Kamaboko Salad with Sesame Dressing

February 23, 2024

Many years ago I was at a potluck dinner and someone made a green salad with an Asian dressing and kamaboko. Unfortunately I didn’t get the recipe and now I can’t remember who made it. Usually I can find what I’m looking for, or a reasonable facsimile, by doing a search on the internet. But in this case, I came up empty.

What this salad is not

Interestingly, a search for “kamaboko salad” brought up several examples but none were the recipe I was looking for. The recipes included:

  • Different pasta salads – some using spaghetti, others using rotini. The ones using spaghetti looked like they were trying to make a version of somen salad, a recipe I will share in the future.
  • Salads of kamaboko and warabi (fern shoots)
  • Kani salad – a salad of crunchy julienned vegetables and shredded imitation crab meat
  • Kamaboko potato salad

Unfortunately none of these recipes resembled the salad I was looking for so I had to create something myself.

Salad components

The salad has several simple components and can be pulled together quickly.

  • A leafy element – romaine lettuce
  • Some crunch factors – celery and cucumber
  • A savory protein – kamaboko (imitation crab meat can be substituted)
  • An Asian dressing – creamy sesame dressing

I recommend making the dressing. It’s a lovely balance of sweet and savory and highlights the flavor of sesame. But in a pinch, you could find a bottled dressing at your grocery store.

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Kamaboko Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing


  • Author: She’s Almost Always Hungry
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x

Description

This salad features crispy romaine, crunchy celery and cucumbers, and savory kamaboko. It is brought together with a creamy sesame dressing.


Ingredients

Scale

For the creamy sesame dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the salad

1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 large Japanese cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 5.5-ounce block kamaboko, shredded*

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)


Instructions

For the creamy sesame dressing

Place all the dressing ingredients in a half pint mason jar. Cover and shake to combine.

Dressing should be pourable. If the dressing is too thick, add water a teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.

To assemble the salad

Combine the salad ingredients, except the sesame seeds, in a large bowl.

Dress the salad right before serving.

Sprinkle sesame seeds to garnish (optional).

Notes

*You can substitute with imitation crab meat

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Salads
  • Cuisine: Hawaiian-American

Nutrition

  • Calories: 227.23
  • Sugar: 8.75 g.
  • Sodium: 547.83 mg.
  • Fat: 17.6 g.
  • Saturated Fat: 2.82 g.
  • Carbohydrates: 12.36 g.
  • Fiber: 2.69 g.
  • Protein: 6.2 g.
  • Cholesterol: 10.96 g

Keywords: kamaboko, sesame

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