Koshihikari Rice substitute

Best substitute

Calrose Rice

Use the same amount by dry volume as the koshihikari rice you are replacing

Best for plain steamed rice

Different taste

Calrose rice is the practical substitute for koshihikari and swaps 1:1, and it is what a great many Japanese-American households actually cook with. Any bag labelled Japanese short-grain rice or sushi rice works just as well. Both are japonica rices, so they do the job koshihikari is doing, which is providing grains sticky enough to lift with chopsticks and to hold a shape for onigiri or nigiri. Be honest about the difference though: Calrose is slightly softer, a little less springy and much less aromatic, so plain rice eaten on its own tastes noticeably plainer. Under curry, in a donburi or seasoned for sushi, almost nobody could tell.

Other koshihikari rice substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Any Japanese Short-Grain Rice or Sushi Rice
Close match
Use the same amount by dry volume
Bags labelled sushi rice, Japanese-style rice, or named varieties like Akitakomachi, Hitomebore or Tamanishiki.
What changes
Best for
sushi, plain rice, onigiri, rice bowls, Japanese home cooking
Functionally the closest thing to koshihikari, and several of these varieties are koshihikari descendants. Tamanishiki is a koshihikari and yumegokochi cross and is about as close as a substitute gets. Expect small differences in sweetness and how firmly the grains hold, and nothing more. Rinse until the water runs nearly clear and rest for 30 minutes before cooking, exactly as you would for koshihikari.
3Korean Short-Grain Rice
Close match
Use the same amount by dry volume
Also a japonica, sold in Korean supermarkets as ssalt or short-grain white rice.
What changes
Best for
plain steamed rice, bibimbap, rice bowls, kimbap
Practically interchangeable, since it is the same species grown to similar standards. Korean short-grain rice is often cooked slightly firmer and drier at home, which suits bibimbap where you want the rice to crisp against the bowl. For a Japanese dish just add a touch more water. Aroma is mild, again without koshihikari's sweet perfume.
4Arborio or Other Italian Short-Grain Rice
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by dry volume, with slightly less water
A fallback that works better than you would expect for plain rice.
What changes
Best for
improvised plain rice, rice bowls, rice pudding
Arborio is short-grained and starchy, so it clumps and eats softly. The real differences are that the grains are much larger and rounder, the centre stays firmer while the outside goes creamy, and it will not hold together neatly enough for good nigiri. Rinse it, which you would never do for risotto, to knock off surface starch and stop it going gluey.
5Japanese Short-Grain Brown Rice (Genmai)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by dry volume, with 1.5 times the water and 45 minutes cooking
The same rice with the bran left on.
What changes
Best for
everyday rice, macrobiotic cooking, rice bowls, health-focused meals
Same variety, different processing, so the flavour lineage is there but the eating experience changes a lot. The bran makes it chewy and nutty and stops the grains clinging properly, so onigiri fall apart and sushi will not hold. Soak it for several hours or overnight and give it 40 to 50 minutes. Good in a bowl, wrong for anything you need to shape.
6Long-Grain Rice Such as Jasmine or Basmati
Taste and texture differ
not recommended for Japanese dishes
The swap to avoid, and worth knowing why.
What changes
Best for
pilaf, curries, stir-fries, not sushi or onigiri
Long-grain rice is high in amylose and is bred to cook into dry separate grains. That is the exact opposite of what Japanese cooking wants, so nigiri will not hold, onigiri crumbles, and chopsticks slide off the grains. Jasmine also brings a floral aroma that fights soy, dashi and mirin. If long-grain rice is all you have, cook a curry or a fried rice rather than a Japanese rice dish.

What is Koshihikari Rice?

Koshihikari Rice is Koshihikari is the most widely grown premium Japanese short-grain rice variety, a japonica rice known for cooking into plump, glossy, faintly sweet grains that cling together without turning mushy.

Cooking tips

The job koshihikari is doing is stickiness with structure. Japonica short-grain rice is high in the branched starch amylopectin, which is what makes the cooked grains cling to one another and to chopsticks while each grain still stays whole and glossy. That property is what lets you shape onigiri and press nigiri, and it is why the substitute has to be another japonica. Aroma and sweetness are the luxury part, and the part you genuinely lose with cheaper rice.
Rinse whatever you use, and rinse it properly. Swirl the rice in cold water with your fingers, tip off the cloudy water and repeat three or four times until it runs almost clear. Skipping this is the main reason home-cooked Japanese rice comes out gummy, and it matters more with substitute rices that may be more heavily milled.
Let rinsed rice soak in its measured cooking water for 30 minutes before you turn on the heat, then let it steam undisturbed for 10 minutes after cooking before you fluff it. Those two rests are what separate good rice from acceptable rice, and they matter far more than which premium variety you bought.
Use less water than a Western recipe suggests. For Japanese short-grain rice, roughly 1.1 to 1.2 parts water to 1 part rice by volume, after rinsing and draining. Most substitute japonica rices sit in the same range; the fluffy-rice ratio of 1.5 to 1 makes soft, waterlogged rice.
If you are making sushi, the substitute matters less than the seasoning. Fold the hot rice with a vinegar, sugar and salt mixture using a cutting motion rather than stirring, and cool it while fanning. Well-seasoned Calrose makes better sushi than badly handled koshihikari.
Do not buy koshihikari and then cook it in a pan of boiling water and drain it like pasta. Everything you paid for, the aroma and the intact glossy grain, ends up down the sink. Absorption cooking in a covered pan or a rice cooker is the point.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just use regular rice instead of koshihikari?

It depends what you mean by regular. Any short or medium-grain japonica, which includes Calrose, sushi rice and Korean short-grain rice, is a straightforward 1:1 swap and will work in every Japanese dish. Regular long-grain rice such as basmati or jasmine will not, because it cooks dry and separate, so onigiri crumble and sushi refuses to hold together. The grain shape is the thing that matters, not the brand.

Is koshihikari actually worth the extra money?

For rice you eat plain, alongside grilled fish and pickles, yes, because the aroma, the faint sweetness and the springy intact grain are the whole experience and you can taste the difference. For rice that sits under curry sauce, gets fried, or is seasoned with sushi vinegar, the difference is largely lost, and Calrose is the sensible choice. Plenty of experienced cooks keep a bag of each for exactly this reason.

Is koshihikari the same as sushi rice or glutinous rice?

Koshihikari is a variety, and sushi rice is a category, so most sushi rice sold in shops is a japonica short-grain much like koshihikari and they are interchangeable. Glutinous rice, also called sweet rice or mochigome, is something else entirely: it is almost pure amylopectin, cooks to an opaque chewy paste and is used for mochi and sticky rice. Never substitute glutinous rice for koshihikari, or your plain rice will be a sticky mass.

Can I make sushi with Calrose or other substitutes?

Yes. Calrose and any bag labelled sushi rice both hold together well enough for nigiri, maki and onigiri. Arborio is borderline and tends to fall apart when shaped. Brown short-grain rice and long-grain rice do not work for anything that has to keep its shape. If your rice is not holding, the culprit is usually too much water or not enough resting rather than the variety.

Do the substitutes need different amounts of water?

Slightly. Koshihikari usually wants around 1.1 to 1.2 parts water to 1 part rice after rinsing. Calrose and other medium-grain japonicas absorb a little more readily, so start at 1.1 and adjust down if the result is soft. Short-grain brown rice needs about 1.5 parts water and three times the cooking time. Note the level that works in your pan or rice cooker the first time, because it is repeatable after that.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Koshihikari Rice substitute

Other koshihikari rice substitutes

2Any Japanese Short-Grain Rice or Sushi Rice

3Korean Short-Grain Rice

4Arborio or Other Italian Short-Grain Rice

5Japanese Short-Grain Brown Rice (Genmai)

6Long-Grain Rice Such as Jasmine or Basmati