I Wish They All Could Be California Rolls
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. Originally called the “Inside Out Roll,” 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, as well as every ingredient, including the imitation crab, a.k.a “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 neither soil, water nor 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. The California Roll was only a few years old at the time and was popular and revolutionary enough that we spent a class learning how to make this 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.