Imitation crab, kewpie mayo, and DIY pickled vegetables combine forces in this delicious kani salad recipe. Serve this refreshing salad with lettuce cups, Belgium endive, bias-cut English cucumber planks, and nori squares for a tasty take on the classic sushi starter.
If you're wondering what exactly imitation crab is, here's your crash course. Imitation crab is not made with crab—instead of crab, it uses a fish paste made from minced and washed white fish like pollock.
Mirin is another ingredient you'll need to make the kani salad dressing at home. To put it simply, it's a Japanese rice wine that's often responsible for that hard-to-describe umami flavor in many Japanese dishes. It's tangy yet sweet, but also richly flavored. It has more sugar and a lower alcohol content than its better-known relative, sake. It's hard to find in its pure form at your average grocery store, but several brands have 'aji-mirin,' which means 'tastes like mirin.' It has more added sweeteners than traditional mirin, but it works well in this homemade kani salad recipe!
Our Test Kitchen loves the crunch of topping this salad with homemade pickled veggies. This recipe is the perfect opportunity to try your hand at pickling your own vegetables. All you need is rice vinegar, mirin, reduced-sodium soy sauce, sugar, and kosher salt. What may seem like an intimidating process is actually incredibly simple—drop your vegetables into the mixture and leave it in the fridge for an hour. When you pull it out, voila! Your vegetables have been pickled. They really add the extra light vinegar kick and satisfying crunch to this kani salad.
Ingredients
Kani Salad
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¼ cup kewpie mayo
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1½ Tbsp. mirin
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2 to 3 tsp. sriracha
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8 ounces imitation crab meat, leg style
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2 Tbsp. tobiko (optional)
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1/2 cup pickled veggies
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2 Tbsp. tempura (optional)
Pickled Vegetables
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¾ cup rice vinegar
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3 Tbsp. mirin
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1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
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1 Tbsp. sugar
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1 tsp. kosher salt
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⅓ cup carrot, shredded or cut into thin strips
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⅓ cup daikon radish, cut into thin strips
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½ cup English cucumber, cut into thin strips
Directions
Kani Salad
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In a medium bowl whisk together the kewpie mayo, mirin, and sriracha. Stir until the ingredients are completely combined.
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Using two forks, pull apart the imitation crab and add to bowl. Toss the crab with dressing to coat.
Test Kitchen Tip: You want to end up with thin strands of imitation crab. This helps the dressing coat each bite.
To serve, top the creamy imitation crab salad with the drained pickled vegetables, tobiko, and tempura bits (if using)
Pickled Vegetables
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In a medium bowl combine the rice vinegar, mirin, reduced-sodium soy sauce, sugar, and kosher salt. Mix until well combined.
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Toss in thinly sliced carrots, daikon radish, and English cucumber.
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Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
