蟹 · カニ · kani
Kani
Kani is real crab — snow crab (zuwaigani) or king crab (tarabagani) — sweet, delicate and a world apart from the imitation 'krab' in most rolls.
- Also known as
- snow crab, zuwaigani, king crab, tarabagani
- Species
- Chionoecetes opilio (Snow crab / king crab)
- Category
- Shrimp & crab (ebi / kani)
- Texture
- flaky, tender — sweet, delicate, oceanic
- Peak season
- Dec, Jan, Feb
- Sustainability
- varies — Ranges widely; some king and snow crab fisheries are well-managed, others overfished.
- Mercury
- Not in the FDA consumer table
- Pregnancy
- Generally safe
- Price tier
- $$$
Real crab
Kani is actual crab — most often zuwaigani (snow crab) or tarabagani (red king crab) — served as sweet, flaky cooked legs, sometimes raw at the highest end. It’s delicate, clean and faintly sweet, and it peaks in the cold of winter.
Not what’s in your California roll
Here’s the catch most diners miss: the “crab” in a California roll or spicy-crab roll is almost never kani. It’s kanikama — imitation crab made from fish paste. Real crab is a premium, named ingredient.
How to tell
Real crab flakes into fibrous, uneven strands and tastes oceanic and sweet; imitation is uniform, springy and faintly sweetened. See kani vs kanikama.