Spicy Kani Salad Recipe | Japanese Crab & Cucumber
Ready in just 15 minutes, every bite of this refreshing kani salad is loaded with sweet imitation crab, crispy, garden-fresh vegetables and an addictive spicy mayo dressing.
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 275kcal
Ingredients
Salad Dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise preferably Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce use more or less, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
Salad Base
- 9 ounces imitation crab sticks shredded into strips
- 1 cup julienned cucumber same length as the crab stick strips - about 3 ½ inches
- 1 cup julienned carrot same length as the crab stick strips - about 3 ½ inches
Garnishes (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon black sesame seeds
- ¼ teaspoon white sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon avocado mashed
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, soy sauce, lemon juice and sriracha sauce into a small bowl. Mix until fully combined.
- Add the shredded crab sticks, cucumber and carrots to a medium sized mixing bowl. Toss the crab, cucumber and carrots with the dressing. If desired, garnish with sesame seeds and roe. Serve immediately for best texture.
Video
Notes
Serve it chilled - This salad tastes much better when it is really cold as opposed to room temperature.
Use a julienne peeler to cut the vegetables - A julienne peeler quickly cuts the vegetables into strips which are very similar to the shredded kani.
Rub the kani together to shred them quickly - Imitation crab sticks shred into strips like string cheese. It is very easy to shred the cheese if you just rub each crab stick between your hands. The thin strips of crabwill quickly come apart like threads. Only the orange-red exterior needs to be separated individually.
Defrost kani sticks in room temperature water - Kani sticks defrost very quickly.
Ingredients should not release water into the salad - For maximum flavor, it is important not to dilute the kani salad dressing. If defrosting the kani sticks in water, the kani will absorb water like a sponge. Squeeze out the water before adding the kani to the salad. De-seed the cucumber before slicing as the seeds will release water into the salad. Pat the kani and vegetables with a paper towel if necessary.