Cook’s notes
Smoked or unsmoked bacon are both good for wrapping the kani. But not sweetened bacon. In an air fryer, the sugar will burn before the bacon gets cooked through. Unless you lower the temperature which means the kani will be dry and shriveled before the bacon is done. So, no sweetened bacon.
Kani, aonori and shichimi togarashi are available at Japanese groceries.
We use a 1000w air fryer at home. If yours has a higher or lower wattage, you will likely need to adjust either the cooking time or the cooking temperature, or both.
Air fried bacon-wrapped kani
Equipment
- Air fryer
- bamboo skewers cocktail-sized
Ingredients
- 12 kani fully thawed
- 12 rashers belly bacon
- Japanese mayo to serve
- aonori (dried green laver) to garnish
- shichimi togarashi (Japanese chili flakes) to garnish
Instructions
- Peel off the plastic wrappers of the kani.
- Line a plate with paper towels and arrange the kani in a single layer. Leave for about five minutes to allow the paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
- Lay a bacon rasher flat. Place a piece of kani on one end positioning it on a slightly diagonal angle. Roll the bacon to enfold the kani but leaving both ends exposed.
- Repeat for the rest of the bacon rashers and kani.
- With a sharp knife, cut each bacon-wrapped kani into halves.
- Thread three pieces of bacon-wrapped kani with a bamboo skewer. Repeat for the rest.
- Arrange the skewered bacon-wrapped kani in a single layer in the basket of the air fryer.
- Cook for 12 minutes at 190C.
- Transfer the air fried bacon-wrapped kani on a serving plate and sprinkle with aonori.
- Serve with Japanese mayo sprinkled with shichimi togarashi for dipping.
Cheesy gyudon