Japanese Potato Salad
Half-mashed potato with crunchy cucumber, carrot and boiled egg in a tangy Kewpie mayonnaise dressing. The creamy Japanese deli classic.
Ingredients
Pantry bits
- 600g floury potatoes (such as Sebago), peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1/2 small carrot, thinly sliced into half-moons
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 4 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise
- Pinch of white pepper
Instructions
- Put the potatoes in a saucepan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and cook for 12-15 minutes until tender. Add the carrot for the last 2 minutes.
- Drain, return to the pan and toss over low heat for 30 seconds to steam off excess moisture. Lift out the carrot and set aside.
- Roughly mash the potatoes, leaving about half in small chunks. Stir through the rice vinegar while hot, then leave to cool.
- Meanwhile, toss the cucumber with the salt and leave for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the water.
- When the potato is cool, fold in the cucumber, carrot, egg, Kewpie mayonnaise and white pepper. Taste for salt. Serve softly mounded in a bowl, or chill for an hour first.
About this dish
Japanese potato salad is a fixture of izakaya menus, convenience-store sandwiches and home lunchboxes. It's creamier than a Western potato salad, with a tang from rice vinegar and Kewpie mayonnaise.
The texture is the point: mash about half the potato and leave the rest in small chunks. Salting the cucumber keeps it crunchy and stops the salad going watery.
Seasoning the potato with vinegar while it's still hot means it soaks the flavour right in. Let it cool before adding the mayonnaise so the salad stays light, not greasy.
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