Japanese Potato Salad
SKU:
With a splash of sesame oil, sweet/sharp ginger, and a trio of crisp vegetables, Japanese potato salad is distinctly different from both Hawaii Homestyle Mac Salad, and German or American potato salads.
Adapted fromĀ Just One Cookbook, one of my favorite Japanese cooking sites.
PSA: Feed four grown humans as a side dish. (see notes below)
Adapted fromĀ Just One Cookbook, one of my favorite Japanese cooking sites.
PSA: Feed four grown humans as a side dish. (see notes below)
Ingredients
3 Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
2 eggs, hard-boiled and diced 1 can of corn, drained well OR 1 ear of fresh corn ½ bag of shredded carrots OR 5-6 baby carrots, thinly sliced OR 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced 1 Japanese (long) cucumber, stripe peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced 5-6 slices of deli ham or turkey, thinly sliced into ribbons |
Hawaiian or kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
White pepper, to taste 3-4 good dollps of Best Foods Mayonnaise A drizzle of sesame oil A dash of red wine vinegar Pickled red ginger and a bit of ginger juice Sprinkle of nori furikake (optional) |
What To Do
Hard-boil the eggs according to the perfectly hard-boiled eggs method. Scoop eggs out after 10 minutes and then put the potatoes in the hot water. Boil until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a skewer. Take them out, rinse with cold water, mash them coarsely and then let them cool off.
While the potatoes cook, peel eggs and press them through an egg slicer . Lift the egg carefully, rotate 90 degrees and slice again. You'll have diced eggs instead of slices. Dump into your salad bowl.
Drain corn well and add to eggs. After you have peeled, halved and seeded the cucumber, slice into very thin, semi-circles. Best way is with a mandoline, or a Japanese box slicer. Slice ham into thin, small strips. Dump both into the salad bowl, and toss gently.
Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, chop into half-bite sized pieces, add to the rest of the contents in your salad bowl. Toss gently. Start with two 2 heaping spoonfuls of mayonnaise. Mix together so that it all starts to 'stick.'
Add Hawaiian salt, black pepper and white pepper, to taste. I like to use more white pepper, a pinch of black pepper and a pretty light touch on salt because the cold cuts lend a lot of salt.
Drizzle a bit of sesame oil, a very small dash of vinegar and mix once more time. Sprinkle with a little ginger or furikake right before serving.
While the potatoes cook, peel eggs and press them through an egg slicer . Lift the egg carefully, rotate 90 degrees and slice again. You'll have diced eggs instead of slices. Dump into your salad bowl.
Drain corn well and add to eggs. After you have peeled, halved and seeded the cucumber, slice into very thin, semi-circles. Best way is with a mandoline, or a Japanese box slicer. Slice ham into thin, small strips. Dump both into the salad bowl, and toss gently.
Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, chop into half-bite sized pieces, add to the rest of the contents in your salad bowl. Toss gently. Start with two 2 heaping spoonfuls of mayonnaise. Mix together so that it all starts to 'stick.'
Add Hawaiian salt, black pepper and white pepper, to taste. I like to use more white pepper, a pinch of black pepper and a pretty light touch on salt because the cold cuts lend a lot of salt.
Drizzle a bit of sesame oil, a very small dash of vinegar and mix once more time. Sprinkle with a little ginger or furikake right before serving.
Notes and Talking Story
- If you have access to Japanese Kewpie mayo, this would be a GREAT recipe to use it.
- This salad is best on the day you serve it, so portion appropriately.
- Due to the high water content of the vegetables, it will get watery within a few days,
- If you keep it for more than a day or so, it helps to drain the water in the salad and add a bit more mayonnaise to freshen it up.