A California roll is type of rolled sushi that contains (imitation) crab and avocado. Los Angeles' restaurant Tokyo Kaikan is credited with making the first California roll in the 1960s, its owners substituting readily-available avocado and (cooked!) king crab for seasonally unavailable (raw!) tuna. Although the origins of placing nori inside the rolls are contested, doing so prevented Americans from peeling off the dried seaweed prior to eating the roll. For more, see Sasha Issenberg’s The Sushi Economy.

Learn more about the politics of Sushi from The Politics of Cuisine on Instagram.

Although sushi is better made by the pros, here is a recipe, found here.

2 cups sushi rice, cooked
¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
4 half sheets sushi grade nori
1 teaspoon sesame seed, optional
8 pieces imitation crab
1 small cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 avocado, thinly sliced

Season the sushi rice with the rice vinegar, fanning and stirring until room temperature.
On a rolling mat, place one sheet of nori with the rough side facing upwards.
Wet your hands and grab a handful of rice and place it on the nori. Spread the rice evenly throughout the nori without mashing the rice down. Season rice with a pinch of sesame seeds, if using, then flip it over so the nori is facing upwards.
Arrange, in a horizontal row 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the bottom, the crab followed by a row of avocado and a row of cucumber.
Grabbing both nori and the mat, roll the mat over the filling so the extra space at the bottom touches the other side, squeezing down to make a nice tight roll. Squeeze down along the way to keep the roll from holding its shape.
Transfer the roll onto a cutting board. Rub a knife on a damp paper towel before slicing the roll into six equal portions.