. Store rice in a tightly sealed container away from direct sunlight, heat or humidity. The by-product of the polishing process, rice bran (米ぬか komenuka) is used commercially as the source of rice bran oil. For traditional Japanese fried rice, then use short-grain rice. After cooking, rice may also be held in a covered wooden box called an ohitsu. Coin-operated automated rice polishing machines, called seimaijo (精米所), for polishing brown rice, are a common sight in rural Japan. In order to fulfill self-sufficiency goals in Japan and to support domestic rice producers, the Japanese government enforces quotas and high tariffs on foreign rice. They also contain more moisture and are sticker than other types of rice. While not true Japanese rice, Calrose-type rice has been grown by Japanese American producers in California for many years. The Calrose grain is widely available and many people in the US use the rice for sushi. The most widely known medium grain rice is risotto rice. The rice polishing machines typically polish a 10 kg amount for 100 yen. When it's cooked, short grain rice is very starchy, soft, sticky and sweet compared to long grain rice. When comes to taste, Japanese rice is also being categorized by a few varieties which include Koshihikari, Akitakomachi, and Sasanishiki. Brown rice is usually sold in 30 kg bags, which may be generally polished by the consumer in a coin-operated polishing machine, or in smaller bags in supermarkets intended for eating as brown rice. Hatsuga genmai (発芽玄米) is brown rice that has been soaked in heated water until germinated.