• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
My Therapist Cooks
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Memorial Day Recipes
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Memorial Day Recipes
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
×
Home » Recipes » Asian Fusion Recipes

Spicy Kani Salad (like in sushi!)

Published: Feb 26, 2013 Last Updated: Sep 2024 by Lindsay This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and enjoy. 8 Comments

Jump to Recipe
4.60 from 5 ratings

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!

white bowl with spicy kani salad, greens, and seaweed salad over rice.

Want to Read Later?

You can email this post to yourself (or anyone else!), so you can come back to it later!

You know how at sushi restaurants sometimes they have Crab Salad Sushi Rolls or Crunchy Crab Rolls but really it's just imitation crab mixed with mayo? And sometimes there are Spicy Crab rolls that really are just fake crab mixed with mayo and spicy stuff?

Welp, I love crab salad.  And spicy crab salad.  And when either of those things are made into a sushi roll?  I'm a seriously happy human being.

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Buy Key Ingredients
  • Spicy Kani Salad Recipe FAQ
  • Other Recipe Notes
  • Step By Step Instructions
  • Serving Suggestions
  • Recipe

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

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.

spicy crab salad ingredients on brown board.

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

What does spicy kani salad taste like?

Imitation crab (kani) tastes like crab - sweet, mild, and vaguely seafood-esque. The big flavor in this spicy crab salad comes from sriracha and mayonnaise - spicy, creamy, full of umami.

Can you eat spicy kani salad while pregnant?

First and foremost, women all over the world (including in the US) choose to eat raw fish while pregnant for a variety of reasons.

Kani is a fully cooked imitation crab product, so many people who choose NOT to eat raw fish during pregnancy DO eat spicy kani salad and other fully cooked seafood items while pregnant.

Is spicy crab salad cooked?

Yes and no? We don't do any cooking ourselves to make this recipe, but imitation crab, sriracha, and mayonnaise are all fully cooked ingredients. There is no raw meat or seafood in this recipe.

Is spicy kani salad gluten free?

Nope. Almost all imitation crab products aren't gluten free, so check labels really carefully if you need to avoid gluten for health reasons.

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.

small bowl of spicy kani salad.

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.
crab salad sushi bowls with japanese pickles in white bowl.

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!

Recipe

Spicy Crab Salad like in Sushi

Spicy Kani Salad

Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
Spicy crab salad just like at your favorite sushi restaurant, with just a few ingredients and tons of flavor. Look at you, making your own takeout!
4.60 from 5 ratings
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 10 minutes mins
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Japanese

Equipment

  • Glass Mixing Bowl
  • Kewpie Japanese Mayonnaise
  • Measuring Cups And Spoons

Ingredients
  

  • 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

Instructions
 

  • Combine the crab, mayo, and sriracha in a small bowl.
  • Taste – add more mayo if you’d like a creamier salad, or more sriracha for spicier. 
  • Serve with white rice, on sandwiches, with rice cakes, or over a cabbage salad – you can’t go wrong with this one!

Notes

Make-Ahead and Storage: This kani salad recipe will keep great in the fridge for at least 3 days.
See my post on the crab poke bowls in these pictures. They are SO good!
Kewpie mayo is my favorite, and I think the flavor is definitely different enough to matter in this dish.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

This recipe was originally published in 2013 and has been updated with better instructions and images.

Other Favorite Asian Fusion Recipes

  • Bowl of crab rangoon dip swirled with sweet chili sauce and fried wonton chips.
    Crab Rangoon Dip
  • homemade hibachi shrimp bowl in white serving bowl with asparagus and white rice.
    3-ingredient Hibachi Shrimp
  • White plate with tofu steak, baked potato and steamed broccoli.
    Marinated Tofu Steak
  • sauteed zucchini and onions
    Hibachi Vegetables

More Asian Fusion Recipes

  • Easy Shrimp Curry
  • tofu rice bowls
    Pan Fried Tofu with Thai Peanut Sauce
  • image of japanese sweet carrots
    Easy Japanese Sweet Carrots
  • hibachi
    15 Minute Hibachi Steak

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chelsea

    January 14, 2025 at 3:31 pm

    If you use canned crab meat do you need to warm it up or cook it? Or do you just drain it and maybe rinse it?

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      January 14, 2025 at 3:36 pm

      Up to you! This recipe is designed for imitation crab and will taste different (but not bad!) with real canned crab. Many people eat canned crab meat without cooking it because it is cooked before being canned. I usually just drain it and proceed with recipes whether or not they involve cooking the crab again. But, for this recipe I almost always use imitation crab for that classic sushi flavor - it's used in America and in Japan!

      Reply
  2. nancy

    April 15, 2022 at 2:47 pm

    5 stars
    this sushi bowl is just want i was looking for! so easy to prepare and tasted amazing

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      April 18, 2022 at 3:27 pm

      So glad you liked it!

      Reply
  3. Zachari

    March 06, 2021 at 2:45 pm

    5 stars
    I added just a bit of shitaki dashi, freshly made (still hot) unagi & sushi vinegar to mine, just for unami and DANG it was good. I ended up going back to the grocery store to buy MORE imitation crab to make more and ate it dumped straight into my rice bowl☺️
    I may have found my new favorite junk food

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      March 06, 2021 at 2:58 pm

      Yummmmmmm love the addition of the dashi and sushi seasoning!

      Reply
  4. Crystal

    August 29, 2019 at 10:35 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent easy recipe that tastes so good. I added a sprinkle of Nanami Togarashi

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      August 30, 2019 at 10:10 am

      I'm so glad that you liked it, and LOVE the idea of adding togarashi! I'm all about toppings on a bowl-style meal like this.

      Reply
4.60 from 5 votes (2 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

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.

More about me →

Yummy Memorial Day Recipes

  • Black Bean Salsa with Avocado

  • Watermelon Juice with Lime and Mint

  • bowl of vegan potato salad
    Vegan Potato Salad

  • Gray plate with burrata, pesto, and roasted tomatoes surrounded by grilled bread.
    Burrata Pesto Dip with Yogurt + Roasted Tomatoes

  • A hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and pimento cheese on parchment paper.
    15 Easy Memorial Day Recipes

  • Serving dish of strawberry cucumber salad with pickled white onions.
    Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Most Popular Recipes

  • Black skillet with sliced steak and shallot sauce.
    Cast Iron New York Strip

  • indian butter chicken served with rice in a white bowl.
    Easy Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

  • homemade hibachi shrimp bowl in white serving bowl with asparagus and white rice.
    3-ingredient Hibachi Shrimp

  • white plate of asparagus casserole with a silver fork.
    BEST Easy Asparagus Casserole

  • Braised Chicken Thighs with Leeks and Lemon
    One-Skillet Chicken and Leeks

  • Brown Butter Blondies

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About
  • Privacy Policy

Emails

  • Sign Up! to get new recipes in your inbox

Contact

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Loading Comments...
 

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.