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In Japanese cuisine, a hangiri (半切 or 飯切), also known as handai (飯台, a rice table or rice bowl) or sushi oke, is a round, flat-bottomed wooden tub or barrel used in the final steps of preparing rice for sushi.[1] Traditional hangiri are made from cypress wood bound with two copper bands. They range in diameter from about 30 cm (12 in) for use at home, to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) for use in a restaurant.
A shamoji wooden paddle is used with a hangiri to dress and to cool the rice. After cooking, the rice is transferred to the hangiri where it is tossed with a dressing made of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. When the mixing is complete, it is covered with a fukin cloth and allowed to cool.
A typical hangiri may cost two or three times as much as an expensive steel cooking pot.