Spicy Kani Salad (like in sushi!)

This easy spicy kani salad recipe is just like the filling of a crab salad sushi roll! Made with just three ingredients, I love this for meal prep to serve over rice or salad for a quick Japanese sushi rice bowl or poke bowl. Check out these crab salad sushi poke bowls for more spicy crab salad sushi fun!

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Ingredients

This spicy crab salad (also called spicy kani salad) can be as mild or as spicy as you'd like it to be.  It tastes like lots of things I've had in various sushi restaurants, but is so easy to make at home.

I learned how to make this years ago from a sushi restaurant where I worked, and while, yes, kani salad isn't strictly authentic Japanese food, it is served and loved all over the world, so it DEFINITELY counts as sushi food.

Buy Key Ingredients

Sriracha

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Kewpie Japanese Mayonnaise

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Imitation crab salad is made from three main ingredients: imitation crab, mayonnaise and Sriracha.

Kewpie mayo is different than other types in that it is slightly more vinegary, and gives the recognizable flavor of spicy mayo from American sushi restaurants in particular.

Mayo + sriracha is all you need to make spicy mayonnaise, and Kewpie makes a big difference in the final flavor.

I don't know why imitation crab is often found in sushi, but it is, here and in Japan.  Don't be afraid of it!  It's made mostly of white fish and tastes super delicious.

Spicy Kani Salad Recipe FAQ

Other Recipe Notes

• To make this not spicy (plain kani salad), just skip the sriracha altogether. If you'd like a little more flavor, some sprinkles of salt, pepper, and a spritz of lemon juice add a nice flavor.
• You can make this ultra fancy by using real crab meat instead! The texture of real crab with mayo is really lovely, highly recommend if you're into that sort of thing. Using real crab meat is the best way to make spicy kani salad gluten free.
• I find imitation crab sticks or imitation crab flakes taste exactly the same. Sometimes I can only find one or the other, but really any imitation crab product works great for this recipe.

Step By Step Instructions

To make spicy crab salad, finely chop or shred the crab with your fingers. You can do this a variety of ways - longer shreds or smaller pieces, it's up to you!

Add the kani to a bowl with the mayo and sriracha, and stir everything together. I like an even texture to the dish, but I've also chopped the imitation crab with a knife for larger chunks and loved the results as well.

Serving Suggestions

• We make this a ton and most often serve it over rice or greens for quick lunches.
• If we're going a little bit more involved, I make spicy crab salad poke bowls - one of my absolute favorite dinners ever.
• A plain rice bowl is lovely too: sauteed spinach, plain white rice, a drizzle of soy sauce, and the kani salad.
• Maybe unusual, but mango and avocado go VERY well with spicy crab salad no matter how you are serving it. The flavors separately or together give a very lovely island feel to the whole shebang.
• I also think this would be super delish on bread....sort of like an egg salad sandwich or something.  Am I crazy? Let's do that.
• Spicy kani salad is also delicious rolled into a burrito with rice.

Here's our easy spicy crab salad! The flavor is so delicious, and for a 5-minute recipe it packs a TON of punch. It's delicious no matter how you serve it. Enjoy!