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Home » Recipes » Asian Fusion Recipes

Spicy Crab Salad Poke

Published: Jun 11, 2018 Last Updated: Dec 2024 by Lindsay This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and enjoy. 32 Comments

Jump to Recipe
4.98 from 36 ratings

Imitation crab poke bowl with our own spicy crab salad sushi and homemade poke bowl sauce! This dish has mostly storebought ingredients with a few quick things to prepare for extra fun and special weeknight sushi bowls at home. If you have leftover crab, keep it in the freezer and make it into crab rangoon dip for your next party!

spicy crab salad poke bowl with carrots and spinach leaves on top.

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...what can I say except, you're welcome? 

We've been watching a lot of Moana around here lately. Which is PERFECT for this island fusion bowl to start your week, theme movie + dinner totally unplanned.

Obviously it goes without saying that the Moana-obsessed toddler in this house would turn her nose up in disgust at the lack of only crackers in this bowl, but it's developmentally appropriate to be a total ass about diverse foods at this age, so I forgive her. 

People over 2, however, you will adore this. It starts with THE most popular recipe on the site, this spicy crab salad. I know there are many that turn their nose up at anything with fake crab and mayo calling itself sushi, and that's fine. But-however-also, this stuff is popular for good reason: it's delicious, and so simple to make on your own.

I love spicy crab ANYTHING when we order sushi, right next to my all-raw authentic fare, but the ingredients are so simple and cheap that it seems silly to save spicy crab for special sushi nights. 

Jump to:
  • How To Make Crab Salad Poke: Recipe Notes
  • Poke Bowl Sauce Ingredients
  • How To Make Spicy Crab Salad
  • Helpful Ingredients
  • Build Your Poke Bowl
  • Poke Bowl Ingredients:
  • Variation: Add Raw Fish
  • Recipe

Enter, poke bowls! All the rage, tons of ways to make them, add as many toppings as your heart desires.

Spicy Crab Poke Bowl over blue napkin in large white bowl.
What Is A Poke Bowl?

Poke is a style of food found often in Hawaii that includes sushi rice, some raw veggies, and fish marinated in a thickened soy-based poke bowl sauce.

In restaurants with less-traditional options, protein options can vary from chicken to shrimp to raw salmon or tuna.

Toppings can include fish roe, avocado, sesame seeds, edamame, and about any other fresh sushi fillings you can think of.

How To Make Crab Salad Poke: Recipe Notes

  • I went with no raw fish here because I know it can be tough to find and intimidating to mess with at home. 
  • All you have to "make" here is the sushi rice, spicy crab, and sweet soy drizzle. Everything else is chopping and opening containers; pickles, seaweed salad, and any fresh items you love in sushi or on poke bowls.
  • The rice is short Japanese rice cooked and then mixed with a tiny bit of sugar and rice vinegar - I work on this first so the rice is warm but not hot when the rest of the components are ready.

Poke Bowl Sauce Ingredients

Bottles of ingredients for homemade poke sauce.

For the sauce! Rice vinegar, soy sauce, corn starch, mirin, brown sugar. Mirin is sweet cooking rice wine and has a pretty specific flavor, so buy some if you've never used it! It makes things super Asian-y and delicious. 

small skillet with ingredients for poke sauce.

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a COLD sauce pan. Whisk the cornstarch to dissolve it, then turn the heat to medium. Let the sauce very gently come to a simmer, then turn off the heat after a minute or so. Let the sauce cool to room temperature, it will thicken as it cools.

This is sometimes called sweet soy in poke restaurants, and it's really, really yummy.

How To Make Spicy Crab Salad

ingredients for spicy crab salad on brown background.

The spicy crab salad is SO simple, I can't stress it enough. Three ingredients. Imitation crab, mayonnaise (this is Japanese Kewpie mayo which is suuuuuper yummy), and sriracha.

Helpful Ingredients

I do prefer to use the Japanese mayo here because it has such a distinct flavor, but I find it more and more often at regular grocery stores. It's a great ingredient to keep on hand for lots of Asian fusion recipes.

small bowl of Japanese spicy crab salad.

Shred or chop the crab and combine it with the mayo and sriracha, then taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference - the measurements below make for a fairly spicy crab so use less sriracha to start if you aren't sure. The crab and poke sauce can be made in advance of making the bowls, even a day or two beforehand.

Pro Tip for Crab Salad that IS NOT Spicy: Mix the imitation crab with mayo, and add 1 teaspoon of rice or white vinegar. Skip the sriracha. That's it!

Build Your Poke Bowl

table with ingredients for homemade poke bowls.

Poke Bowl Ingredients:

The rest of the ingredients are already made, and you can mix and match based on what you like.

  • I use fresh spinach or another green, anything you have on hand
  • Seaweed salad (I find this in the freezer sections of Whole Foods and similar stores)
  • Sliced scallions
  • Cucumbers
  • Spiralized or grated carrots
  • Sesame oil, sesame seeds, Japanese pickles (I keep various kinds in the fridge always), and extra sriracha for the brave among us.
small pitcher pouring sweet soy over crab salad rice bowl.

Build your crab poke bowl however you'd like, and finish with a drizzle of the poke bowl sauce. 

Done!

This is so much fun because you can do extra rice or not much at all for a lower carb option, add any other kinds of veggies you like, even avocado for some healthy fat + creaminess. 

table with crab salad poke bowls.

Variation: Add Raw Fish

If you'd like to use raw fish by all means do so; toss some cubes of fish in the homemade poke sauce a bit before serving to marinate slightly. I would do this about 30 minutes before serving, and YUM.

chopsticks with bite of spicy crab salad in rice bowl.

I love this because it can be served cold or at room temp, and all of the ingredients can be prepped in advance for a FAST lunch or dinner throw-together situation. I've also served this with warm side dishes - hibachi vegetables are my favorites to go with this poke bowl.

Perfect for million degree days, pairs well with beer. 

Enjoy! (and enjoy the original spicy crab salad recipe post here.)

Recipe

spicy crab salad recipe

Spicy Crab Poke Bowls

Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
Spicy crab salad, sushi rice, and a sweet soy poke bowl sauce drizzled all over your entire life. LOVE these!
4.98 from 36 ratings
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Asian

Equipment

  • Measuring Cups And Spoons
  • Chef Knife
  • Shallow Bowls

Ingredients
  

Sushi Rice

  • 1 cup short-grain sushi rice
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Poke Bowl Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon cornstarch

Spicy Crab Salad

  • 8 ounces imitation crab meat shredded or chopped
  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise Japanese-style if you can find it
  • 2 tablespoons sriracha more or less to taste

Poke Bowls (use any you like)

  • seaweed salad
  • sliced scallions
  • sliced cucumbers
  • julienned carrots
  • cubed avocado
  • fresh spinach leaves
  • pickled daikon or other Japanese pickles
  • sesame oil
  • sesame seeds

Instructions
 

  • Make the rice per the package directions. When cooked, sprinkle in the vinegar and sugar. Stir very gently with a fork or paddle to combine. Taste, and add more vinegar or sugar to your preference. Let the rice cool slightly so it is warm but not hot when you're ready to serve.
  • Whisk all of the sauce ingredients in a small cold sauce pan. Turn the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a simmer. Simmer for one minute, stirring, then turn the heat off. Let the sauce sit and cool while you prep the rest of the bowl ingredients.
  • Combine the crab, mayo, and sriracha in a bowl. Taste, and add more sriracha or mayo to your preference. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
  • Assemble the bowls with a bed of rice and/or spinach, top with spicy crab and any other toppings you'd like. Drizzle with the poke sauce and serve immediately with cold ingredients over warm rice. Enjoy!

Notes

For Crab Salad that IS NOT Spicy: Mix the imitation crab with mayo, and add 1 teaspoon of rice or white vinegar. Skip the sriracha. That's it!
Meal Prep: The spicy crab salad and poke bowl sauce can be made in advance. I also cook the rice in advance and chop any veggies except for avocado. Store everything separately, then quickly assemble bowls when you'd like to eat!
The spicy crab salad will stay fresh in the fridge for at least three days.
I find seaweed salad fresh in grocery store sushi sections or frozen sometimes with Asian foods in larger grocery stores. It's a fun ingredient to keep around!
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura

    December 16, 2024 at 1:00 pm

    5 stars
    Really yummy and cheap - I reduced the mayo ratio and did 14oz imitation crab and 1/3 cup kewpie mayo (I find the japanese mayo is richer)
    So fresh and great for lunches for the week!

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      December 18, 2024 at 12:07 pm

      I'm glad you loved it! Agreed on the mayo - I love it so much!

      Reply
  2. Anna

    March 23, 2024 at 2:59 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipes! I’ve made it twice. Today was the second time I’ve made it and after rinsing my rice I realized I only had a tiny bit (about a half a tablespoon) of rice vinegar left. I ended up using what little I had in the rice and made up the difference with lime juice. I used lime juice in the pine sauce. I also didn’t have any sriracha this time so I used homemade hot sauce. This was all so yummy even with the substitution! It takes so much like what I buy at a well known sushi place, but for a far better price!

    I also found a recipe for sushi rice in my instant pot and made it in the instant pot with a couple of eggs on a trivet to add to the poke bowl.

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      March 24, 2024 at 9:02 am

      Love all of these adjustments, thank you so much for sharing!

      Reply
  3. Corey Anderson

    October 23, 2023 at 7:59 am

    5 stars
    Excellent recipe! You've made making a sushi-like meal non-intimidating and the end product is absolutely delicious!

    Reply
  4. S.L.

    September 29, 2023 at 6:36 pm

    5 stars
    This has become a staple in our meatless Friday rotation! Delicious!

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      October 02, 2023 at 10:55 am

      I love hearing that! It's one of my absolute favorites.

      Reply
  5. Amanda

    February 09, 2023 at 8:11 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! My husband and I loved this recipe, so much flavor, will definitely make again!

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      February 11, 2023 at 4:14 pm

      I'm so glad you loved it!

      Reply
  6. Dori Campbell

    February 05, 2023 at 12:05 pm

    5 stars
    So so good! I always make extra for leftovers. I make it exactly as written. No need to mess with a good thing!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      February 06, 2023 at 11:59 am

      I'm so glad you love this as much as I do!

      Reply
  7. Lauren

    September 18, 2022 at 5:01 pm

    Do you think I could substitute canned crab for imitation crab? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      September 22, 2022 at 10:36 am

      It will have a much different texture, but if you prefer canned crab then I think you'd like the result!

      Reply
  8. Jennifer

    April 04, 2022 at 12:57 pm

    My daughter and I just made these for lunch and they were amazing!! We will definitely be making these again!!!!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      April 07, 2022 at 2:41 pm

      So glad you loved them, thank you for taking the time to let me know!

      Reply
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Image of Lindsay Howerton-Hastings smiling sitting on dark gray couch wearing chambray blue shirt.

Hi! I'm Lindsay. I'm a maternal mental health therapist, a recipe developer, food writer, and taker of all kinds of pictures. Thank you so much for being here! This blog is about how to take care of yourself and your people without taking anything too seriously.

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