The California roll is a maki-zushi (roll), a kind of sushi roll, usually made inside-out, containing cucumber, crab meat or imitation crab stick, and avocado. Sometimes crab salad is substituted for the crab stick, and often the outer layer of rice (in an inside-out roll) is sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds or tobiko. The California roll has been influential in sushi's global popularity and in inspiring sushi chefs around the world in creating their non-traditional fusion cuisine.

In the 1960s, Los Angeles became the entry point for sushi chefs from Japan seeking to make their fortune in the United States. The Tokyo Kaikan restaurant then featured one of the first sushi bars in Los Angeles. Ichiro Mashita, a sushi chef at the Kaikan, began substituting avocado for tuna (toro) and after further experimentation, the California roll was born.

(The date is often given as the early 1970s in other sources.)Mashita realized the oily texture of avocado was a perfect substitute for toro. Traditionally sushi rolls are wrapped with nori on the outside. But Mashita also eventually made the roll "inside-out", i.e. uramaki, because Americans did not like seeing and chewing the nori on the outside of the roll.

Similar to 0 things you like: