Turn Imitation Crab Into A Lazy Sushi Snack With Just 4 Ingredients

Sushi is more than just food — it's an artform, the creative expression for some of the most highly-trained chefs in the world. And eating sushi in an authentic restaurant comes with its own set of rules, too. But we don't always want to eat in a formal setting, nor have to remember commandments for proper consumption. Sometimes, we just want to be a little, well, lazy with it. And that, dear friends, is where this sushi-adjacent snack comes in, featuring just four ingredients: imitation crab sticks, sliced cucumber, rice, and sriracha mayo (which you can either make with the two named ingredients or buy).

To eat, you'll use a fork to scoop rice onto your cucumber round, break off a bite-sized piece of imitation crab stick (otherwise known as surimi) and put it on top of the rice. And then you'll either dip your fork in the mayo and slather it on your little stack, or dip the whole stack in the mayo, pinching it so that it doesn't fall apart.

One of the great things about this snack is how you can customize it to taste more like actual sushi by adding certain ingredients if you have them on hand. For example, if you have rice vinegar in your pantry, you could season the rice to taste more like the real thing. Or add a nori element by sprinkling furikake over everything. Or pile on slices of avocado. The world is your sushi stack — get creative while staying lazy AF!

If you have the energy (or will) to take similar ingredients just one step further, consider making sushi bowls. It uses similar ingredients, just piled over sushi rice in a bowl rather than assembling each bite. You could simply snip up pieces of imitation crab, or make an actual tuna mix with kewpie mayo; or even buy shredded carrots from the supermarket for a vegan version. Rather than just slicing your cucumber, cut it into quarters and then little bits. If you have a block of partially used cream cheese, cut it into cubes and toss it into the bowl for a take on a Philadelphia roll. You can honestly use whatever you have on hand, serve it over rice, and call it sushi-style dinner.

If you're really feeling lazily ambitious, try making mini sushi bake cups or go big with the full sized version. Use a can of tuna, or chop up cooked shrimp or fresh salmon if that's what you have. You'll need a layer of rice, your protein, cream cheese if you have it, nori sheets, avocado, and sriracha mayo, and again, anything else you have on hand that you want to include. Bake in the oven, give it a drizzle of sriracha mayo, and sprinkle on some green onions, and you not only have a lazy-day dinner, but low-effort lunch for the next few days, too.