Japanese Potato Salad with Arabiki

Name: Japanese Potato Salad with Arabiki
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 500g waxy potatoes (like Yukon Gold), peeled and quartered; 2 arabiki sausages, diced into 1cm cubes; 1/2 Japanese or English cucumber, sliced thin and salted; 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into thin half-moons; 1/4 medium onion, sliced paper-thin and soaked in cold water; 3 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise (or more to taste); 1 tsp rice vinegar; 1/2 tsp sugar; Salt and white pepper to taste

Recipes with Arabiki Sausage

Japanese potato salad sits in a glass case at every izakaya counter in Japan. The potatoes are half-mashed so you get both creamy and chunky textures in the same bite. Thin cucumber slices and shredded carrot add crunch. Diced arabiki sausage, pan-fried until the edges crisp, brings a smoky pork note that Kewpie mayo ties together. Served cold, sometimes with a beer, sometimes with rice.

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Servings

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

500g waxy potatoes (like Yukon Gold), peeled and quartered
2 arabiki sausages, diced into 1cm cubes
1/2 Japanese or English cucumber, sliced thin and salted
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into thin half-moons
1/4 medium onion, sliced paper-thin and soaked in cold water
3 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise (or more to taste)
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and white pepper to taste

Steps

Boil the potatoes in salted water until a chopstick slides through with no resistance, about 15 minutes. Drain and return to the hot pot. Let the steam evaporate for a minute.

Mash the potatoes roughly with a fork. Leave about a third of the pieces chunky. While still warm, sprinkle with rice vinegar and sugar. Let the potatoes cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, salt the cucumber slices and let them sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the water with your hands. Boil the carrot slices for 2 minutes, then drain and cool. Drain the soaked onion.

Pan-fry the diced arabiki in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the edges brown and crisp. Cool for a few minutes.

Fold the cucumber, carrot, onion, and arabiki into the mashed potatoes. Add Kewpie mayo and mix gently. Season with salt and white pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Tips

Season the potatoes while they are still hot so they absorb the vinegar and sugar. Adding mayo to hot potatoes makes it greasy and thin; wait until they reach room temperature. Squeeze the cucumbers hard. Any water left in them will make the salad soupy within hours. Kewpie mayo is tangier and richer than western mayo because it uses only egg yolks, not whole eggs.