Japanese Spicy Kani Roll is creamy, flavorful, and spicy. The kani crab meat is shredded and then seasoned with sriracha spicy mayo, then wrapped in nori seaweed sheets and seasoned rice.

Skip the Japanese restaurant and make your own spicy kani sushi rolls! You’ll be surprised by how easy it is to make them at home.

Table of Contents

What is a Spicy Kani Roll?

Also called spicy crab roll, the spicy kani roll is often made inside-out, where nori seaweed sheet wraps around the filling inside, and the sushi rice is on the outside. It’s a type of maki sushi (rolled sushi) made by rolling spicy kani salad in nori seaweed sheet and seasoned rice. The filling consists of imitation crab or real cooked crab, which is mixed with spicy mayo sauce.

Ingredients You’ll Need

sushi rice
water
sushi vinegar
mayonnaise
sriracha sauce
kani crab meat
nori seaweed
sesame seeds

How to Make Japanese Spicy Kani Roll

Step 1: Make Sushi Rice

Rinse the rice and add to the rice cooker. Then add water and cook according to the instructions.
Once cooked, transfer to a large bowl and let it cool. When it’s still very warm, mix in the sushi vinegar (or the mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and salt).

Step 2: Make Spicy Sriracha Mayo

In a clear bowl, mix together Sriracha sauce and mayonnaise. Taste and add more Sriracha if you prefer a spicier flavor.

Step 3: Make Spicy Crab Salad

Shred the imitation crab meat using your hands or two forks.
Add Sriracha mayo and mix well.

Step 4: Make the Spicy Crab Roll

Cut the nori sheet into two halves with kitchen scissors.
Place half of a nori sheet on top of the bamboo mat shiny side facing down.
Spread seasoned sushi rice (about 3/4 cup) over nori evenly.
Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the rice.
Flip the sheet and let the rice side facing down.
Add the spicy kani crab salad to the middle of the nori sheet.
Place the thumbs underneath the bamboo mat and lift the edge up and over the filling.
Roll the bamboo mat away from you and press the rice and filling together. Keep rolling until the ends meet.
Move the roll to a cutting board and cut it into 8 pieces.
Drizzle more spicy mayo sauce on top of the roll for some extra heat.

Tips and tricks

The heat of the spicy kani roll comes from Sriracha sauce. You can adjust proportions to make your rolls more or less spicy. You can also use mayo only for a non-spicy version.
Before handling the sushi rice, you can dip your hands into Tezu water, which will prevent the rice from sticking to your hands. It’s a hand dipping liquid made with 1/4 cup water and 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar.
When rolling the sushi, you’ll need to squeeze the roll gently but firmly. Once you finish, you can place the mat over the roll and gently squeeze it again. This will prevent the sushi roll from falling apart.

Variations:

You can use tempura crab instead of kani crab in this recipe for the spicy and crunchy tempura crab roll.
Use the whole kani stick and add avocado to the filling for a spicy California roll.
Add other veggies such as cucumber or pickled veggies to the filling.

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Spicy Kani Roll Recipe

Japanese Spicy Kani Roll is creamy, flavorful, and spicy. The kani crab meat is shredded and then seasoned with sriracha spicy mayo, then wrapped in nori seaweed sheets and seasoned rice.

Servings pieces (3 rolls)

Ingredients

For Sushi Rice

1 cup sushi rice short-grain sushi rice
1 cup water
1 ½ tablespoons sushi vinegar (or mix 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt)

Spicy Mayo

3 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 ½ teaspoons sriracha sauce

For the Spicy Kani Roll

4 oz kani crab meat (imitation crab or canned crab meat)
2 sheets nori seaweed
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (white or black, or the combination)

Instructions

Make Sushi Rice

Rinse the rice and add to the rice cooker. Then add water and cook according to the instructions.
Once cooked, transfer to a large bowl and let it cool. When it’s still very warm, mix in the sushi vinegar (or the mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and salt).

Make Spicy Sriracha Mayo

In a clear bowl, mix together Sriracha sauce and mayonnaise. Taste and add more Sriracha if you prefer a spicier flavor.

Make Spicy Crab Salad

Shred the imitation crab meat using your hands or two forks.
Add Sriracha mayo and mix well.

Make the Spicy Crab Roll

Cut the nori sheet into two halves with kitchen scissors.
Place half of a nori sheet on top of the bamboo mat shiny side facing down.
Spread seasoned sushi rice (about 3/4 cup) over nori evenly.
Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the rice.
Flip the sheet and let the rice side facing down.
Add the spicy kani crab salad to the middle of the nori sheet.
Place the thumbs underneath the bamboo mat and lift the edge up and over the filling.
Roll the bamboo mat away from you and press the rice and filling together. Keep rolling until the ends meet.
Move the roll to a cutting board and cut it into 8 pieces.
Drizzle more spicy mayo sauce on top of the roll for some extra heat.

Notes

You can use Tezu water when handling rice to prevent it from sticking to your hands. Simply mix together 1/4 cup water and 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar.
Why does my sushi roll fall apart? This could be caused by the wrong types of rice you use or you didn’t squeeze the rolls tightly enough. You need to tuck in and pull the bamboo mat while rolling.