【Reading】かにさらだ

【English Name】Crab Salad

Crab salad is a sushi topping in which crab meat, or imitation crab made from surimi (kanikama), is mixed with mayonnaise. It is a standard filling for gunkan (battleship) rolls at conveyor-belt sushi and is also widely used in maki sushi.

Like tuna salad and egg salad, it belongs to the family of salad-style toppings in which a protein ingredient is coated with mayonnaise. Many shops also mix in vegetables such as chopped cucumber, lettuce, or onion.

Some shops use actual crab meat, while others build the dish mainly on kanikama made from Alaska pollock surimi. At major conveyor-belt sushi chains, the latter is the mainstream. Kanikama was created in Japan in the 1970s and has now become an ingredient distributed worldwide. Even overseas sushi restaurants incorporate it into salad gunkan and maki sushi under the name "kani."

The mellowness of mayonnaise blends with the sweetness derived from crab, resulting in a flavor approachable to children and adults alike. It also harmonizes well with vinegared rice, making it well suited as an introductory topping for sushi beginners.