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Japanese Potato Salad

Japanese potato salad with a creamy, slightly mashed texture, loaded with cucumber, carrots, corn, and chopped hard-boiled egg. Warm potatoes are mashed with chunks, then tossed with a rice vinegar–sugar mayo dressing and chilled until spoonable and cool.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chilling 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Japanese
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Russet potatoes
  • 3 lb russet potatoes peeled and cubed
Carrots
  • 2 carrots diced small
Cucumber
  • 1 cucumber seeded and sliced thin
Corn kernels
  • 0.5 cup corn kernels
Hard-boiled eggs
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped
Japanese mayonnaise
  • 0.5 cup Japanese mayonnaise or regular mayo
Rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
Sugar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper
  • 0.25 salt and pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Boil and prep the vegetables
  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the peeled and cubed russet potatoes, and boil until very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and move them to a bowl—look for potatoes that mash easily with almost no resistance.
  2. Mash the warm potatoes while still warm and leave some chunks for a slightly mashed texture. If needed, lightly crush for thickness while keeping visible pieces.
  3. Blanch the diced carrots in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain well. They should brighten slightly in color but stay firm.
  4. Salt the thin cucumber slices and let sit for 10 minutes. You should see moisture beads forming on the surface.
  5. Squeeze out excess liquid from the salted cucumber. Stop when the cucumber feels less watery and won’t drip.
Mix and chill
  1. Combine mashed potatoes, blanched carrots, squeezed cucumber, corn kernels, and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Mix just until evenly distributed with visible cucumber and egg throughout.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix Japanese mayonnaise, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir until smooth and glossy, with sugar and salt fully dissolved.
  3. Fold the dressing into the potato mixture until the salad looks creamy and evenly coated. Stop when no dry potato pockets remain, keeping some chunk texture.
  4. Refrigerate the salad for at least 2 hours before serving. Chill until the mixture is cool and spoonable, with flavors melded.

Notes

For best texture, mash the potatoes while they’re still warm and chunky, then thoroughly drain and squeeze the cucumber so the salad stays creamy instead of watery. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; freezing is not recommended because the cucumber and mayo-based dressing can break. For a lighter option, use Japanese mayo-style low-fat mayonnaise and keep the cucumber well-squeezed to prevent thinning.