Previous | Next

A Sushi-oke is a special "tub" used for mixing sushi rice in.

It has straight sides, and a completely flat bottom. It actually looks like the bottom few inches off of a straight-sided barrel.

Home use Sushi-oke range from 1 to 1 1/2 feet (30 to 45 cm) wide, while restaurant ones may be 3 feet (1 metre) wide. Generally, they are about 4 inches (10 cm) deep.

Traditionally, Sushi-oke are made of bare, unfinished cypress wood slats, bound together just as a barrel is, with hoops running around them. The hoops are usually copper.

The purpose of its being wood is to absorbs excess moisture from the rice.

No seasoning or treatment is needed before using it for the first time. However, each time before use, you wipe it first with tezu before putting rice in, to help prevent the rice from sticking.

Use wooden or plastic spoons in it to prevent scratching the wood.

A few Sushi-oke come with a wood lid, to help keep the rice warm. It can also just be covered with a cloth.

Cooking Tips
After using a Sushi-oke, wash with warm, soapy water. Let air dry, then store in plastic bag.

Substitutes
Large platter

Nutrition
Some North American health professionals shudder at the thought of using such a wooden implement in preparing food for the public, saying that it can't easily be sanitized.

Others say that there is no epidemiological evidence or research studies even starting to show that Sushi-oke in restaurants have ever posed a health issue. They say that if anything, the hazard might be the rice (left out too long), or the fish, or in some way the food itself, but not the Sushi-oke bowl.

The environment is also acidified, in wiping the bowl with the tezu to start, and with the vinegar dressing applied to the rice.

Also called:

See Also:

Sushi Meshi, Tezu

Other entries for: Cooking Tools

Alambic Stills, Apple Corer, Avocado Slicers, Baking Mats, Baking Stones, Batterie de Cuisine, Biscuit Brake, Blowtorches, Branding Iron, Bread Bins, Bread Machines, Bulb Baster, Butter Bell, Butter Muslin, Caja China, Can Openers, Canning Funnels, Cans, Chopsticks, Contact Paper, Cookware, Cooling Racks, Corkscrews, CorningWare, Cuppitiello, Dishwashers, Doughnut Cutters, Egg Cups, Esky, Fat Separators, Firkins, Flour Dredgers, Flour Duster, Food Pushers, Funnels, Girdle, Graters, Griddles, Heat Diffuser, Ice Pick, Icing Syringe, Kitchen String, Kitchen Tongs, Kneading Gloves, Knives, Measuring Cups, Melon Baller, Mesquite, Milk Cellar, Non-Electrical Rotisseries, Olive Pitter, Oshibori, Oxo Good Grips, Paraffin, Pastry Brush, Pastry Frame, Pea Sheller, Petites Marmites, Pie Plates, Pie Racks, Pizzelle Iron, Proof Box, Ramekins, Rolling Cookie Cutters, Rolling Pins, Salad Spinner, Salamanders, Scales, Spatulas, Steamers, Sugar Cutters, Sushi-oke, Tassie Cups, Tea Trappings, Thermometers, Tortilla Warmers, Treen, Tupperware, Uchiwa, Waffle Iron, Whisks