Spider Roll

Crispy soft-shell crab tempura with avocado, cucumber and spicy mayo — named for the legs that splay out like a spider. Fried, not raw.

Style: specialty
Typical ingredients: soft-shell crab tempura, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo, tobiko, rice, nori
Calories: ~400 per 8-piece roll (varies by shop)
Raw fish?: No — no raw fish
Vegetarian: No
Origin: American sushi bars

Where the name comes from

The spider roll is built around a whole soft-shell crab, battered and deep-fried tempura-style, then rolled with avocado, cucumber and spicy mayo. The fried legs poke out of the ends like a spider’s — that’s the name, not anything sinister.

Real crab, and cooked

Unlike the imitation kanikama in a California roll, the spider roll uses real crab (soft-shell, eaten shell and all) — and because it’s fried, there’s no raw fish.

Calories

The tempura pushes it up: about 400–500 per roll. Crunchy and rich, it eats more like a treat than a light bite.

Neta inside

蟹 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.

Related rolls

Dragon Roll

A showpiece: eel and cucumber inside, fanned avocado 'scales' on top, sweet eel sauce over. Lots of drama, and — despite the looks — no raw fish.

California Roll

The roll that taught the West to eat sushi: imitation crab, avocado and cucumber, rolled inside-out. No raw fish — which is exactly why it caught on.