Can the amount of salt in the recipe be right?

I made sushi for the first time at the weekend. the seasoning for the rice had this recipe:

125 ml rice vinegar
30 ml mirin
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt

This was for 460g rice (dry weight).

This seemed like a lot of salt to me. Today I made some more rice, but only single quantity and I realised that last time I forgot to double the quantities of sugar and salt when making double the amount. It was quite salty last time, but I should have put 4 tablespoons of salt in.

That can't be right can it? What was it more likely to be? 2 Teaspoons?

rice salt sushi

Best Answer

It's been a while since I made sushi but 2 tablespoons does sound a little on the ridiculous side.

Various other recipes use similar amounts (to each other):

AllRecipes: 1 tsp salt (for 1/2 cup vinegar and 4 tbsp sugar)
Alton Brown: 1 tbsp kosher salt (for 2 tbsp vinegar and 2 tbsp sugar)
SushiRecipes: 1 tsp salt (for 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup sugar)
Epicurious: 1/2 tsp salt (for 2 tbsp vinegar and 1 tbsp sugar)

In fact, although sushi rice recipes tend to vary significantly with respect to the proportions of rice, vinegar, and sugar, they are all remarkably consistent on the amount of salt. The Alton Brown recipe calls for a tablespoon, but 1 tbsp of kosher salt is in fact equivalent to 1-2 tsp of table or sea salt. Even on the Epicurious recipe, the 1/2 tsp is only for 1 cup of rice - you'd double it to the same 1 tsp for the standard 2 cups.

I assume that the recipe you're looking at must have meant 2 tsp and not tbsp, but I think even that is too much; I would stick to the 1 tsp used in almost every sushi rice recipe I've ever seen.

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What happens if you add too much salt to a recipe?

The addition of more liquid will dilute the liquid in your dish, rendering the overall flavor less saline. If the additional fluid thins the consistency too much, you'll need a thickener.

Does it matter when you add salt to a recipe?

Adding salt at the beginning of cooking gives it time to migrate into the pieces of food, seasoning them throughout. Meanwhile, if you add salt only at the end, it provides a more concentrated, superficial coating that immediately hits your tongue.

How much salt do I add to a recipe?

Proper salting proportions

For soups, stocks, sauces, and gravies: 1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt per quart. ...

For raw meats, poultry, fish, and seafood: 3/4 to 1 teaspoon Kosher salt per pound. ...

For salting pasta water, add 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt (or 3/4 teaspoon table salt) for each quart of water.

What is the correct ratio of salt?

How Much Salt? The traditional brine is made from a ratio of 1 cup of salt to 1 gallon of water. This is based on table salt. One cup of table salt weighs in at 10 ounces.

Science: When to Add Salt During Cooking—and Why (It Makes a Huge Difference)

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Flora Westbrook, Katerina Holmes, Gary Barnes, Flora Westbrook