This Kani Salad or Japanese Crab Stick Salad recipe is absolutely delicious. It's made with shredded imitation crab meat, julienned carrots and cucumbers, all tossed together in a seasoned mayo dressing. It's light and satisfying and has a great texture with the tender crab meat and crunchy vegetables.
This is a popular Japanese salad and has gained popularity throughout the rest of the world as it has been served in Japanese restaurants. While most have enjoyed this at a restaurant, it's actually easy and simple to make at home!
This dish is fresh and light and so yummy. You can serve it up with Asian Chopped Salad Wraps, sushi, sashimi, Ramen and more. For other crab recipes check out our Crab Melt.
Jump to:
What I Love About This Recipe
First of all, I love anything that tastes good and can be made in minutes, and the Kani Salad does exactly that. I love that it feels fancy and that you can make it spicy. It's perfect to take on picnics or barbecues and is so fresh tasting. I love that it's delicious and just full of fresh veggies and crab meat and feels good to eat.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy - this recipe is super quick and easy to make. It can be made in less than 10 minutes and comes together easily.
- Great for a crowd - Kani Salad is great for a crowd and/ or entertaining. If I need to take a side dish to a get together or pot luck, this one is easy and delicious. It's perfect for a picnic or just a regular dinner.
- Simple and Delicious - there isn't anything too crazy in the ingredients that is a deterrent for people enjoying it. It has simple ingredients and seems to be universally enjoyed.
- Gluten Free - while I'm not gluten free, I have friends who are and it's nice to have those yummy recipes that are naturally gluten free to share with them.
Ingredients
- crab sticks - imitation crab sticks, usually made from Alaskan pollock. You can use real crab if desired, to really elevate this dish.
- English cucumber - you can use any type of cucumber (the less seeds the better though), if using a cucumber with large seeds, spoon out the seeds so it doesn't water down the salad
- large carrots- the carrots give it the best crunch and texture and great subtle flavor
- Kewpie - you can use any Japanese mayo, but Kewpie is the easiest one for me to find. If you don't have Japanese mayo, you can use regular mayo and it will be very similar.
- lemon juice - fresh squeezed is always the best, but this recipe will work fine with lemon juice concentrate
- Sriracha - only a little is used in this recipe so it isn't very spicy, or you can add more and make it extra spicy (that's our preference)
- soy sauce - the soy sauce just adds a little flavor and saltiness
- green onions - mostly for garnish, but they also add some good flavor. Scallions may also be used
- sesame seeds - the final garnish that ties it all together
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
1. Cut or tear the crab sticks into smaller strips. Julienne the carrots, then the cucumber and remove seeds if the seeds are large, as this will water down the salad.
2. Combine kewpie mayonnaise, lemon juice, soy sauce and sriracha together in a bowl.
3. Whisk together until smooth. Pour on top of the bowl of carrots, cucumber and crab.
4. Stir gently until well combined. Top with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy!
Hint: For uniform sized pieces of crab, use a knife to cut them. Otherwise, it is much easier to just tear the crab apart with your fingers.
Substitutions
- Mayo -use regular mayo instead of Japanese mayo at a 1:1 ratio. It will be similar in flavor.
- No Mayo - make this without any mayo at by substituting the mayo for half plain Greek yogurt and half sour cream.
- Real Crab - feel free to use real crab meat instead of imitation in this recipe. It's even better and so delicious!
- Lemon juice - substitute the lemon juice for rice vinegar at a 1:1 ratio, if desired
- Soy Sauce - the soy sauce can be substituted for coconut aminos, if desired
- Sesame Seeds - substitute regular sesame seeds with black sesame seeds for a more intense sesame flavor and more antioxidants.
- Green onions - the green onions may substituted with scallions, if desired
Variations
- Spicy - use extra sriracha and/ or red pepper flakes on top. We like to drizzle a little extra sriracha over it after serving.
- With Mango - julienne a large mango and add it in! It adds a delicious sweet tang and we highly recommend making it this way!
- Avocado - add cubed or julienned avocado on top of the salad as a garnish. It adds a creaminess that is so yummy.
- Tobiko - top with tobiko (flying fish eggs) as a garnish when serving. The tobiko adds a nice texture and flavor to the salad.
- Kid Friendly - if you have a kid who is sensitive to spice, use a little less (it isn't very spicy to begin with). Due to the sweetness of the imitation crab meat, this salad is already pretty kid friendly.
Equipment
This dish is so simple and takes very little equipment to make, all of them normal household items! All you need is a sharp knife, cutting board, serving bowl, measuring spoons, and something to mix and eat it with.
Storage
This salad stores great! Try to store dressing and veggies separately, if possible. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The ingredients may separate slightly, just stir them until well combined before serving.
We do not recommend freezing this salad.
Top tip
If waiting to serve, store the dressing and vegetables in the refrigerator separately and combine right before serving. This will keep the salad from getting soggy.
FAQ
Kani Salad is a Japanese Crab Stick Salad. Imitation crab sticks, carrots and cucumbers are tossed in a mayo based dressing and served cold. It's creamy, a little tangy and has the perfect texture with the tender crab and crunchy vegetables.
This salad can easily be made at home with simple ingredients. Shred the crab sticks and julienne carrots and cucumber. Toss in a dressing made with mayo, lemon juice, sriracha and soy sauce. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds and serve cold.
It is decently healthy. It's made with imitation crab meat (usually made from Alaskan pollock) cucumber and carrots, then tossed in a mayo based dressing. It has vitamins and protein in it.
Imitation crab meat, cucumbers and carrots. All tossed in a mayo based dressing. Avocado, mango and tobiko are more common ingredients found in it.
You can likely get a kani salad at your local Japanese restaurant. Or, you can make it at home! It's easy to make and only requires a few ingredients.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with this:
Recipe
Kani Salad (Japanese Crab Stick Salad)
Ingredients
- 12 oz imitation crab sticks
- 1 English cucumber or 2-3 regular, julienned
- 2 carrots large, julienned
- ⅓ cup Kewpie mayonnaise regular works in a pinch
- 1 ½ Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1-2 teaspoons sriracha or more to taste!
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
To garnish:
- 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2 green onions
Instructions
- Julienne the carrots and cucumber. If your cucumber has large seeds, remove them to prevent a watery salad. Cut or tear the crab sticks into smaller pieces, lengthwise. Place in a bowl. Slice green onions thinly and set to the side.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the kewpie, lemon juice, sriracha and soy sauce. Pour over the carrots, cucumber and imitation crab and mix until well combined. Top with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve cold.
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Remix before serving. It is not recommended to freeze this dish.
- Use any kind of cucumber desired- roughly 300g is the desired amount.
- Add more or less sriracha. We used only 1 teaspoon, then some of us who wanted more drizzled more on top.
Nicole
This Kani Salad was super fun to make and eat. It tastes like the crab stick salads I've had at Japanese restaurants, and was yummy with the kewpie mayo.