Making homemade sushi can be tricky if you don’t have the right ingredients. However, you can buy Costco sushi rice which is Homai Calrose medium grain grown in the USA.
Costco sushi rice is a medium-grain white rice brand grown in California – Homai Calrose. It’s a new crop and a perfect pick if you want to buy grain to make all kinds of Asian dishes. Although it’s not the same as Japanese short-grain rice, it’s a convenient Western alternative with a similar texture and taste.
What else is there to know about this product? For starters, you can find different-sized packages, and it stores very well. But even if you don’t have enough room for storing, Costco restocks its rice offer regularly.
Costco Sushi Rice Is Perfect for Making All Kinds of Sushi
Sushi is a delicious Japanese delicacy, which you can make at home if you purchase the right ingredients. It’s traditionally made with short-grain rice coming from Japan, but this ingredient isn’t always available.
However, Costco now offers a Western alternative – Homai Calrose, the medium-grain crop grown in California.
Many chefs use this rice when making Japanese and Korean dishes, as it’s pretty similar in taste and texture to the short grain used in these cuisines. It has a slightly stickier and soft quality to it once cooked, which makes it the right choice for sushis, soups, and salads.
Its mild flavor blends exquisitely with ingredients that have bold and strong flavors, such as different spices and herbs.
The Origin of the Calrose Brand
As the name suggests, Calrose originated in California. Its name is derived from “Cal” as the state it’s grown in and “rose” – a nod to “Blue Rose,” the Louisianian medium grain. Seen as the founding grain, it was developed at the Rice Experiment Station and released to the growers in this state back in 1948.
A great portion of Californian rice, up to 85% of the state’s production is made up of this type of rice.
The Packaging Sizes Found in Costco
Being one of the most important foods for thousands of years, this nutritious and versatile crop has found its way into many kitchens all over the world. Rice is also the essential ingredient of sushi, a highly popular Japanese dish enjoyed by 62% of Americans.
And if you love sushi as much as I do, you’ll probably want to stock up on rice that’s perfect for making it.
Costco sells Homai Calrose in three different packaging sizes. Based on your needs, the size of your household, and the frequency of sushi making, you can grab a small, medium, large, or an extra-large bag of Calrose. The small bag weighs 5 lbs, the medium 10 lbs, the large 25 lbs, and the extra-large is 50 lbs.
The following table contains the nutrition facts of one serving of Calrose.
| Nutrition facts | One serving (¼ cup, 45 g) |
| Calories | 155 |
| Fat | 0 g |
| Fiber | 0 g |
| Total carbohydrate | 35 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
Cook It the Right Way for the Best Results
If you haven’t cooked Calrose before, you should try the best possible method to get the results you want. Follow these easy steps:
- Prepare a cup and measure 1/2 of dry rice out of the packaging you’ve bought in Costco.
- Ensure you rinse it with cool water thoroughly while it’s in a super fine mesh strainer. It’s washed once the water starts running clear. This process will get rid of the excess starch, so you will avoid getting an overly sticky mass when cooked.
- Grab a medium pot, and put the rice in. Add 3/4 cup of water (or perhaps broth) and place it on the stove until it starts to boil. Place the lid over the pot and make sure you lower the heat so the rice may simmer.
- Leave it on the stove to cook for 20 minutes, then remove it from the stove while leaving the lid on. Place it on the side, keeping the lid on, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Once you remove the lid, start fluffing the rice with a fork, and it’s ready.
How to Make Sushi Rice at Home
First off, to make the perfect base for your sushi, you will need to find the right ingredients. Besides rice, you will need rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and optionally – kombu (kelp). While kombu is not mandatory for making sushi rice, it will give it the best possible aromatic taste and is practically considered the secret ingredient.
Rice should be cooked with kombu while you mix the vinegar with sugar and salt over the stove. Once cooked, transfer the rice to a baking sheet and season it with vinegar. Take a damp towel and cover it. If you’re not sure about the method, watch the following video.
Costco’s Homai Calrose Is a Great Option for Your Sushi and Other Dishes
While the Japanese short-grain is traditionally used for making all kinds of sushis, Calrose is a versatile crop. You can use the cooking method above and prepare it as a side dish, while it also sits perfectly in a soup or a salad.
However, its best trait is that its texture and mild flavor are so similar to the short-grain Japanese rice that it can be used as the best alternative when it comes to sushi making.