Ingredients

  • 8 large yellow-skinned potatoes
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled
  • 3 small Japanese cucumbers, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 2 very small red onions (or 1 medium)
  • 2 1/2 to 3 cups Japanese Mayonnaise
  • Rice vinegar to taste (1 to 2 tablespoons)

Directions

Peel the potatoes and cut into large (2 1/2 inch) chunks. Boil the potato pieces in salted water with the carrots. Cook the carrots halfway (around 7 minutes?they should not be soft) and remove to a cutting board. Continue cooking the potatoes until the centers have no resistance (about 15 minutes or more, depending on the heat of your flame and the variety of the potato).

Sprinkle the cucumber slices with 1 teaspoon salt, toss, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before squeezing out the excess cucumber water. Slice the cooled carrots into thin half-moons. Mash the hot potato pieces until fluffy, cool, then add the sliced cucumbers and carrots. Cut the ends of the onions and slice in half vertically. Peel, cut into thin half-rounds, and mix into the smashed potatoes with the other vegetables. Fold in the mayonnaise to taste; add salt and vinegar as needed.

VARIATIONS: In the summer, skip the carrots and use any combination of the following instead: cooked edamame beans, finely sliced raw okra raw corn kernels shaved from the cob, or chopped peppers (green, red, yellow). Substitute chopped scallions for the sliced onions.


Serves 6

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Submitted 2/21/13.
Source: Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu
Submitted By: b smith

Japanese-Style Potato Salad