Calrose is a medium grain rice, so it contains a higher proportion of amylopectin, which makes rice “stickier”. It’s not actually a sticky rice, because glutinous rice is a rice that contains almost no amylase (this starch makes rice fluffy and separate) and can be long grain (Thai sticky rice is long grain for example). Arborio, Carnaroli, and Valencia are medium grain as well, and the amylopectin is what gives your risotto its creaminess. I often use “sushi rice” to make risotto. Spanish bomba rice is short grain. A medium grain rice has an amylase content of 15-19%. A rice like basmati has over 20%. A sticky rice (aka glutinous rice) has 0-2% amylase.
Calrose is used for sushi in a lot of cheaper sushi places. Better places will use true short grain rice. It’s a little hard to find actual short grain rice outside of Japanese markets (I’ve never seen short grain in Chinese supermarkets I’ve been to for example, all the sushi rice sold there has been medium grain), so most of the sushi rice you see in supermarkets is medium grain rice.
How much water are you using to cook it?
You should be using basically a 1:1 ratio after rinsing well. Being Latina this is true for any white rice for us honestly, but it’s also the case that if you are making kimbap or sushi you use right around 1:1.
Just rinse a few times, place in a pot with equal amount of water, bring to a boil, lower heat, and cook 15 minutes. Let it rest another 5 minutes or so after shutting off. You will often see recommendations to let it soak first, but truthfully I never find it necessary to do so.
It’s actually fantastic to make coconut rice with. The texture is just awesome. It’s beautifully chewy and so flavorful.
