My son Remy was supposed to bring cheese and crackers for the ski team potluck, so of course he wanted to bring California rolls. It was a lot more work, but a good idea. Everyone loves California rolls. And I am well-trained in making them.
The California roll is actually from Canada. Japanese-born chef Hidekazu Tojo first served it in the 1970s at Jinya, a restaurant in Vancouver. Tojo wanted a sushi roll that would appeal to a North American audience that was often skeptical of eating seaweed and raw fish. He concealed the seaweed by rolling it with the rice on the outside, and he used fake crab and avocado to mimic the experience of eating raw tuna. It was originally called the “Inside Out Roll,” but the staff at Jinya noticed that guests from California were especially enthusiastic about it, so they changed the name.
I was Remy’s age when the California roll was new and still exotic, but today, it’s normal. My local supermarket stocks them pre-made, and it stocks every ingredient, including the imitation crab, aka “krab.” This pink-and-white processed food is made from pollock, a fish that’s abundant in the cold, northern waters. The pollock fishery is so healthy that fake crab is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to eat ocean protein.
Seaweed is light on the earth as well. It’s farmed in the ocean and needs no soil, water, or fertilizer. Both ingredients deliver wild, umami-rich complexities.
I made my first California roll in a sushi class when I was 15. We met one night a week for eight weeks. My teacher was disciplined and precise, like a martial arts master, and drilled us in the techniques, such as fanning the rice while you stir it just so. The California roll was only a few years old at the time, and it was popular and revolutionary enough that we spent a class learning how to make the trendy roll. We used plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking to the bamboo mats as we rolled them inside out.
The rice gets mixed with a surprising amount of sugar, to balance the salt and vinegar that’s also there. Altogether, the sweet, salty, and sour flavors in the rice alone account for three out of the five basic tastes. Bitterness is present in the California roll from the seaweed and wasabi. The fifth and final basic taste, umami, is in the seaweed, avocado, fake crab, and soy sauce.
These universal flavors appeal to everyone, old and new, including those who don’t purport to love sushi. At the potluck at the base of the chairlift, Remy’s rolls were the toast of the party. Kids were running around in their ski boots with their fists full of sushi rolls, and the platter was quickly wiped clean.
Sushi Rice
This is how we made rice in sushi class. You will need a pot with a lid, a large mixing bowl, and a wide, thin wooden or plastic spoon. And you will need a fan, or some type of flat, lightweight object to wave at the rice—a large Tupperware lid works well.- 2 cups sushi rice (short-grain, Japanese)
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons sugar
Put it on the stovetop and turn the heat to high for 5 minutes. Then turn down to medium-low for 10 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, dissolve the salt and sugar in the vinegar in a bowl. It will take some stirring with a whisk or fork.
Transfer the rice to a large bowl, ideally a wooden bowl. Then, with one hand fanning the rice, use the flat spoon with your other hand to slice into the rice and fluff it. Always slide it into the rice edge first, and be careful not to mush the rice. You will see the steam flying from the fan. Keep fanning until there is no more visible steam. Pour the sweet and salty vinegar over the rice, and gently slice it in with the flat spoon until mixed.
Let it cool to room temperature.
California Rolls
To roll, you will need a bamboo sushi mat (available in large supermarkets, Asian supermarkets, and online) and a sharp knife. If you want to roll inside out, you will also need plastic wrap.- 2 cups rice, prepared as above, at room temp
- 1 package of nori seaweed
- 1 12-ounce package fake crab, preferably in stick form
- 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into long, thin pieces
- 2 avocados, cut into long, thin pieces
- Soy sauce and wasabi for serving
- Mayonnaise (optional)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar (optional, for preparing)
Lay a sheet of nori on a rolling mat. Spread 1/3 cup of cooked rice over two-thirds of a sheet, leaving the final 3 inches empty.
If you want to make inside-out California rolls, flip the riced nori onto a piece of plastic wrap atop the sushi mat.
Pull a stick of fake crab in half the long way, along the grain. Lay the two pieces end to end across the middle of the rice, flanked by cucumber, avocado, and mayonnaise. Carefully curl the mat around the sushi so the rice goes all around the contents, squeezing the mat as you roll it a little bit at a time, keeping everything as tight as you can.
Wet the knife with vinegar water and slice each roll into 6 to 8 pieces. (If you rolled it inside out, peel off the plastic before slicing.)
