California roll
Dish
The California roll suits sushi newcomers and anyone curious about Vancouver's claim on a dish served around the world, and Tojo's on West Broadway credits its chef Hidekazu Tojo with creating it. The catch is that the claim is disputed, because many food historians trace an evolving roll to Los Angeles in the 1960s.
Photo Tim Reckmann from Hamm, Deutschland · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 and others, credited in the gallery
The name
California roll
The roll carries the name of the US state of California.
English
Wikipedia records two reasons in Tojo's telling: his fans from Los Angeles, and the crab and avocado that spell CA like the state's abbreviation.
SourceWhere to eat California roll · 1 place
A California roll holds imitation crab or cooked crab with avocado and cucumber. In North America it comes inside out. The rice goes on the outside and the nori seaweed sits within, and many kitchens coat the rice in sesame seeds or flying fish roe. Wikipedia says the roll eased American diners into sushi and on toward more unusual fish.
Hidekazu Tojo moved from Osaka to Vancouver in August 1971, when the city had four Japanese restaurants. He says local diners of the time shied away from raw fish and seaweed. So he rolled the sushi inside out and filled it with cooked crab and avocado. Tojo opened his own restaurant in October 1988 and moved it a few blocks east in 2007. Its site calls him internationally celebrated as the creator of the California roll.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries named Tojo a goodwill ambassador for Japanese cuisine in 2016, and Wikipedia counts 13 chefs outside Japan with the title. He gets credit for the BC roll of barbecued salmon skin too. At Tojo's the omakase menus follow the season, and the seasonal one comes in a vegetarian version.
Worth knowing
- Ask for the sushi counter when you book Tojo's, since a review on its site says the chef still works behind it nightly.
- Order a BC roll alongside, because Wikipedia credits Tojo with that roll as well.
Quick answers about California roll
Was the California roll invented in Vancouver?
The claim is disputed. Vancouver chef Hidekazu Tojo says he created the California roll in the late 1970s, and many food historians credit chef Ichiro Mashita at Tokyo Kaikan in Los Angeles in the 1960s.
What is in a California roll?
A California roll holds imitation crab or cooked crab with avocado and cucumber. North American versions roll inside out and put the rice on the outside.
Where is Tojo's in Vancouver?
Tojo's is at 1133 West Broadway in Vancouver, and its own site credits Chef Hidekazu Tojo with creating the California roll.
How do you order California roll?
Order it by name. Expect rice on the outside with sesame or roe, and the seaweed rolled inside.
When is California roll in season?
California roll: Sushi bars serve it all year.
Where can you eat California roll in North Vancouver?
Places we list for California roll include Tojo's.