Although this roll is fun and delicious, please check out our other easy sushi recipes for beginners here or visit our entire library of sushi rolls sorted alphabetically!
What you need to know before ordering a Spicy Crab Roll…
Spicy crab rolls are made of shredded imitation crab, cucumber, avocado, and cream cheese is highly recommended. What makes the roll spicy is the spicy mayo sauce that should be mixed in with the shredded imitation crab. This roll is fully cooked and is frequently paired with soy sauce. Below you will find FAQ, ingredients lists, and an easy at home recipe!
Main Ingredients
- Shredded Imitation Crab
SAUCES
- Spicy Mayo Sauce
VEGGIES & FILLING
- Creamy Avocado
- Crunchy Cucumber
- Cream Cheese (Optional)
Dipping Sauces
WANT THE RECIPE?
CANT DECIDE WHAT TO ORDER?
Consider the Spicy Crab Roll a supped up version of a California Roll… similar ingredients but has an extra kick and tastes even better if you add some cream cheese! The best part of this roll (and for most sushi rolls on our website for that matter) is that all of the ingredients are readily available at any grocery store! This roll is perfect for a first date if you want to show off those chef skills. The best part- there’s no raw fish so you don’t have to be worried that your date is going to go sideways when you decide to filet a tuna in your kitchen.
You can easily make 4 of these rolls in 20 minutes! In all honesty, the hardest part is making the rice (which is super easy anyways). Just don’t forget to wet your hands! Pro Tip- use a cheese grater to shred the imitation crab!
Enjoy!
Click here to visit our sushi roll library!
What is a Spicy Crab Roll?
A Spicy Crab Roll is an inside-out sushi roll (meaning the rice is on the outside) that typically is made with imitation crab as the protein and is a great sushi roll for someone that doesn’t like raw fish. Spicy Crab Roll ingredients also include avocado, cucumber, and spicy mayo sauce to give it an extra kick. Cream cheese is optional but highly recommended.
The spicy crab roll makes a great appetizer at a Japanese restaurant!
What is the best way to serve and eat sushi?
When Serving Sushi:
Sushi is one of those fun meals that you will frequently see pop up on friends snapchat or instagram stories or whatever social media companies sharing application. Whether it is at a restaurant or in your own kitchen, sushi is extremely instagrammable. Sushi is very trendy and typically served at higher end restaurants, therefore there is a high likelihood that the group is either on a date night or out on the town and dressed accordingly! Lots of pictures are flying around on these kind of nights therefore the presentation of the sushi tends to get some notice!
Typically sushi is plated in a very eye catching and palatable pattern on plates that have good visual appeal, frequently made of melamine in traditional japanese fashion. Restaurants tend to make a big deal of the presentation. Some ways sushi is presented can be on a small wooden boat brought out to the table or even lit on fire!
When Eating Sushi:
Experienced sushi eaters know that sauces can make or break your eating experience. There are two ways that sauces can be eaten with sushi:
Sauces on or in the sushi roll
This tends to be sauces that are either mixed in with other ingredients or added as a topping. Examples of this are spicy mayo sauce which is frequently mixed in with shredded imitation crab or drizzled on top of the sushi roll in patterns that are visually appealing. Some other sauces that are put on top or in the sushi roll are unagi eel sauce and teriyaki sauce.
Sauces that the sushi roll can be dipped in
The first sauce and most popular that probably comes to mind is soy sauce. (I have linked my favorite soy sauce to the right or below on mobile). Soy sauce is cheap and can be found at any grocery store or restaurant. Soy sauce is also an ingredient in numerous other recipes, not just sushi or even japanese based recipes.
Soy sauce can be given a little extra heat by mixing wasabi into the soy sauce.
Spicy Crab Roll FAQ and Tips
Is a spicy crab roll raw?
The spicy crab roll’s main ingredient is imitation crab which is not raw and is fully cooked. In the spicy crab roll, the imitation crab is shredded and mixed with the spicy mayo sauce to make it “spicy”.
What fish is in a spicy crab roll?
A spicy crab roll only contains imitation crab as it’s fish and main ingredient, making the spicy crab roll a completely cooked roll.
How many calories are in a spicy crab roll?
Although there are many variations of a spicy crab roll, it is safe to say that each roll contains less than 250 calories. It is closer to 250 calories if cream cheese is used.
What makes a spicy crab roll spicy?
Spicy mayo sauce which is a mixture of mayonnaise and sriracha is mixed in with the shredded imitation crab and can also be added as a topping. The spicy mayo sauce gives this roll its extra kick!
What other sushi rolls are like a spicy crab roll?
The spicy crab roll is a simple inside out sushi roll with crab as its main ingredient. Another roll with the same ingredients is the spicy tuna roll, just swap out the crab meat for ahi tuna. Additionally, you can add the same spicy kick to other simple sushi rolls like the California roll or the Philadelphia roll by adding spicy mayo sauce as a topping.
What is a spicy crab roll made of?
Sushi Rice: Using sushi rice is a necessity when making sushi rolls. The sushi rice contains higher levels of starch and proteins than traditional long grain rices which makes it sticky and allows you to shape the rice into a roll. Check out our post about why you should use sushi rice instead of white rice!
Nori Sheets (Seaweed): These sheets of dried seaweed work best for making sushi, are very healthy for you, and have relatively little flavor. Sheets of nori can be found at most grocery stores like Walmart, Kroger, or HEB. You can even order sheets of nori off of Amazon.
Imitation Crab: Did you know that the vast majority of crab used in sushi is actually imitation crab? Made from starches and finely diced white fish, imitation crab is shaped to imitate the look of real crab meat from a crab leg. Actual crab meat can be used as well, however it is not as easily found and is expensive and messy to extract from the claws and legs. Imitation crab can easily be found at any grocery store. Check out these other sushi rolls that contain crab!
Spicy Mayo Sauce: This delicious topping can add a kick to liven up numerous dishes, not just sushi! Spicy mayo sauce is just a combination of sriracha and mayonnaise. You can make the sauce spicier by adding more sriracha and mellower by adding more mayo. Check out our recipe here.
Avocado: Avocado is found in most sushi rolls, not just the spicy crab roll. This is aside from the fact that avocado is just down right delicious! Search for an avocado with darker skin and place it in the palm of your hand. If it is to firm, it is not ripe yet. If it is to squishy, it is overripe. You should be looking for a dark skinned avocado that you can give a slight squeeze!
Cucumber: Cucumber is found in the majority of sushi rolls, not only in the spicy crab roll. If you can find them, Japanese cucumbers are the best to use for sushi as they contain less water than traditional cucumbers. Cucumbers are known for numerous health properties.
Cream Cheese: Cream cheese gives a smooth, creamy flavor to sushi rolls and is an extremely popular ingredient. The cream cheese in sushi rolls that are spicy like the spicy crab roll gives it a nice smooth contrast. Aside from the spicy crab roll, you can find cream cheese in the Philadelphia roll and even certain variations of the California roll.
Spicy Crab Roll Ingredients
- 2 Cups Cooked Sushi Rice (here’s a link to our perfect sushi rice recipe)
- 1/4 Cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
- 4 Half Sheets Nori (Click link for folding instructions)
- 4 Sticks Imitation Crab Shredded in small bowl
- 1/2 cup Spicy Mayo Sauce (here’s a link for our spicy mayo sauce recipe)
- 1 Small Cucumber (Sliced into matchsticks)
- 1 Small Avocado (Sliced into strips)
- Cream Cheese Optional (Sliced into strips)
Cooking Equipment
- Bamboo rolling mat inside a gallon bag
- cutting board and a sharp knife
- Small mixing bowl
Cooking Instructions
Preparation
- Add the seasoned rice vinegar to the cooked sushi rice and mix together.
- Place your bamboo rolling mat inside a plastic gallon bag (trust us, this makes clean up much easier, all you have to do is throw out the bag!)
- Place one half sheet of nori on the rolling mat (remember we tore the full sheet in half hamburger style) with the rough side facing up.
- Combine the shredded imitation crab meat with the spicy mayo sauce. Pro tip: use a cheese grater on the imitation crab meat to shred it!
Making the roll
- ONLY ONCE THE RICE HAS COOLED, grab a handful of rice and cover the rough side of the nori leaving a 1 inch gap at the top without any rice. If using sesame seeds, sprinkle them over the rice. Grab the nori by the top, and flip it over so the rice is against the bamboo rolling mat and the 1 inch gap is now on the bottom.
- Starting 1/3 of the way up from the bottom begin to align the “guts” of the sushi roll in a horizontal line using the sliced cucumber, avocado, and cream cheese.
- Grab both the sushi mat and the nori and roll the mat over from the bottom until the empty space we left at the bottom is touching the other side, squeezing down on the roll to make it nice and tight and allowing to hold its shape.
- Once the roll is formed, it is time to add the shredded crab meat mixed with the spicy mayo sauce over the top of the roll. This is mostly for that Instagram-worthy picture. It is easier to add the shredded crab to the inside of the roll if you are in a hurry.
- Place the roll on a cutting board and get a knife and damp paper towel. Cut the toll into 8 equal sizes (easiest if you start by cutting the roll in half). Before you make each cut DAMPEN THE KNIFE WITH THE PAPER TOWEL or else the roll will fall apart when you slice through it.
- Serve with soy sauce, take some pictures for your friends, and enjoy!
If you enjoyed this recipe or have feedback, please scroll down and leave a rating, comment, or critique!
See our printer friendly recipe version below!
Here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind while making sushi
- Check out our easy rice recipe here!
- Always wet your hands before handling rice. Rice is extremely sticky!
- While on the topic of rice.. please wait for it to cool. Getting excited and touching hot rice is no fun.
- Use a wet paper towel and wipe down your knife between cuts while slicing your rolls! If you do not, the roll will fall apart!
Spicy Crab Roll: Bold Ingredients & More!
Equipment
- Bamboo rolling mat inside a gallon bag
- cutting board and a sharp knife
- Small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Cooked Sushi Rice (See below link in notes for easy sushi rice instructions)
- 1/4 Cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
- 4 Half Sheets Nori (See below link in notes for folding instructions)
- 4 Sticks Imitation Crab Shredded in small bowl
- 1/2 cup Spicy Mayo Sauce See the below link in notes for an easy recipe!
- 1 Small Cucumber (Sliced into matchsticks)
- 1 Small Avocado (Sliced into strips)
- Cream Cheese Optional (Sliced into strips)
Instructions
- Add the seasoned rice vinegar to the cooked sushi rice and mix together.
- Place your bamboo rolling mat inside a plastic gallon bag (trust us, this makes clean up much easier, all you have to do is throw out the bag!)
- Place one half sheet of nori on the rolling mat (remember we tore the full sheet in half hamburger style) with the rough side facing up.
- Combine the shredded imitation crab meat with the spicy mayo sauce. Pro tip: use a cheese grater on the imitation crab meat to shred it!
- ONLY ONCE THE RICE HAS COOLED, grab a handful of rice and cover the rough side of the nori leaving a 1 inch gap at the top without any rice. If using sesame seeds, sprinkle them over the rice. Grab the nori by the top, and flip it over so the rice is against the bamboo rolling mat and the 1 inch gap is now on the bottom.
- Starting 1/3 of the way up from the bottom begin to align the "guts" of the sushi roll in a horizontal line using the sliced cucumber, avocado, and cream cheese.
- Grab both the sushi mat and the nori and roll the mat over from the bottom until the empty space we left at the bottom is touching the other side, squeezing down on the roll to make it nice and tight and allowing to hold its shape.
- Once the roll is formed, it is time to add the shredded crab meat mixed with the spicy mayo sauce over the top of the roll. This is mostly for that Instagram-worthy picture. It is easier to add the shredded crab to the inside of the roll if you are in a hurry.
- Place the roll on a cutting board and get a knife and damp paper towel. Cut the toll into 8 equal sizes (easiest if you start by cutting the roll in half). Before you make each cut DAMPEN THE KNIFE WITH THE PAPER TOWEL or else the roll will fall apart when you slice through it.
- Serve with soy sauce, take some pictures for your friends, and enjoy!
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