Japanese Potato Salad (ポテトサラダ, Poteto Sarada)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide pot
• •Colander
• •Potato masher or sturdy wooden spoon
• •Clean kitchen towel or sarashi cloth for squeezing vegetables

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the vegetables

   Put the cucumber and onion in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Toss gently and leave them for 10 minutes, until the cucumber looks glossy and a little water gathers in the bowl. The salt draws out moisture and softens the onion's bite, so the salad stays clean instead of watery.

   Use Japanese cucumber if you can. Persian cucumber is a sensible stand-in. A large seedy cucumber gives too much water, and this salad has no use for it.
2. 2

   Boil the potatoes

   Put the potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water by an inch, and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a steady simmer and cook until a skewer slips through without resistance, about 15 to 18 minutes. Starting in cold water lets the pieces heat evenly, so the outside doesn't collapse before the center is tender.

3. 3

   Cook the carrot

   Add the carrot slices to the potato pot for the last 2 minutes of cooking. They should lose their raw edge but keep their orange color and a little firmness. Drain everything well.

4. 4

   Dry and season

   Return the drained potatoes and carrot to the warm pot over low heat for 30 seconds, shaking gently until the potato surfaces look dry and chalky at the edges. Take off the heat. Sprinkle over the rice vinegar, sugar, and white pepper, then mash the potatoes roughly while they're still warm. Warm potatoes drink seasoning; cold potatoes only wear it.

5. 5

   Squeeze the cucumber

   Wrap the salted cucumber and onion in a clean towel or sarashi cloth and squeeze firmly until they stop dripping. Be more serious than polite here. Any water left in them will loosen the mayonnaise and make the salad slack.

6. 6

   Fold the salad

   Let the potatoes cool until warm, not hot, about 10 minutes. Fold in the Kewpie mayonnaise, squeezed cucumber and onion, ham, and the egg if using. Stop while the potatoes still have lumps and soft broken edges. Smooth paste is not the goal; the rough pieces catch the mayonnaise and keep the dish lively.

   If you add mayonnaise while the potatoes are hot, it turns oily. If you wait until they're stone cold, the seasoning stays shallow. Warm is the small window that makes the dish.
7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Taste and adjust with a little more salt, vinegar, or Kewpie if needed. Rest the salad for 15 minutes before serving, or chill it and let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before the table. Serve it in a restrained mound, with room around it. A crowded bowl makes even a good salad look tired.

Chef Tips

• •Choose floury potatoes. Danshaku is the Japanese standard, but russet or Maris Piper will do the same honest work. Waxy potatoes stay too neat and won't give you the rough, seasoned mash this dish needs.
• •Kewpie matters here: yolk-rich, gently sweet, and sharper than many Western mayonnaises. If you must use another mayonnaise, stir 2 teaspoons rice vinegar and a small pinch of sugar into 1/2 cup of it. That's a useful stand-in, not the same thing.
• •Don't skip squeezing the cucumber and onion. Potato salad should be moist from mayonnaise, not from trapped vegetable water.
• •The salad keeps well, but it dulls when served refrigerator-cold. Give it a few minutes on the counter before eating so the potato softens and the vinegar comes forward again.

Advance Preparation

• •The cucumber and onion can be salted, squeezed, and refrigerated up to 4 hours ahead.
• •The finished salad keeps for 2 days refrigerated in a covered container. Stir gently before serving and add a spoonful of Kewpie only if it has tightened too much.
• •Do not freeze it. The potatoes turn grainy and the mayonnaise separates, and no amount of stirring brings back the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)