California Roll (1981)

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News for you; War between the states
Christine Winter. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file). Chicago, Ill.: Nov 23, 1981. p. F2 (1 page) :
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_A real international exchange_
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The Japanese have given us sushi, and we're bringing them the California avocado. That seems like a fair enough exchange, but one international restaurateur is going a step further and combining both into one unusual dish. According to Produce News, sushi bars [the traditional sushi is a seasoned rice, fish, and vegetable combination] are really catching on in West Coast restaurants. New Japanese restaurant owner Mike Horikawa, who has several locations in Southern California and quite a few more in Japan, has given sushi a new twist by inventing the California Roll to add to his array of popular dishes. It's a sheet of dried seaweed covered with cooked, cooled, Japanese-style rice, which has been seasoned with rice-wine vinegar, salt, and sugar. The whole thing is turned upside-down so the rice is on the bottom, and a slice of California avocado, bits of cooked, chilled crabmeat, and two slices of cucumber are placed in the center of the seaweed. Then the whole concoction is rolled up, sprinkled iwth sesame seeds, and cut into rounds. This new addition to the age-old sushi recipe is so popular in Southern California that this Americanized version is being introduced in Japanese restaurants, although the avocado still is considered pretty exotic in the Orient.