Spider Roll
Crispy soft-shell crab tempura with avocado, cucumber and spicy mayo — named for the legs that splay out like a spider. Fried, not raw.
- Style
- specialty
- Typical ingredients
- soft-shell crab tempura, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo, tobiko, rice, nori
- Calories
- ~400 per 8-piece roll (varies by shop)
- Raw fish?
- No — no raw fish
- Vegetarian
- No
- Origin
- American sushi bars
Where the name comes from
The spider roll is built around a whole soft-shell crab, battered and deep-fried tempura-style, then rolled with avocado, cucumber and spicy mayo. The fried legs poke out of the ends like a spider’s — that’s the name, not anything sinister.
Real crab, and cooked
Unlike the imitation kanikama in a California roll, the spider roll uses real crab (soft-shell, eaten shell and all) — and because it’s fried, there’s no raw fish.
Calories
The tempura pushes it up: about 400–500 per roll. Crunchy and rich, it eats more like a treat than a light bite.
Neta inside
Related rolls
Dragon Roll
A showpiece: eel and cucumber inside, fanned avocado 'scales' on top, sweet eel sauce over. Lots of drama, and — despite the looks — no raw fish.
California Roll
The roll that taught the West to eat sushi: imitation crab, avocado and cucumber, rolled inside-out. No raw fish — which is exactly why it caught on.