Actually I was experimenting and didn’t have a specific plan. I usually serve rice with entrees like Orange Chicken, in Spanish rice, or with some stews. I knew Calrose was short grain but didn’t think it was inherently ‘sticky’ without more to it’s prep as I’ve seen done for sushi. I don’t mind the texture, especially if the dish is sauced, but my wife turns out to not be a fan.
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.
Yes, I think that is normal to have short grain rice to be sticky/chewier. Of course, you can make it drier by using less water. If you really want to reduce as much as possible than steam it (not cook it).
Here is a kimbap recipe which does a good job of showing the rice. I’ve tried in vain to tell people here that kimbap isn’t sushi as they’re always clamoring for me to make them some sushi 
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When I am feeling lazier I make folded kimbap:
It’s also known as onigirazu in Japanese cuisine but I like the Korean version of folding and the smaller amount of rice better than the Japanese wrapping method:
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It’s very expensive, though. A couple months ago, just 1kg of Emi No Kizuna cost me $15.69 at TinIchi Mart in Brooklyn. Honestly, it’s difficult to say if it’s worth it. I love the starchy water I get when rinsing it, however, for blanching veggies. It gives the veggies a unique crisp texture. (Could be my imagination.)
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I like it better than medium grain rice for onigiri and kimbap, but yes it’s more expensive. It has a more toothsome texture.
I buy 15-lb bags on Amazon, which are more reasonably priced.
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I like them. $15 for 1 kg is not bad. Many I have seen and bought are in the range of $20-25.
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What do you put in your gimbap?
Calrose is California-grown sushi rice, so yes.
If you want non-sticky rice I’d go with a different variety (jasmine for eg)
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Usually spicy tuna mayo, pickled daikon always (it’s not true danmuji because I pickle in a vinegar solution, but even if I could buy it here I like this better than commercial danmuji because I hate the taste of the aspartame used for it), carrots, Persian cucumber, imitation crab, sometimes lettuce, sometimes egg or avocado, spinach. On occasions I can’t find daikon, I like to make pickled beets instead. I julienne it and pickled raw.
If I do spam, I always have the egg in there. I’ve used Dominican salami in place of spam a couple of times.
Shrimp tempura, spicy pork bulgogi, and karaage have also made it on occasion.
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I’ve only made it a couple of times, I think when Koreatown and Maangchi were COTM over on CH, and I really enjoyed it.
Thanks for the ideas!
A silly question — given the larger diameter of gimbap, is etiquette still to put a whole piece in the mouth at a go?
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It’s kind of hard to eat if you don’t just pop a whole piece in your mouth. But if you make the folded version you can eat it like a sandwich.
The spicy tuna mayo is usually everyone’s favorite, so I make that one most often.
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Haha, I wondered this, too. We have a restaurant minutes from us that specializes in kimbap. (It’s our favorite local restaurant by far.) I’ve only ever seen Korean patrons eat a whole piece in one go. After many visits, I gave up and joined them.
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I could have sworn this was a topic about the stickiness of Calrose rice.
I thought I gave a fairly comprehensive answer on that (along with all the other responses you got addressing your questions) before also linking to a kimbap recipe in case you wanted something to make with it because it’s the type of rice you buy specifically for its creaminess and chew:
If you cook the rice at a 1:1 ratio, it is chewy and sticky in comparison to long grain rice, but it’s not wet by any means. Even Dominicans who like very separate, fluffy rice and abhor what basically translates as “pasty” rice love it when my mom cooks it just as she would regular long grain rice to make coconut rice. If you don’t want to make kimbap, sushi, or eat it steamed with Asian dishes, then risotto, arroz con pollo, paella, rice pudding, rice porridge, and fried rice are all good options.
I did appreciate your input on cooking rice. Thank you sincerely.
I’ve never heard of kimbap. One of the few things I find disconcerting about these forums is how the topics can sometimes make wide detours and go completely off course. In another post I made today, someone expressed the view that boards like HO are losing audience because people seem to prefer direct answers and are turned off by the need to read past info that isn’t relevant to find their answers. They said Reddit and Yelp just let you go directly to what you need. I absolutely prefer real narrative material, like HO …… except when it’s taken off-topic for no reason that seems apparent. But, then, maybe I’m just having a bad day.
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Not an answer to your question, but Uncle Ben’s ( now Ben’s Original ), is also “converted” or parboiled, which I think also adds to its drier texture.
ETA Oops! I should have read the last post! 
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(post deleted by author)
MOD SPEAKING HERE.
Discussions of short-grain rice is reserved for this topic.
Discussions on topics like forums pros or cons etc, please continue on @midlife’s thread here:
Thanks.
naf
I don’t disagree. I’ll try to stay on topic, but changing habits is hard. If you can try to guide me again in the future, it would help. Thanks.
