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Glite Dictionary
California roll

California roll

2 3.0
A sushi roll that has avocado, crab or imitation crab, and cucumber with rice on the outside
  • noun
  • /ˌkælɪˈfɔːrnjə roʊl/
translation icon : rollo California
  • We order small plates of things we can eat standing up: California rolls and skewered teriyaki.
  • spicy California roll

My shout out goes to the California roll.

Examples

  • I would do maki rolls, dragon rolls, California rolls, main dish entree, lobster, maybe crab and lobster, maybe just no.

  • And we have ESP because I was just talking about making sushi (California rolls and maybe using some cooked fish) when I have a little extra in the budget for the special rice and seaweed.

    Blog text (9)

  • You don't say Plant based tuna, California roll from Whole Foods.

  • Oh, California roll?

    The DUFF (2015)

  • - Two California rolls.

    Runaway (1984)

  • Half price California roll, chicken teriyaki, avocado and salmon, little rolls.

  • "I'm going to have salmon, tuna, and yellowtail, and a California roll wrapped in cucumber rather than seaweed," she said.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • California rolls made with shrimp and cucumbers are one of their best appetizers.

  • Serve these with California rolls for impressive cocktail fare.

Synonyms

sushi
vsCalifornia roll
129 3.2

A Japanese dish of rice mixed with a little vinegar and topped with raw fish or vegetables

is a specific roll version with rice outside and particular fillings
maki
vsCalifornia roll
1 4.4

A sushi roll wrapped in seaweed and filled with rice

has rice on the outside rather than seaweed outside
makimono
vsCalifornia roll
9.1

A sushi roll wrapped in seaweed and rice often filled with fish or vegetables

has rice on the outside rather than wrapped only in seaweed

How Elaborate

kaiseki
3 9.5
sushi
129 3.2
nigiri
1 7.0
maki
1 4.4
California roll
2 3.0

Surface Forms

California roll singular
California rolls plural

Morphology

California + roll

The phrase is a named food item: 'roll' indicates a rolled food item so learners can infer it's some kind of roll, and 'California' signals origin or style, but the constituents do not specify that it is a type of sushi or the typical ingredients (avocado, crab, cucumber). Because the parts give partial clues about form and origin but do not allow a learner to derive the specific culinary meaning, it is only partially predictable.

Etymology

California roll was invented in California when sushi chefs made a new version for people who did not like 'raw fish'. They used avocado instead of raw fish and rolled the rice on the outside to hide the seaweed, so the name now means a sushi roll with avocado, crab, and rice on the outside.