It’s Memorial day weekend! Which means, it’s officially the start of summer! This summer, skip bringing a boring Caesar salad and make a Japanese crab salad instead? I personally LOVE this salad. It’s cold, crunchy, and it’s just simply beautiful to look at. The Japanese crab salad has artificial crab, crunchy cucumber, and bursts of umami flavor in the crab roe. This salad is absolutely delicious, vibrant, and addicting! I usually love to make a big batch so that I can eat it for the rest of the week or make a large batch the next time I go to a party. Either way, this dish is meant to be shared.

I’ll forewarn you, this dish does require a bit of a labor of love. In order to achieve equal bites of cucumber and crab and roe, you must shred the imitation crab one strand at a time. That’s because if you have clumps of imitation crab, it will throw the texture off, and it won’t taste as good. Equally, the cucumber also has to be julienned perfectly as well. Other than that, that is the only work involved! If you’re willing to put in a bit of work, there is delicious crab salad to be enjoyed for all! This simple crab salad can be enjoyed as a side, served as a slaw with a burger, or made into a quick hand roll!

Where to buy tobiko?

I buy all of these ingredients at my local Japanese supermarket Niijiya. Tobiko is considered a raw food, so consuming this salad the same day of purchasing is recommended to avoid food borne illness.

Ingredients

0.12 lb tobiko
3 japanese cucumbers
½ cup of kewpie mayo
12 sticks of imitation crab

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, shred imitation crab by hand, removing one piece at a time. Using a cutting board, remove the ends of the cucumber and either julienne cucumber or use a mandoline slicer.
Combine shredded crab, cucumbers, kewpie mayo, and tobiko in a bowl. Use tongs to gently mix all ingredients together. Once mixed, keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.