BCIO Common Activity Omoiyari Bites: BRIDGING Cultures, One Rice Dish at a Time

Bridge Club Oakland thought that Lewanna’s (JA 2019) idea to make the well-known California Roll was perfect for the “Omoiyari Bites: BRIDGING Cultures, One Rice Dish at a Time” activity since it was named after our home state of California. Rice was introduced to California during the California Gold Rush in the 1850-60s by the Chinese immigrants and now California is the second largest rice growing state in the US. The California Roll is a Japanese American fusion dish using Japanese sushi techniques and American ingredients and its origin can be traced to the 1960s in California. The California Roll was invented to use the ingredients familiar to the American palate while still maintaining the essence of traditional sushi. Avocado has a buttery texture and a rich flavor so it is used as a substitute for the fatty toro commonly used in sushi.

[Pictured below from left clockwise: Chiara (JA 2018), Holly (JA 2019), Prathana (JA 2020/2021), Linda (Liaison Officer), Brittany (JA 2019, BC President), Lewanna (JA 2019), Alexa (JA 2014, BC Vice President)]  

Although we had all enjoyed eating the California Roll, none of us had ever made it ourselves. On 24-Mar-2024, we donned our aprons and began with cooked medium grain rice (Kokuho Rose grown in California) that we added in a mixture of rice vinegar, salt and sugar and then cooled with a fan. Then we placed our sushi mats (makisu) into plastic Ziploc bags to prevent the rice from sticking to the mats. We placed the seaweed (nori), that we had cut in half, onto our mats and then evenly covered it with cooled sushi rice and sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds.

Since the California Roll was an inside out sushi (seaweed on the inside of the roll), the seaweed sheet was flipped so that the side with rice was down on the mat. The peeled and sliced lengthwise cucumbers and avocados, along with rice cake were placed atop the seaweed and then everything was rolled. The rolls were cut and plated with wasabi and Japanese pickled sushi ginger (gari).  Voilà oishii California Rolls!