Kani Salad

Helga Glaesel de BlandingAugust 28, 2021

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

Kani salad is a Japanese version of crab salad made with thin crab sticks and julienned vegetables, dressed with a spicy mayonnaise dressing. We made it using cucumber and carrot as vegetables, but when in season you should try making this with julienned mangoes instead of carrot. The combination is amazing!

If you have tools to help you julienne your vegetables, use them. We have this neat peeler that juliennes vegetables, but you certainly don’t need to go out and buy special equipment. You can cut everything up using a knife. We’ve found that the easiest way to get strips and break apart your crab sticks is to roll them onto a cutting board using your fingers. Try it, and you will see how they easily break apart. We used regular mayonnaise to make the dressing, but if you can get your hands on some Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie Mayo) you should definitely use it, or you can make your own. My family loved this salad so much, we will try making the Japanese mayonnaise for the next time we make this.

Helga

Kani Salad

Adapted from Cooking with Ayeh
Serves 4-6

Ingredients, for the salad:

1 package imitation crab meat sticks
1 large cucumber (seedless is best)
1 medium-sized carrot

Ingredients, for the Kani Salad Dressing:
3-4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 ½ tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tsp sriracha sauce (less or more depending on how spicy you like it)
juice of 1 lime
grated fresh ginger, to taste

For Garnish:
Avocado
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Procedure:

Slice cucumber in half lengthways and then cut into julienne thin strips, or use a julienne peeler.
Do the same with the carrot, you can use a spiralizer, cut them into julienne with a knife, or use a julienne peeler. With your fingers, roll the crab meat sticks on a cutting board, you will find they start to break apart so you can pull thin strings lengthways. Or, you can cut them with a knife, lengthwise to form thin strips. Place the crab, cucumber and carrot in a large salad bowl and mix.
Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl and pour over the salad bowl. Mix well together so all the salad is nicely coated with the dressing.
Divide into bowls or plates, top each with thin slices of avocado and garnish with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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