Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

insider.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 162 posts

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#151

Post by daveslash »

Wojtkie wrote: post #149
daveslash wrote: post #148

I realize that food can be a touchy subject, and I hope this doesn't come across as rude, as cultural appropriation (or worse, cultural bastardization), but I've been eating a lot of sushi at home lately in a way that I really love, but don't see anywhere except for one restaurant. I can't roll my own sushi. I don't have tools or the skills. But I've been making sushi at home in a way that I really enjoy and I though…

I love this idea. Got any good tips on making sushi rice?

I hate to say this, but I leave that to my wife. She grew up eating sushi rice, so she's very good at making it. I grew up eating the microwaveable rice. I can make a mean bowl of microwaved rice, but I'm pretty awful at sushi rice... This year I'll get her to teach me. What I will say: the rice she makes is just rice and water in a saucepan. Nothing too complicated. It's about selecting the correct rice, the ratio of rice+water, heat, and timing. My goal this year is to figure that out.

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#152

Post by weaksauce »

mc32 wrote: post #9
weaksauce wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> german chocolate cake it's german's chocolate cake... the guy's last name was literally german

Right, but it's not a cake originating in Germany.

correct but nobody would spell it German's chocolate cake if it was from Germany.

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#153

Post by astrange »

Melting_Harps wrote: post #103
astrange wrote: post #61

Also, modern teriyaki was invented by a Japanese restaurant owner in Seattle, and isn't as popular in Japan.

> Also, modern teriyaki was invented by a Japanese restaurant owner in Seattle, and isn't as popular in Japan. What are you talking about? Kabayaki [0] has been around for centuries in Japan, and the only thing modern about 'teriyaki' made in Seattle was a likely mispronunciation of the phrases tori and yaki as grilled chicken and is the wide use of a cheap imitation of a tare (with a loose watery sauce) to use over…

Being in America, we added the American innovation of putting sugar in everything.

Although I don't think the originator of the trend actually changed the recipe very much. I just mean it's popular because he made it popular.

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#154

Post by mc32 »

weaksauce wrote: post #152
mc32 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but it's not a cake originating in Germany.

correct but nobody would spell it German's chocolate cake if it was from Germany.

I don't recall seeing it in the possessive/genitive case like that. Any bakeries I go to have it as 'German Chocolate Cake' even google will autocorrect "german's choco... to german choco...

Just like hardly anyone says "baked Alaska-Florida cake".

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#155

Post by wheelinsupial »

nickhalfasleep wrote: post #41
mc32 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the Chef who was born in Japan, he says they add "California" to names of things as a stand-in for any place in north America because they recognize California but may not recognize Vancouver or Podunk Washington, etc.

If they called it a Vancouver roll, nobody could afford one.

There is a B.C. roll that is also claimed to be invented by Tojo: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.C._roll

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#156

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

acdha wrote: post #139
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the problem with sushi aficionados, no sense of humour.

Can you explain the alleged humor here? It sounds like it’s just being rude.

It's conversations like these that make me think I probably should get in to stand up ccomedy.

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#157

Post by daveslash »

daveslash wrote: post #148

I realize that food can be a touchy subject, and I hope this doesn't come across as rude, as cultural appropriation (or worse, cultural bastardization), but I've been eating a lot of sushi at home lately in a way that I really love, but don't see anywhere except for one restaurant. I can't roll my own sushi. I don't have tools or the skills. But I've been making sushi at home in a way that I really enjoy and I though…

For what it's worth, the closest thing that I've found to my "sushi pile" is the "Toastoba" appetizer at the Sushi House in Ventura, on Seaward Ave. [0]. The toastoba is "deep fried oba leaf, spicy tuna, scallops, masago eggs, spicy mayo, w/avacado and eel sauce" -- essentially my sushi pile, except on fried oba leaf instead of flat seaweed singles.

[0] http://sushihousevta.com/

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#158

Post by tamade »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #145
Melting_Harps wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They serve Taiwanese beef noodle soup. Obvious reasons why they opted for California branding instead. How depressingly very China of them, what are Hong Kong noodles called: 1 country 1 system illegally annexed under extreme violence and duress noodles?

Keep in mind that this chain is > 20 years old (was there in 2002 when I studied at PKU). There is a lot of Taiwan food in the mainland these days that isn't labelled covertly.

I was at PKU around that time too, ate at the shop in Haidian book city a couple times. Apparently they rebranded https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Lee_(restaurant)

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#159

Post by kyorochan »

Wojtkie wrote: post #149
daveslash wrote: post #148

I realize that food can be a touchy subject, and I hope this doesn't come across as rude, as cultural appropriation (or worse, cultural bastardization), but I've been eating a lot of sushi at home lately in a way that I really love, but don't see anywhere except for one restaurant. I can't roll my own sushi. I don't have tools or the skills. But I've been making sushi at home in a way that I really enjoy and I though…

I love this idea. Got any good tips on making sushi rice?

Buy good rice. At the very least it has to be round grain. Wash the rice thoroughly. Use a little less water than you think you need. Experiment with different recipes for mixing vinegar/mirin/sugar, and save the one you like.

It's not particularly hard, just takes some trial and error. If you already make good rice you are almost done already, then it's just down to flavoring.

Re: The California roll was invented by a Japanese-Canadian chef (2020)

#160

Post by vxNsr »

ghostpepper wrote: post #34
vxNsr wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s so funny because my wife will only eat the California roll but without avocado. She doesn’t like raw fish or avocado. So I will often order “the California roll, hold the avocado (and wasabi and ginger)”

so just rice and seaweed and imitation crab

And cucumbers
Post reply on HN