Kani Sushi is a delicious and easy sushi roll that is popular enough for the best sushi restaurants but easy enough to make at home. Follow these instructions to perfect your next sushi night!
This post has been sponsored by The Rice Ruler. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep The Foreign Fork running!
I’ve been on a homemade sushi kick recently, and have had so much fun experimenting with different sushi recipes like Green Dragon Rolls, Rainbow Rolls, and Gobo Sushi. My newest obsession? Kani Sushi!
A Kani Sushi Roll is the perfect homemade sushi recipe for beginners because it includes no raw fish (the hunt for sushi-grade fish can be tiresome, but no need with this recipe), only a few ingredients, and absolutely show-stopping flavor.
The hardest part of this recipe is cooking the Sushi Rice, but even this feat is made so much easier with the use of my The Rice Ruler, a new tool I have been using to perfectly cook my rice every time! More on that in the “Why the Rice Ruler?” section below.
Cook this recipe up as part of an at home sushi night with friends, date night, or just to satisfy that sushi craving. Make sure to check out these ideas for What to Serve with Sushi before digging in!
What is Kani Sushi?
Kani Sushi is made by rolling Spicy Crab Salad, also called Kani Salad, up into an uramaki roll. The crab salad is typically made using sriracha mayo, and it’s rolled up into a delicious sushi roll alongside crispy cucumber and creamy avocado.
Ingredients to Make Kani Sushi
- Sushi Rice: Medium grain white rice. This can be found in the Asian aisle of your local grocery store.
- Sushi Rice Seasoning: Rice vinegar, granulated sugar, and table salt.
- Surimi: Imitation Crab Meat. Get the sticks for best results.
- Japanese Mayo: The most common brand is Kewpie. Japanese Mayo is made using only egg yolks, so it is creamier and richer than American mayo. If you can’t find Japanese mayo, American mayonnaise will work as a substitute.
- Sriracha: Add more or less depending on your spiciness preference.
- Kani Salad Seasonings: Salt, white pepper, granulated sugar.
- Nori Sheets: Most Nori Sheets are sold full-sized, but you only need half-sized sheets to make this recipe. Use scissors to cut 3 sheets in half (following the direction of the perforated lines on the sheet) to make 6 half sheets.
- Black Sesame Seeds: Optional but good for decoration. Use white sesame seeds if you cannot find black sesame seeds.
- Cucumbers: Persian cucumbers were a good length for sushi rolls. Cut them very thinly. You can leave the skin on the cucumbers.
- Avocado: Sliced thinly.
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Make the Sushi Rice
Rinse your rice until the water runs clear, add water to the pot, and bring to a boil. Then simmer over low heat for 25 minutes.
Step 2: Season the Rice
Bring rice vinegar, sugar and salt to a low simmer for 5 minutes. Then pour it over your sushi rice and mix until combined.
Step 3: Make the Kani Salad
Shred your krab, then mix it in a small bowl with the mayo, sriracha, salt, white pepper and sugar.
Step 4: Place the Rice
Press ½ cup of sushi rice on the seaweed sheet and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Flip the seaweed over.
Step 5: Add Fillings
Place the Kani salad in a small line across the center of the nor sheet, then place the cucumbers and avocado next to the crab.
Step 6: Roll
Lift and roll the sushi mat until a log of sushi is formed. For more in-depth instructions, view the recipe card below.
Why The Rice Ruler?
I have recently been using my Rice Ruler to make my rice and it is my new favorite tool! It is a measuring guide that helps you find the water levels and cooking times so that each pot of rice comes out absolutely perfect! This has made cooking so much easier for me. Check out these reasons why I love it:
- Multi-Use: While I’m using my Rice Ruler to make sushi rice today, you can use it for long grain white rice, sushi rice, long grain brown rice, short grain brown rice, and risotto (like this Parmesan Risotto)!
- No Measuring Tools Needed: When making rice according to bag instructions, it can be hard to adjust your measurements according to your family’s needs. The Rice Ruler automates the “Asian Finger Method” for measuring water and tells you exactly how much water you’ll need for each specific pot of rice!
- Perfect Rice Every Time: My rice frequently used to turn out over or undercooked. With the Rice Ruler, it now turns out perfect every time!
Expert Tips
- Dip your hands in water when spreading the rice on the seaweed sheet to keep the rice from sticking to your hands.
- To cut the sushi pieces perfectly, place a piece of plastic wrap over the sushi roll and cut through the plastic each time you are cutting a piece. Wipe the knife down with a damp rag between cutting each piece.
- It is best not to overstuff your sushi roll or you will have a hard time getting the roll to stay together.
- If you don’t feel like rolling your ingredients into a sushi roll, we have also loved making Kani Sushi Bowls using sushi rice as the base and topping it with Kani salad, cucumbers, avocado, and black sesame seeds. We scoop up bites with nori sheets!
Recipe FAQs
Kani translates to mean “crab” in Japanese. Kani Sushi is another name for Crab Sushi! Sometimes imitation crab is called Kanikama in Japanese.
Imitation Crab meat is made by making a paste out of white fish like cod or pollock. It is then formed into small sticks and colored to resemble crab meat. Imitation crab is far more affordable than fresh crab and has a similar taste.
No, because Kani Sushi is made with imitation crab meat, there is no raw fish! If you are a sushi newbie, Kani Sushi is a good roll to start with.
Make this a Kani Maki Roll by putting the rice inside of the roll alongside the Kani Salad, cucumber, and avocado.
You can make Kani Nigiri by simply placing a stick of imitation crab meat (unshredded, unseasoned) on top of a pile of sushi rice.
If you tried this Kani Sushi Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Did you like this recipe for Kani Roll Sushi? If so, check out these other articles I picked out just for you:
Kani Sushi
Equipment
- Sushi Mat
- Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
Sushi Rice
- 1 ¼ cup Sushi Rice, Japanese short grain rice
- Water, measured with your Rice Ruler (about 1 ½ cups if not using the Rice Ruler)
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Sushi Ingredients
- 6 oz Surimi Sticks, Imitation Crab Meat
- ¼ cup Japanese Mayo
- 2 tbsp Sriracha
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp White pepper
- ⅛ tsp Granulated sugar
- 3 Full Nori Sheets, cut in half to make 6 half-sheets
- 1 Tbsp Black Sesame Seeds
- 2 Persian Cucumbers, julienne
- ½ Avocado, sliced thinly
Instructions
Sushi Rice Instructions
- Place your rice in a fine-mesh colander and rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear (this may take a few minutes).
- Place your rice in a pot along with the water. Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook, covered, for about 25 minutes (follow the instructions on your Rice Ruler if using). To cook the rice with a pressure cooker, put the rice and water in the pressure cooker and cook on Low Pressure for 9 minutes with a quick release.
- When the time is up, keep the rice covered but remove it from the heat. Allow it to stand for about 10 minutes before proceeding.
- In the meantime, put the rice vinegar, granulated sugar, and salt in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Once it begins to simmer, remove it from the heat.
- Transfer the rice to a large bowl and pour the vinegar mixture over it. Use a spoon to gently mix the vinegar mixture into the rice. Allow the rice to come to room temperature, then begin assembling your sushi.
Kani Sushi Instructions
- Run a fork lengthwise along your imitation crab to shred it. Place the crab in a small bowl alongside the mayonnaise, sriracha, salt, white pepper, and granulated sugar. Mix to combine. This is your Kani Salad.
- Wrap your sushi mat in plastic wrap so that the rice does not stick to the bamboo. Put the ½ seaweed sheet on the mat with the rough side up.
- Press ½ cup of cooked sushi rice across the entire ½ nori sheet, then sprinkle the rice with black sesame seeds. Flip the seaweed over so the smooth side is showing.
- Lay a thin line of Kani Salad across the center of the seaweed.
- Place a thin line of cucumber slices next to the Kani Salad on one side, and a thin line of avocado slices next to the Kani Salad on the other side.
- Place your thumbs under the sushi mat. Then lift the edge of the mat closest to your belly up and over the filling in the center.
- Use your hands to press the length of the log, making sure that all of the sushi ingredients are staying together. Continue lifting and rolling the edge of the sushi mat until the sushi is in one roll. Gently press with your hands again to make sure that the rice on the outside edge is sticking together.
- Remove the mat and use a knife to cut the sushi into 8 pieces. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Dip your hands in water when spreading the rice on the seaweed sheet to keep the rice from sticking to your hands.
- To cut the sushi pieces perfectly, place a piece of plastic wrap over the sushi roll and cut through the plastic each time you are cutting a piece. Wipe the knife down with a damp rag between cutting each piece.
- It is best not to overstuff your sushi roll or you will have a hard time getting the roll to stay together.
- If you don’t feel like rolling your ingredients into a sushi roll, we have also loved making Kani Sushi Bowls using sushi rice as the base and topping it with Kani salad, cucumbers, avocado, and black sesame seeds. We scoop up bites with nori sheets!
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