Japanese Potato Salad With Cucumbers, Carrots, and Red Onion

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, about 3 large potatoes, peeled and quartered

Kosher salt

2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced crosswise

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

6 tablespoons homemade or store-bought Japanese mayonnaise, such as Kewpie

1/2 teaspoon Japanese hot mustard

1 small carrot, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

2 hard boiled eggs , chopped

1 scallion, white and light green parts only, chopped

Directions

Place potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Season generously with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Let cool.

Meanwhile, place cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well, then let stand for 10 minutes. Drain any accumulated water, then gently squeeze cucumbers with paper towels to blot up any excess liquid.

In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, mayonnaise, and hot mustard until well combined.

Mash potatoes with a masher or a large fork, allowing some small lumps to remain. Add cucumbers, carrot, onion, eggs, scallion, and mayonnaise mixture. Mix well and season with salt to taste. Serve right away. The salad can be refrigerated up to 1 day.

Notes

WHY IT WORKS

Starting the potatoes in cold water allows them to heat up along with the water, resulting in a more even doneness throughout.

Seasoning the cooking water allows the potatoes to be better flavored all the way to the core.

Salting the cucumbers and letting them drain before mixing them prevents a watered down salad.

Nutrition

• Calories: 179 kcal
• Total Fat: 9 g
• Saturated Fat: 2 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 51 mg
• Sodium: 179 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 20 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 2 g
• Protein: 4 g