Salads
Crab stick salad with corn
Crab stick salad arrived in Russian kitchens in the 1990s and has been a holiday must ever since, right next to Olivier salad. People love it for its mild, slightly sweet flavour, bright colours and simplicity: only the rice and eggs need cooking. Fresh cucumber adds crunch, spring onions freshness and sweetcorn sweetness. Rice makes it filling, but too much of it soaks up the dressing, so this version keeps the balance right. It holds together nicely and doesn't dry out even the next day.
Method
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Rinse the rice, add 150 ml of salted water, cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Take off the heat, leave covered for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork and cool.
Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, cool in cold water and peel.
Unwrap the crab sticks and cut them into small dice.
Cut the eggs and cucumber into dice of the same size and finely chop the spring onions.
Drain the sweetcorn and leave it in a sieve for a couple of minutes.
Combine the crab sticks, sweetcorn, rice, eggs and spring onions in a bowl. Add the cucumber just before dressing.
Dress with mayonnaise, mix gently, taste and add salt if needed. Chill for 30 minutes.
Tips for success
- Everything should be cold; warm rice or eggs make the salad gluey.
- To prepare ahead, mix everything except the cucumber and mayonnaise and dress just before serving.
- For a lighter salad, swap half the mayonnaise for Greek yoghurt.
- Cut everything to the same size; it looks neater and tastes better.
Serving and storage
Serve in a bowl or in portions shaped with a ring, topped with spring onions and corn.
Once dressed, keeps in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Undressed ingredients keep for a day.
Variations
- Without rice: use 150 g of Chinese leaf instead for a lighter, crunchier salad.
- With apple: diced tart green apple instead of cucumber.
- Layered party version: rice, crab sticks, corn and eggs, each layer thinly spread with mayonnaise.
Calories and macros
Per serving (about 198 g):
Per 100 g: 169 kcal, P 5.1, F 10.8, C 12.7. An estimate based on average ingredient values. Your daily calories ›
