I love the enthusiasm. It’s rare to see someone dive in this quickly, and that's the first step to becoming a real student. Mastering sushi rice is very difficult and very time consuming. In my experience, I grew up as the son of a rice farming family, eating rice three times a day my whole life. Even now, I cook rice multiple times every day — but every single batch is slightly different if you look closely. There are many varieties of rice depending on the region, climate, and environment they were developed in. To truly understand rice, I suggest first spending time with the raw grain itself: • Touch the grain • Taste the raw rice • Feel how hard it is when you chew it • Notice how it breaks down in your mouth • Pay attention to the flavour changes after mixing with saliva Once you understand the character of the grain itself, it becomes much easier to imagine how the rice will behave after contacting water — before washing, during rinsing, and while soaking. About soaking time, I would suggest experimenting yourself first. Then tell me your result… or show me photos. Welcome to the hard work."

Hi Irem, Yes, Japanese knives are not cheap, but they are well worth the investment. Using a proper Japanese knife for slicing fish gives a level of satisfaction and precision that money alone cannot buy. There are two very famous knife brands in Japan: Sakai Takayuki from the Kansai region and Masamoto from Tokyo. Many of my knives are Sakai brand, but I also own several very reliable knives from smaller knife shops, and they are extremely sharp as well. As I mentioned, maintaining your knives properly is far more important than simply buying expensive ones. I would recommend looking into Ginsan steel, as it is not overly expensive, very durable, holds an excellent cutting edge, and is also more resistant to rust. A price range of around £200–250 should be more than enough for home use and will already get you a very good quality Japanese knife. You can also consider a 270mm size Yanagiba as it is still manageable and quite easy to use for beginners while giving you a longer, cleaner slicing motion. Welcome to the world of blades!