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Japanese Potato Salad

Japanese potato salad made with slightly mashed russet potatoes, crunchy cucumber, carrots, corn, and hard-boiled egg, then folded into a creamy mayo-vinegar dressing. This Asian comfort food side has a smooth texture with visible tender potato chunks.
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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: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Potatoes and vegetables
  • 3 lb russet potatoes peeled and cubed
  • 2 carrots diced small
  • 1 cucumber seeded and sliced thin
  • 0.5 cup corn kernels
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped
Creamy dressing
  • 0.5 cup Japanese mayonnaise (or regular mayo)
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 0.25 tsp salt to taste
  • 0.125 tsp pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Cook and prep the vegetables
  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add russet potatoes, and cook until very tender. Drain well.
  2. While the potatoes are still warm, mash them and leave some chunks for a slightly mashed texture. Set aside to cool slightly.
  3. Blanch diced carrots in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain thoroughly. Spread on a sheet pan if you need to cool faster.
  4. Salt cucumber slices and let them sit for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the liquid. This prevents watery salad.
Assemble the salad
  1. In a mixing bowl, combine mashed potatoes, blanched carrots, squeezed cucumber, corn kernels, and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Toss gently to distribute evenly.
  2. In a small bowl, mix Japanese mayonnaise with rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper until smooth and uniform. Adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed.
  3. Fold the dressing into the potato mixture until everything looks creamy and evenly coated. Keep some potato chunks visible.
  4. Cover and refrigerate the Japanese potato salad for at least 2 hours before serving, so flavors meld and the texture firms up. Serve cold.

Notes

Pro tip: squeeze the salted cucumbers well and let drained carrots cool a little before mixing—this keeps the salad creamy instead of watery. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; it’s not ideal for freezing because the cucumber texture changes. For a lighter option, swap half the Japanese mayonnaise with Greek yogurt while keeping the same rice vinegar and sugar balance.