Kani Salad Recipe (Japanese Crab Salad) (2024)

A quick and easy 10-minute Japanese kani salad recipe made with shredded crab sticks, cucumbers, and a creamy sesame mayonnaise dressing.

What is Kani Salad?

Kani salad is a Japanese crab salad made with a mayonnaise-based dressing. It is also known as kanikama salad or surimi salad.

Although kani salad is a crab salad, it is actually made with imitation crab meat (kanikama) and not real crab meat but you definitely can use real crab meat if that is your preference.

This Japanese crab salad is one of my favorite ways to have an easy snack. It's easy and can be made in less than 10 minutes and is delicious with a side of gyoza or renkon chips as well.

It can easily be made into spicy kani salad by adding Sriracha to the creamy dressing and you're feeling up to it, you can also try making your own homemade furikake to sprinkle on top.

If you're looking for an easy Asian salad recipe to serve as a side, add to your rice bowls, use in sushi or entertain guests with then look no further, this one's for you.

Ingredients for Kani Salad

• Imitation crab sticks - For this Japanese salad recipe, I like to buy frozen imitation crab that comes in sticks. I find them easier to hand shred to long strips and they keep longer since they are already frozen. If you can't find it in stick form, you can buy it in chunks and roughly chop it up with a knife instead of hand shredding it.
• Cucumbers - This crab salad is very versatile, and you can use all sorts of vegetables in it (red peppers, avocado, etc) but I find that cucumber brings out a refreshing flavor to the salad and gives it a nice texture. If you want a bit more color, you can also add thinyly sliced carrots as well.
• Green Onions - Definitely don't skip out on green onions, it gives the salad another layer of flavor.
• Tobiko (Optional) - These are Japanese fish roe\eggs that you typically see on sushi. It gives the salad extra salty crunchy texture. You can omit this if you cannot find it.

Ingredients for Kani Salad Dressing

• Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise - For this kani salad recipe, I use Japanese mayonnaise. It has a more eggy flavor and more umami from the msg. If you cannot find it, you can use regular mayonnaise, the main difference between the two mayonnaise is not that big. Do not use Miracle Whip.
• Soy sauce - Soy sauce gives this salad recipe a bit more umami flavor, and balances out the sweetness from the crab meat and honey from the dressing.
• Honey - I like to use honey or maple syrup to make the kani salad dressing because it's easier to mix into the dressing. You can use sugar as well but make sure to dissolve it in the soy sauce before adding in the mayonnaise.
• Toasted Sesame Seeds - Sesame seeds will add a lot of flavor to this salad, but only if it is toasted. If you have white sesame seeds, toast them in a dry frying pan for 1-2 minutes before using them. Make sure to keep moving the pan so they don't burn.
• Sriracha Hot Sauce - (Optional) I like to add this to the dressing to make it spicy.

How to Make Kani Salad

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan for 1-2 minutes. Make sure you watch it carefully and keep moving the sesame seeds so it doesn't burn. Set it aside and let it cool

2. If your crab sticks come individually wrapped, remove the plastic wrap and hand shred the crab into thin slices. If you are using imitation crab chunks, use a knife and roughly chop them into big chunks. Place it into a large mixing bowl.

3. Finely slice the green onions and place them into the bowl with the crab.
4. (Optional) If you are using Japanese fish roe/eggs, add them to the bowl with the crab meat.
5. Finely slice the cucumber into matchsticks. If you are mixing it with the crab salad, put them in the bowl with the crab. If you are placing the crab salad on top of the cucumber, set aside the cucumber.

6. In a small bowl, mix all the kani salad dressing ingredients together and pour it into the bowl with the crab meat.

7. Mix everything together and serve!

How to Store Leftovers

You can store this crab salad in the fridge for no more than 1-2 days if the cucumber is mixed in. Once the cucumber is mixed in, it will become a little waterlogged and you won't get that same creamy consistency.

How to Prepare Kani Salad Ahead of Time

One of the best parts of this salad is it is great to entertain with because it can be made ahead of time. That being said, there are a few things I do differently if I was to make this ahead of time to ensure that the salad doesn't get soggy.

• Everything can be made ahead of time and mixed together except the kani dressing and the cucumber.
• Pre-mix the sauce in a separate bowl but mix it into the salad right before you serve it.
• Pre-slice the cucumber ahead of time but do not mix it in until you are ready to serve it - this will prevent the kani salad from being waterlogged.

Kani Salad Variations

• Mango - For a bit of sweetness, you can add some thinly sliced shredded mango to it but if you plan to make this ahead, then add this right before you assemble it.
• Red Pepper - For a bit of crunch and lightness, I like to add thinly sliced red peppers in it as well.
• Make it a Spicy Kani Salad - Adding sriracha gives this kani salad some garlic spiciness, I will also add a pinch of cayenne to it as well to give it a bit more heat.
• Add Crispiness to it - Fish roe (tobiko) will definitely give it a bit of saltiness, you can also add in some toasted panko or deep-fried tempura bits (tenkasu) bits to give it a bit more crunchiness. Make sure to add it right before you serve it to retain its crispiness.

How to Serve this Japanese Crab Salad

This crab salad is awesome for its versatility. You can serve it in a lot of different ways and it will be delicious. Here are a few ways I like to have it.

• You can serve this with a side of crackers and serve this to guests. For a lighter alternative, you can serve it with slices of cucumbers (sliced in rounds) with kani salad on top.
• You can have it over plain white rice with avocado slices and cucumber salad like a poke bowl - it tastes just like sushi!
• You can make maki sushi rolls or temaki sushi (hand rolls) with it.
• Have it as a side dish along with other light Japanese dishes like Zaru Soba (Cold Soba Noodles) or Miso Eggplant (Nasu Dengaku) with Black Garlic.

FAQs

Looking for More Japanese Recipes? Try These!

• Sesame Crusted Teriyaki Salmon Recipe
• Chicken Teriyaki Yaki Udon (Stir-Fried Udon Noodles)
• Miso Eggplant (Nasu Dengaku) with Black Garlic
• Homemade Furikake Recipe
• Zaru Soba (Cold Soba Noodles)
• Maple Curry Yaki Udon
• Japanese Curry Udon

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