Sushi Su (すし酢)

A few years ago I set out to learn the general basics of sushi and spent a few weeks training under Chef Chris Ono, a veteran chef who has worked at numerous fine-dining restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Morihiro in Los Angeles. The recipe below is from Morihiro.

Sushi Su (すし酢), or sushi vinegar, is a blend of rice vinegar, salt, and sugar that is used to season rice for sushi. Every sushi chef has their own proprietary sushi su recipe, and veteran sushi chefs will make minuscule changes to their sushi su in order to adjust with the seasons, different rice varietals, or even the weather. Even if I found out the world's best sushi chef's sushi su recipe, I would still have trouble sourcing the specific type of vinegars they use.

So even though I am equipped with Morihiro's sushi su recipe - I would never be able to replicate his sushi. There are numerous variables that affect the sushi rice: the rice washing technique, the rice varietal and harvest date, the humidity in the air, etc.

Sushi Rice Terms

I've learned a lot by asking sushi chefs questions, and it's been helpful learning these terms:

• Shari (しゃり) - rice that has been seasoned for sushi
• Neta (ネタ) - the topping placed on top of the shari, usually raw fish
• Nigiri (にぎり) - shari and neta, the hand-pressed sushi we all know
• Komezu (米酢) - rice vinegar from fermented rice, usually pale/white
• Akazu (赤酢) - red vinegar made from sake kasu, makes a 'red' shari that's more Edomae style
• Hangiri (飯切) - the wooden tub used to mix hot rice with sushi su
• Shimeru (締める) - it means "to tighten/firm", chefs tell me it's when the sushi su soaks into the hot rice
• Edomae (江戸前) - the classic Tokyo‑style nigiri that pairs seasoned sushi rice with seafood carefully cured or marinated in the old Edo tradition

Sourcing for Sushi Su

Sourcing is one of the most important aspects of a chef's shari. This is what I have been using:

• Rice Vinegar / Komezu - Mizkan's Suehiro Grain Distilled Vinegar (but I'm planning to switch this soon)
• Red Vinegar / Akazu - Yokoi's Shugyoku Red Vinegar, bought through LUXE Seafood
• I am exploring different types of sugars and salts still
• Mirin - Isshi Soden Mirin from Ogasawara, bought through a private supplier

Moving Forward

Similar to my Dashi Post, I feel that my Sushi Su recipe will change throughout my career. I'll continue to source different vinegars, practice different mixing techniques, etc. When I have a new breakthrough I find worth sharing, I'll either update this post or make a new post.

As always, thank you for supporting my journey 🖤