Japanese Potato Salad Recipe

"I had Japanese potato salad for the first time at the Japanese Tea Garden in Balboa Park. I liked it so much that I came straight home and looked it up online. I learned that although potatoes are not a part of traditional Japanese cuisine, potato salad has since become a daily fixture in Japanese lunch boxes. A creamy, non-acidic potato salad, no pickles and no relish here. By the way, we enjoyed our get-together so much that we forgot to check out the gardens, the reason we chose that restaurant in the first place :) Recipe adapted from justhungrydotcom"

Original is 5 servings

Metric US

I've Tried It

Ingredients

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3 medium yukon gold potatoes
1 small yellow onion
Cucumber (4 inches of a seedless cucumber)
1 small carrot, optional (I omit)

1 large egg (optional)
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
3/4 to 1 cup mayonnaise

Nutritional

Serving Size: 1 (351.3 g)
Calories 272.4
Total Fat - 9.9 g
Saturated Fat - 1.8 g
Cholesterol - 63.4 mg
Sodium - 420.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate - 42.2 g
Dietary Fiber - 5 g
Sugars - 6.8 g
Protein - 5.8 g
Calcium - 53.1 mg
Iron - 1.6 mg
Vitamin C - 19.5 mg
Thiamin - 0.2 mg

Step by Step Method

Step 1

Boil the potatoes in their skins until just tender. Once potatoes have come to a boil, add carrot (unpeeled) and egg.

Step 2

In the meantime, slice the cucumber and the onion very thinly. Sprinkle both with a little kosher salt and let sit for about 10 minutes, until they exude their juices. Squeeze firmly to get rid of the juices.

Step 3

When potatoes are done, immediately put egg in ice water, set aside. Drain potatoes and peel while still hot, along with carrot. Hold them in a folded paper towel so you don't burn yourself. Loosely smash the potatoes and shred the carrot. Mix in a little salt and pepper and leave to cool. Peel the hard boiled egg and finely chop.

Step 4

Once potatoes have come to room temperature, add cucumber, onion and egg and stir in mayonnaise. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover with plastic wrap and cool in fridge for a couple of hours at least.

Step 5

Note: The original recipe says the ideal mayo to use is a Japanese one. Next best would be to make your own, using a flavor-neutral vegetable oil such as canola or extra light olive oil. Otherwise any commercial mayo will do, as long as it's not too heavy on the vinegar flavor. Salad cream such as Miracle Whip should not be used.