Īccounts of these first 'California Rolls' describe a dish very different from the one today. According to this account, Mashita began substituting the toro (fatty tuna) with avocado in the off-season, and after further experimentation, developed the prototype, back in the 1960s (or early 1970s ). Others attribute the dish to Ichiro Mashita, another Los Angeles sushi chef from the former Little Tokyo restaurant 'Tokyo Kaikan'. Smith observes that this claim stood uncontested for more than 20 years. Fuji Wade, manager of the restaurant, as its source for the claim. Less than a month later an Associated Press story credited a Los Angeles chef named Ken Seusa at the Kin Jo sushi restaurant near Hollywood as its inventor.

The earliest mention in print of a 'California roll' was in the Los Angeles Times and an Ocala, Florida newspaper on November 25, 1979. Several chefs from Los Angeles have been cited as the dish's originator, as well as one chef from Vancouver, British Columbia. The identity of the creator of the California roll is disputed. The inside-out roll may be sprinkled on the outside with sesame seeds, although tobiko ( flying fish roe), or masago ( capelin roe) may be used. The cucumber may have been used since the beginning, or added later, depending on the account. The main wrapped ingredients are the avocado and crab meat, or imitation crab ( surimi crab), and the optional mayonnaise these are all typically wrapped with seaweed, although soy paper can be used. Sometimes crab salad is substituted for the crab stick, and often the outer layer of rice is sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds or roe (such as tobiko from flying fish).Īs one of the most popular styles of sushi in Canada and the United States, the California roll has been influential in sushi's global popularity, and in inspiring sushi chefs around the world to create non-traditional fusion cuisine.

California roll ( カリフォルニアロール, kariforunia rōru) or California maki is an uramaki (inside-out makizushi roll) containing crab (or imitation crab), avocado, and cucumber.