Crab Sushi Bake
Get your California roll fix with an easy Crab Sushi Bake casserole recipe. No rolling required. Creamy, savory, and the ultimate comfort food.
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 268kcal
Equipment
- 1 baking dish 10 x 8 inch oval (2.4 quart) or 9 x 9 inch pan
Ingredients
Cooked Plain Japanese Sushi Rice
- 1 cup short grained rice uncooked (raw) Japanese sushi rice (8 oz. standard US measuring cup)
- water per directions on your rice package
Seasoned Sushi Rice
- 3 cups cooked short grained Japanese rice ingredients above cooked
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar Unseasoned - plain
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- oil to grease the baking pan
Creamy Crab Mixture
- 4 ounces cream cheese regular or low fat at room temperature
- ½ cup mayonnaise We used Kewpie Mayo
- 8 ounces imitation crab meat chopped finely
Spicy Mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise We used Kewpie Mayo
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce chili sauce
Basic Toppings
- ¼ cup Furikaki dried seasoning dried savory Japanese seasoning (homemade directions in the notes below) + extra for serving.
- 2 green onions sliced to garnish - optional
- 3 packages Korean crispy seasoned seaweed snack sheets or roasted dried nori sheets (seaweed) cut into 3 inch x 4 inch sections.
- 1 avocado sliced thinly and diced to serve - optional
- ⅓ cucumber sliced and diced to serve - optional
Optional Extra Topping Ideas
- Japanese pickles optional
- pickled ginger optional
- furikake seasoning or roasted sesame seeds optional
- tenkasu tempura crunch - optional
- tobiko or masago flying fish roe - optional
- Unagi (Eel Sauce) optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 385 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Cook Rice
- Place raw Japanese sushi rice in a colander and rinse a couple of times until the water runs clear. Drain very well.
- Cook the rice per the instructions on the sushi rice package. Each brand of sushi rice or different cooking method may require different rice to water ratios. (we cooked ours on the stovetop)
- Mix together the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl. (We do not like to heat the vinegar as it changes the taste but you can microwave it for just 15 - 20 seconds or until the sugar melts.) Place the warm cooked sushi rice in a large non-reactive bowl.
- Add the rice vinegar mixture to the rice and mix carefully, using a slicing and turning motion, with either a wooden spoon, plastic spatula or rice paddle. Then, add 2 tablespoon of the furikake seasoning in the rice mixture. Reserve the rest for the topping. Set aside. While your rice is cooking, prep the crab mixture, spicy mayonnaise and the toppings.
Creamy Crab Mixture
- Mix softened cream cheese and mayonnaise in a medium bowl until combined. Add in the chopped imitation crab meat and stir until mixed well. Set aside.
Spicy Mayonnaise
- In a small bowl, add mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce and mix well. Set aside.
Layer it up!
- Grease the baking pan with oil to prevent sticking. Spread the seasoned sushi rice in the baking pan and press down in the pan. Place the crab mixture on top of the seasoned sushi rice. Sprinkle the top with the remaining furikaki seasoning. Then, pipe or drizzle ½ of the spicy mayonnaise mixture over the top of the crab sushi bake casserole.
- Bake at 385 degrees F (196 degrees C) for approximately 20 – 25 minutes or until the baked crab sushi is toasty and golden on the top.
Serve it Up
- Drizzle the other half of the spicy mayonnaise on top for serving. Topped with sliced green onions, if desired. Spoon a little of the warm and cozy baked sushi into a Korean crispy seasoned seaweed snack sheets or cut nori sheet. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Rice Tips
- Cook sushi rice according to the package directions. (For example, we used 1 cup of Kokuho Rose sushi rice and 1.25 cups of water. We cooked ours on the stove top. First, we brought the rice and water up to quick boil and then reduced the heat and simmered for 20 minutes. Then, remove the pan from heat and let it sit covered for another 10 minutes before fluffing.)
- Did you know there is a big difference between a standard US measuring cup vs a Japanese rice cooker measuring cup? For this sushi rice recipe, we used an 8-ounce (236 ml’s) US standard measuring cup. Whereas a Japanese rice cooker cup is only 10 ounces (180 ml’s). 1 US Cup of raw Japanese short grained rice will yield approximately 3 cups of cooked rice. However, a Japanese rice cooker cup will only yield approximately 2 and ⅓ cups cooked rice.
- We used a 11 x 8 x 2 inch (2.4 quart) oval pan for this recipe. Using at least a 9 x 9 inch baking pan is best for the perfect rice to creamy crab mixture ratio. A 8 x 8 inch pan is still okay but the rice layer will be a little thicker than the crab layer.
- If you need to use a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, please cook up 1.5 cups of raw sushi rice. Increase the rice vinegar mixture to 4.5 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1.5 tablespoons of sugar and 1.5 teaspoons of salt. In addition, please double the creamy crab and spicy mayo mixture. Of course this will feed a bigger crowd.
- Air Fryer – Preheat the air fryer to 375 Degrees F (190 degrees C) and air fry covered for about 5 minutes or until toasty warm all the way through.
- Oven – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in the original baking pan or baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil so it does not dry out. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or heated through.
- Microwave – Place a slice of crab sushi bake on a microwave save plate. Cover to prevent splattering and microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds or until heated through.
- 4 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds
- 1 sheet finely chopped toasted nori (seaweed)
- 1 teaspoon sugar of choice
- ¼ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of crushed dried bonito flakes (optional)
Nutrition
Serving: 8g | Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 716mg | Potassium: 239mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2565IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 2mg