Featured Comment:
“I can’t even count the number of times I’ve made this recipe, and it never, ever gets boring. The only real change I make is to add tinned sweet corn to it.”
– Philippe
I gave Japanese potato salad a makeover and turned it into an addictive nighttime snack.
Yes, potato salad is addictive!
Would you like to know what goes into it? Read on to find out more!
What is Japanese Potato Salad?
Potato salad might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japanese cuisine, but it’s one of Japan’s most popular side dishes and has been around for more than 100 years!
Also known as “Poteto sarada (ポテトサラダ)” or “Potesara (ポテサラ)” for short, you’ll often see the Japanese adaptation of this world-renowned dish in supermarkets, convenience stores, and bento boxes across Japan.
Since it’s a side dish, it’s often served with fried dishes like karaage (fried chicken) or even used as a sandwich filling!
How I Developed This Recipe
Since childhood, I haven’t been a big fan of the standard Japanese potato salad, which is often sweet and has a strong onion flavor. That got me thinking: why not create a recipe for this potato salad that even those with similar preferences to mine could truly enjoy?
The addition of bacon, parmesan cheese, a hint of pepper, and other ingredients really transforms the dish.
I recommend trying this potato salad as an accompaniment to an evening drink too. Its bold flavors are ideal for a relaxing night or a casual gathering with friends and family.
Key Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Potatoes: Starchy potatoes work best for this recipe because they’re softer and become smoother when mashed. I recommend something like russet or similar.
- Fresh Vegetables: We’ll need onion, carrot, cucumber, and garlic.
- Japanese Mayonnaise: This creamy, tangy mayonnaise is our secret weapon! I recommend using Kewpie brand, but you can use regular mayonnaise or try making your own using our homemade recipe!
- Japanese Mustard (Karashi): This gives it a great flavor boost! If you can’t find karashi, A good-quality smooth Dijon mustard is a great substitute!
- Bacon: Any good-quality bacon will work great here. For something a bit different, try using Italian pancetta.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese: For the best flavor, use freshly grated aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. If you can’t find it, other hard-aged cheeses like Pecorino Romano are great substitutes.
- Additional Essentials: To finish off the dish, you’ll need eggs, extra virgin olive oil, dashi granules, freshly ground black pepper, apple vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and a touch of honey for balance.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Japanese Potato Salad at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
This section aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the cooking steps and techniques with visuals. It also includes more in-depth tips and tricks and explains why I do what I do.
Grab a big pot and fill it with cold water. Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into thirds or quarters. Aim for pieces about 1½ inches in size for even cooking.
Add the potatoes and eggs to the pot, making sure they’re fully submerged. Next, add a half teaspoon of salt and bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium.
Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the potatoes with slight resistance. If you start with cold water, you can make sure that both the eggs and the potatoes are cooked evenly.
While the potatoes are cooking, peel and slice the carrots into thin half-moons or quarters. Cut the cucumber into thin slices. Use either Japanese or Persian cucumbers.
Add the cucumber to a bowl with a little salt. This helps draw out excess moisture and gives the salad a nice and crunchy texture. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, add olive oil. Next, add bacon, finely diced garlic cloves, and thinly sliced onion.
Fry until the bacon is crispy and the onion is soft and translucent, which should take about 5-7 minutes.
Take it off the heat and set it aside.
Once the potatoes are fork-tender, put the eggs in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and make them easier to peel. Next, transfer the potatoes to a large heatproof bowl.
Reuse the water and add the carrots to the pot, cooking for exactly one minute to maintain a crunchy texture.
This brief cooking maintains their crunch while taking away the raw taste. The best way to get a smooth texture is to mash the potatoes right away while they’re still hot. You can use a potato masher or fork.
Once you’ve mashed the potatoes, add in the bacon mixture (including any tasty oils from the pan), blanched carrots, and peeled, chopped boiled eggs.
Give these base ingredients a good mix. Give the salted cucumber a good squeeze to get rid of any excess moisture, then add it to the bowl. Next, add grated parmesan cheese, dashi granules, ground black pepper, apple vinegar, Japanese-style mayonnaise, toasted sesame oil, honey, and Japanese mustard.
Just mix everything together until it’s all evenly distributed.
Let the mixture cool down a bit, then cover it and pop it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, taste it and add more black pepper if you think it needs it.
How to Store
Your homemade potato salad should stay tasty for around three days, tucked away in the fridge. Store it in a lidded container or cover it with plastic wrap to keep it fresh.
With summer’s heat and humidity, eating it up sooner rather than later is best, as these conditions can speed up spoilage. Avoid storing at room temperature in any conditions.
Recipe Update: December 2024
This is a recipe for a izakaya-style potato salad that was published in 2020, but I’ve made a few tweaks to make it even better.
I’m sharing this updated version because the original recipe was already a big hit with our readers. You can find the original, simpler version in my YouTube video if you’d like to see it.
I hope you enjoy this Japanese Potato Salad recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Salad Recipes
- Japanese Chicken Salad (with Homemade Dressing)
- Wakame Salad (Japanese Seaweed Salad)
- Japanese Style Avocado Egg Salad with Wasabi Mayo
- Sashimi Salad (with Homemade Japanese Wafu Dressing)
Want more inspiration? Explore my Japanese Salad Roundup Post for a carefully selected collection of tasty recipe ideas to spark your next meal!
Japanese Potato Salad (Izakaya Style)
Ingredients
- 300 g potato starchy type like king edward or russet
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ carrot medium size
- ½ Japanese or Persian cucumber or half the amount of English cucumber
- ½ tsp olive oil
- 50 g bacon cubed
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- ¼ onion thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp dashi granules
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 tsp apple vinegar
- 4 tbsp Japanese style mayonnaise preferably kewpie
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Japanese mustard or smooth Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Wash, peel and cut 300 g potato into equal thirds or quarters (depending on the size). Place them in a pot along with 2 eggs and fill with cold water until fully submerged. Add ½ tsp salt and bring to the boil over a high heat and then lower medium. Cook for 12-15 minutes.
- While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the other ingredients. Peel and slice ⅓ carrot then cut into half moons or quarters. Thinly slice ½ Japanese or Persian cucumber.
- Place the cucumber in a bowl with a few pinches of salt and set aside for later.
- Heat a frying pan on a medium setting and once hot, add ½ tsp olive oil. Add 50 g bacon, 2 cloves garlic (finely diced) and ¼ onion (thinly sliced).
- Fry until bacon is crispy and onion is softened, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Once the potatoes are fork-tender, use a slotted spoon to transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water and the potatoes to a large heatproof bowl. Add the carrots to the water and cook for 1 minute.
- Mash the potatoes while they're still hot.
- Once the mashed potato is smooth, add the contents of the frying pan (bacon etc), carrot and boiled eggs to the bowl. Mix well.
- Squeeze the cucumber to remove the excess moisture and add them to the bowl along with 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, ½ tsp dashi granules, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp apple vinegar, 4 tbsp Japanese style mayonnaise, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 tsp honey and 1 tsp Japanese mustard. Mix until evenly distributed.
- Once cool enough to touch, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle with extra black pepper to taste, and enjoy!
It looks and sounds delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
Thank you, hope you enjoy the recipe!
So good! we are having this for the second time this week. We are also eating the pickled cucumbers for the second time this week.
Your recipes are fantastic Yuto!
Hi Kylie
Thank you for trying my recipes and letting me know what you thought, I’m so glad you’re enjoying them!
I can’t even count the number of times I’ve made this recipe, and it never, ever gets boring. The only real change I make is to add tinned sweet corn to it.
Wonderful recipe, as are so many on your site and on IG.
Arigatō gozaimasu, Omura-senpai !
Hi Philippe,
Thank you so much for your comment and sharing your experience!
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed my recipes!
Yuto