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This light and colorful Japanese Kani Salad is so easy to whip up. Tossed in a ponzu mayonnaise dressing, it’s guaranteed to be a hit with your entire family!
If you frequently visit Japanese-American sushi restaurants, you would be familiar with Kani Salad. A colorful salad featuring imitation crab and crunchy vegetables in a mayonnaise-based dressing. It’s light, creamy, sweet, crunchy and savory. I can see why Kani salad receives such popularity in the US.
In Japan, the original salad is called the kanikama salad and it is done slightly different from the American versions. To be honest, I was rather surprised to see how different the salad is made here. A good salad should in perfect harmony (balance is important in Japanese cuisine). That means not overdoing with ingredients, dressing or panko breadcrumb!
So today, I am going to share how the Japanese prepare the Japanese Kani Salad (カニカマサラダ). We enjoy this salad with pretty much everything! You’ll mostly find it being served as part of Ichiju Sansai (Japanese ‘one soup three dishes’ meal).
What is Kani Salad or Kanikama Salad?
Kani (カニ, 蟹) in Japanese means crab, while Kanikama refers to imitation crab. You can use fresh crab meat for this recipe, but we normally use imitation crab for the convenience. I like using imitation crab because I developed an allergy to crab in my early 20’s. The salad is even better if you could use real crab meat!
Simple Ingredients
To achieve a good textural crunch without overwhelming the salad, I believe it’s important to keep the ingredients at the minimal. My recipe uses only imitation crab, crisp cucumber and sweet corn kernels. You can taste the harmonious flavors in every bite.
This salad definitely showcases how a simple, delicious Japanese meal can be done at home.
Homemade Mayo Ponzu Dressing
For this dressing, I made my own creation using Japanese mayonnaise, ponzu sauce, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. Why mayo and ponzu? Well, just give it a try! It’s so simple yet so bright and tasty! A reason why this salad is an all-time Japanese favorite for home-cooked meals.
What makes your dressing different is the use of Japanese mayonnaise. It’s worth getting Japanese mayonnaise if you wish to make Japanese Potato Salad, Japanese Egg Sandwich, or Spicy Mayo for your sushi. The most popular brand is the Kewpie mayonnaise. You can buy this mayonnaise on Amazon, or your local Japanese and Asian grocery stores.
Similar to a vinaigrette, ponzu (made of soy sauce and citrus juice), lends a tart-tangy savoriness to the creamy mayonnaise.
Ponzu (Homemade Ponzu)
A Salad that Goes with Everything
This is one of the Japanese salads that can be enjoyed with everything and on any occasion. If you wish to make ahead or serve it at a potluck, just make sure to keep the salad and dressing ingredients separately in the refrigerator. Mix everything together right before serving. It will be a hit with everyone!
I hope you enjoy this Kani Salad. If you enjoy the imitation crab, you can also try my Japanese Cucumber Salad!
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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This healthy and flavorful Japanese Kani Salad is so easy to whip up, and it's absolutely amazing when tossed in a light and refreshing ponzu mayonnaise dressing! It's guaranteed to be a hit with your entire family!
- 5 oz imitation crab meat (kanikama) (I used 1 package of the Japanese brand of kanikama)
- ½ English cucumber (6 oz, 170 g)
- ½ cup frozen or canned corn (2.8 oz; canned or frozen, frozen corn can just be run under cold water to defrost, drain, and then it's ready to use.)
- 2 Tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp Ponzu (you can make my Homemade Ponzu recipe)
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- ½ tsp soy sauce
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Cut the imitation crab in half (if necessary) and shred it. Peel the English cucumber with a stripe pattern. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and diagonally cut into thin slices.
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In a medium bowl, combine shredded imitation crab, cucumber slices, and corn. Add the dressing ingredients to the bowl and combine well. Serve the salad in individual bowls or a large serving bowl. Enjoy!
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Keep the ingredients and dressing ingredients separately in the refrigerator. Mix together right before you serve.
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You can store the leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on March 7, 2011. The pictures were updated in June 2014 and the content was updated in April 2020.
OMG,これ絶対においしいと思います!Just thinking aboutポン酢andマヨ combination makes my mouth water! I gotta put down crab in my grocery list!
Jaqie, これさっぱりしてて美味しいよ~!追加でゆずのextractをちょっと入れても美味しいし。気に入ってもらえるといいなぁ~。
I’m making this today! Yum yum!
Hi Kim! I hope you liked it. 🙂
what’s ponzu ?
Hi Hanan! Ponzu is a citrus-based sauce. The sauce is made from mirin, rice vinegar, bonito flakes, konbu and juice of yuzu or other Japanese citrus fruits is added. This is the most major bland Ponzu.
Love your website. My crab stick didn’t break into tiny shreds when I mixed into the salad. Any tips on how to make them break apart quicker then me shredding every stick into tiny pieces?
Hi Rainy!
Usually Japanese brand crab sticks separate into thin strings. I’ve seen other non-Japanese brands tend to have a texture that’s stick as one big chunk. Hope you can find of stick into thick bold stick.
Here’s one of brand I like. It’s thinner than a non-Japanese brand crab sticks.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Kanikama-Crab-Sticks.jpg
Hope you can find these – taste and texture is better too. 🙂
Hi, love your page!
Do you cook the imitation crabstick prior to adding it to salad? Or just defrost and eat?
Hi Lynn! Thank you so much for your kind words! If imitation crab stick is frozen, yes, please defrost first. Then mix in the salad. No need to cook it. 🙂
Hello … I Like this recipe .. During our commercial cooking subject in college I cooked this … And my prof Say’s that was delicious ….
Hi ilyn! Thanks so much for your kind feedback. I’m so glad your professor liked this recipe! 🙂
I did a simplified version of the ponzu saice here (JC101 – just the soy sauce, lemon juice and rice vinegar) but then did your ponzu w/ mayo (Creamy ponzu) OMG so delicious. Heaven with a little bite in the mouth on a green salad. I will eventually take the extra steps and make the ponzu as you taught here as I don’t like the simple ponzu recipe I got elsewhere alone unless it’s mixed with mayo and sesame seeds like you did here. Thank you.
Hi Lili! Glad you like the combo! Quite good, and surprising right? 🙂 Soy sauce and lemon juice/rice vinegar is a really quick version and it’s not the same as delicious ponzu we have in Japan. Lemon can’t do it… as it’s different citrus. But sometimes it’s better than omitting ponzu… Thank you for your kind feedback!
is there a way to print the recipe only? I know I’ve printed recipes from this site previously but I don’t see the print icon as a choice for this recipe.
Many many thanks to you for this awesome website, I refer to you every time I cook Japanese food!
Hi Lisa! Yes, we do have a print button in the recipe box, right below the square image. 🙂 I’m happy to hear you enjoy cooking Japanese food from my site!
Love this! It was so fresh and yummy!
Hi Cathy! I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
My husband is allergic to cucumbers. For the kanikama salad, what other crunchy vegetable(s) would be a good substitute?
Hi Flower! Celery, carrot, or fennel… although they do add new flavor though. 🙂
Would zucchini be OK? Fennel & celery might be too strong.
Hi Flower! Have you eaten raw zucchini? I haven’t… maybe blanch quickly if you don’t eat raw?
Yes, I’ve had raw zucchini & it’s not very strong, quite mild actually. I think I’ll try the zucchini. Thanks for your reply.
Good to know! Thank you for letting me know, Flower!
Do you plan to publish paper cook book? I love to have to have one with pictures. -h
Hi Hyungsoon! Not at this time… maybe one day, when I have more time and have a good opportunity. 🙂
So easy and quick to make, with a flavorful crunch! I will be making this a lot!
Hi Yui! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
My new go-to salad – so delicious we had to make another batch because we devoured the first. And it’s only Bachan and I.
She ate it again for lunch today. A winner!!
Hi Randy! So, so happy to hear that she enjoys the recipe! Thanks so much for trying it! I love this recipe, too. So refreshing!