今注目を集めている Is Sweet Rice Sushi Riceについて、多角的な視点をご紹介しています。

Both sweet rice and sushi rice come from the same family of short-grain rice. They’re both plump, sticky, and have a lovely chewiness that long-grain rice just can’t match. Think of them as cousins who look alike but have very different personalities.

Sushi rice is the reliable, everyday cousin who shows up to the potluck with a solid pasta salad. Sweet rice is the wild, unpredictable cousin who brings a dessert cake made of coconut and mango. You need to know which one you’re inviting to your table.

What Makes Sushi Rice… Sushi Rice?

Sushi rice is actually just plain short-grain rice that gets a very specific treatment. The magic doesn’t happen in the field—it happens in your kitchen. You cook it, then you fold in a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt while it’s still hot.

This vinegary-sweet seasoning is what gives sushi its signature tangy flavor and that perfect sticky-but-not-mushy texture. Without that step, it’s just white rice. You use it for rolls, nigiri, and even poke bowls at home.

And Sweet Rice? The Secret Weapon

Sweet rice, also called glutinous rice or sticky rice, is a completely different beast. Despite the name, it doesn’t have any gluten—the “glutinous” refers to its glue-like stickiness. It has a different starch composition that makes it incredibly sticky when cooked.

Think of that dessert at your favorite Thai restaurant: the mango with sticky rice. That’s sweet rice. It’s also the base for mochi, rice dumplings, and many Asian sweets. It’s basically the rice that wants to be a dessert, not a dinner.

Sweet rice jp thai sushi - varjade