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Kani salad or crab stick salad is a delicious Japanese-style crab salad made with shredded crab stick and julienned cucumber and carrots. It’s tossed in a creamy mayo-based dressing made with fresh lemon juice and Kewpie mayo, a popular Japanese mayonnaise.
Kani salad or crab stick salad is a refreshing, easy salad that’s full of crunchy texture and seafood flavor! It’s typically served in Japanese-American restaurants or sushi restaurants as an appetizer or starter salad.
It makes a fantastic summer salad and can be made ahead and served cold. Perfect for picnics, potlucks, or BBQs! Best of all, it’s ready in under 10 minutes with just a handful of ingredients!
What is kani salad?
Kani salad is a Japanese-style seafood salad made with crab stick. Kani literally translates to ‘crab’ in Japanese, hence kani salad means crab salad. Although fresh crab meat can be used, this is typically made with crab stick, which is imitation crab that’s formed to resemble crab meat.
The dressing for kani salad is made with only three ingredients to not overwhelm the sweet and delicate flavor of the crab stick. The rest of the ingredients are kept simple – julienned cucumbers and carrots.
While imitation crab is called kanikama in Japanese, most know and refer to this salad as simply kani salad.
Ingredients
- Crab stick – Pick the one that’s shaped into a long stick with a strip of red coloring on the surface to resemble crab meat.
- Cucumber – Use a large English cucumber and julienne them into thin strips.
- Carrot – Use an equal amount of carrots to cucumber. Julienne them into thin strips.
- Japanese mayonnaise – Also called Kewpie mayo, this version is richer and creamier than regular mayo, although regular mayo can be substituted.
- Lemon – Use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
How to make kani salad
- Prep crab stick: Shred the crab stick into thin strands by pulling them apart by hand. Or for a faster method, use a fork and run it along the length of the crab stick while holding onto the other end.
- Vegetables: Next, julienne the English cucumber and carrots into thin strips.
- Dressing: Prepare the simple, 3-ingredient dressing by mixing Japanese mayo (Kewpie mayo) with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. For spicy kani salad, add a few teaspoons of sriracha sauce for some heat.
- Toss the shredded crab stick, carrots, and cucumbers with the dressing. Garnish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy!
This keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container. I don’t recommend freezing this as the vegetables will get watery.
Variations
- Sriracha – For a spicy version, add a couple of teaspoons of sriracha or sambal to the dressing. If you’d like more flavor without the spice, try adding the same amount of ketchup to the dressing.
- Mango – Mango or other fruits can be added to give it more sweetness. Raisins or Granny Smith apples would taste fantastic too.
More recipes
Kani Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb crab stick
- ½ large English cucumber, julienned
- 1 large carrot, julienned
Dressing
- ½ cup Japanese mayonnaise, or regular mayo
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice, or more
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons sriracha, (optional) for spice
Instructions
- Dressing: In a small bowl, add the Japanese mayo and lemon juice then whisk them together. For spicy kani salad, add the sriracha. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.½ cup Japanese mayonnaise, 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons sriracha
- Shred crab stick: Shred the imitation crab stick by hand or use a fork by running it along the length of the crab stick while holding on to one end.1 lb crab stick
- Toss and serve: Add the shredded crab stick and julienned carrots and cucumber to a large bowl. Toss with as much or as little dressing as you'd like. Serve and enjoy!½ large English cucumber, 1 large carrot
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Crab stick is an imitation crab that’s made of white fish, usually pollack or cod, that’s been pre-seasoned and formed to resemble crab meat. It does not contain any crab meat but has a sweet, subtle fish flavor and its delicate texture resembles crab meat.
Very good
I absolutely love kani salad and I’ve never added carrots to it until now and it was such a wonderful addition!
This is my favorite way to eat kani! I add lemon zest and double the amount of vegetables. Peppers, cucumber, carrot, and radish. Very healthy.
So yummy! Crunchy, flavorful, easy, and great balance of flavors!
Oh wow! This salad is so easy and so good! Will be making this over and over. Thank you so much for the recipe! 🙂
I brought this to a potluck and it was gone halfway through. Everyone loved it! Thank you!
Love the presentation and flavor of this colorful Kani Salad. I added a squeeze of lime juice. It’s great for a light dinner or as a side dish.
This salad is lovely! I find crab sticks a great versatile ingredient for salads and your recipe is easy and so colorful; Kewpie mayo is the best hands down. Thanks so much for this recipe.
I love the simplicity of this dish and how fresh it tastes. We don’t have Japanese mayo so tried it with regular mayo and it was excellent!
I LOVE kani salad and this one is spot on! 10/10 for flavor and texture. I followed the recipe exactly as written and it was amazing. Can’t wait to make again.
This recipe was easy and fuss-free and very good! The mayo cream sauce was absolutely fantastic and I would definitely make it again.
Such a refreshing and easy salad! It’s so good with the Japanese mayonnaise. So many wonderful flavors.
Thank you for the recipes!
So easy to make and the flavor was fantastic. I’ve always liked this salad but never had any idea how to make it. Will definitely make again!
Lovely light recipe! Plus, with Kewpie how can one resist? Yum!
I love this kani salad but my son is obsessed with it!! The creamy mayo dressing pairs perfectly with the salad flavors. Wonderful!!!
Light and delicious, the lemon juice really enhanced not only the cucumber but also the crab, a great dinner or lunch salad!
OMG, I could eat this by the bowl full! So good! The flavors are amazing. Thanks for the great recipe!
great combination of flavors we love this with the crab and vegetables julienned what a great lunch this was will make it again!
This salad is so yummy and refreshing — perfect for hot days like today! And so easy to make too.