This light, refreshing, and colorful Japanese Kani Salad recipe is so easy and quick to whip up with imitation or real crab, corn kernels, and cucumbers. Tossed in a creamy citrus-soy 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 shredded 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.
Here, I am going to share how the Japanese prepare the Japanese Kani Salad (カニカマサラダ) with a homemade dressing.
Table of Contents
What is Kani Salad?
Kani Salad, or what we call Kanikama Salad (カニカマサラダ) in Japan, is a Japanese crab salad that is a popular home-cooked side dish, but it’s not something you’ll see on the menu at restaurants. Outside of Japan, however, it’s a staple in many Japanese-American sushi restaurants or Japanese steakhouses.
Kani (カニ, 蟹) in Japanese means crab, while kanikama refers to imitation crab meat (or imitation crab sticks), a seafood product made of starch and pureed white fish such as pollock or cod. These crab meat sticks are meant to imitate the taste and texture of the fresh crab. It is a popular ingredient in sushi and salads because of its long-frozen shelf life and ease of use.
You could use real crab meat (especially if you’re looking to make it gluten-free) for kani salad, but we normally use imitation crab for convenience. I used imitation crab in my recipe as I developed an allergy to crab when I was in my early 20s.
Key Tip to Achieving Best Kani Salad
In Japan, the original salad is called the kanikama salad and it is done slightly differently from the American versions. To be honest, I was rather surprised to see how different the salad is made here.
A good salad should be in perfect harmony as balance is important in Japanese cuisine. That means not overdoing it with ingredients, dressing, or panko breadcrumbs! Less is more in this recipe.
Ingredients For Kani Salad
- Imitation crab meat (also known as surimi in the US, or kanikama in Japan) or real crab meat
- English, Persian, or Japanese cucumber (the ones with less seeds)
- Sweet corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned)
- Dressing (see below)
- Optional add-ins: vegetables such as julienned carrot, edamame, glass noodles or kelp noodles.
For a delicious Kani Salad, it’s important to keep the ingredients simple while creating a contrast of textures and tastes. You should taste the harmonious flavors in every bite.
For Homemade Mayo Ponzu Dressing
The dressing for this Kani Salad is quick and simple to mix up, using only four ingredients.
- Japanese Mayonnaise (Kewpie Mayo) – see more below.
- Ponzu sauce – Made of soy sauce and citrus juice, ponzu lends a tart-tangy savoriness to the creamy mayonnaise. You can find it at Japanese/Asian grocery stores. Or make a quick ponzu sauce by combining 1 Tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1-2 tsp lemon juice, and 2-3 tsp orange juice or mirin.
- Soy sauce – regular or gluten-free
- Toasted white sesame seeds
This dressing is a balance of creamy, tangy, bright, and zesty. You can make it ahead and store it for 3 days in the refrigerator.
Japanese Mayonnaise (Kewpie Mayo)
You want to use Japanese mayonnaise to make kani salad if possible. The mayonnaise is richer, and creamier than regular mayo, and the slight tang and sweetness would make a difference in the dressing.
It’s worth getting Japanese mayonnaise so you can also 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 from your local Japanese and Asian grocery stores.
I also have a Homemade Japanese Mayonnaise recipe. Look for the easy version if you need to use the regular American mayonnaise.
Variations
This salad is also great for improvisation. The only advice I have is to keep your combination simple and not to include more than 6 ingredients.
- Spice it up! You can make spicy kani salad by adding some sriracha sauce and fresh grinds of black pepper to the dressing.
- Add a tropical touch with mango or pineapple.
- Add some crunch.
- Fancy up by topping with fish roe such as tobiko.
What to Serve with Kani Salad
I like to serve my Kani Salad on a bed of lettuce leaves to give the salad some height and bring out the colors. We enjoy this Japanese salad with pretty much everything! Japanese housewives often serve it as part of Ichiju Sansai (Japanese ‘one soup three dishes’ meal), but you can certainly serve this tasty kani salad with popular dishes such as:
- Sushi meals such as California Roll, Dragon Roll, maki sushi, etc.
- Rice bowls
- Tempura
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!
More Japanese Salad Recipes You’ll love
- Japanese Potato Salad
- Sunomono (Japanese Cucumber Salad)
- Japanese Macaroni Salad
- Simple Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Seaweed Salad with Miso Dressing
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Japanese Kani Salad
Ingredients
- 5 oz real or imitation crabmeat (1 package of a Japanese brand of kanikama)
- ½ English cucumber (6 oz, 170 g; or use Persian or Japanese cucumbers with less seeds)
- ½ cup frozen or canned corn (2.8 oz, drained; run frozen corn under cold water to defrost)
For the Ponzu Mayonnaise Dressing
- 2 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise (you can make homemade Japanese mayo)
- 1 Tbsp ponzu (you can make my Homemade Ponzu recipe)
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- ½ tsp soy sauce
Instructions
- If you‘re using imitation crab, cut the sticks in half crosswise. Then, shred 5 oz real or imitation crabmeat into thin strips. Peel ½ English cucumber in a striped pattern. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, then cut diagonally into thin slices.
- In a medium bowl, combine the shredded imitation crab, cucumber slices, and ½ cup frozen or canned corn (defrosted/drained) To the same bowl, add the dressing ingredients: 2 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp ponzu, 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds, and ½ tsp soy sauce. Combine well. Serve the salad in individual bowls or a large serving bowl. Enjoy!
To Make Ahead of Time
- Keep the salad ingredients and dressing ingredients in separate containers in the refrigerator. Mix together right before you serve.
To Store
- You can store the leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on March 7, 2011. The pictures were updated in June 2014 and the content was updated on August 5, 2022.
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!
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! 🙂
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. 🙂
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!
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
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!
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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!
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! 🙂
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. 🙂
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.
Hope you can find these – taste and texture is better too. 🙂
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.
I’m making this today! Yum yum!
Hi Kim! I hope you liked it. 🙂
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~。