Korean Potato Salad (Creamy Mashed Potato Ham Cucumber)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 35 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Korean potato salad arrived through Japan's yoshoku tradition but developed its own distinct identity in Korean home kitchens.
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Potatoes are boiled until tender and mashed while still hot, but not to a perfectly smooth consistency - leaving some lumps gives the salad a dual texture of creamy mashed potato and soft, intact chunks that hold together when eaten. Diced ham is pan-seared briefly to render out excess fat before being incorporated, preventing the finished salad from becoming greasy. Cucumber is salted and squeezed to remove water, which keeps the salad from turning watery as it sits. Boiled carrot is mixed in for color and a mild sweetness. The dressing is mayonnaise adjusted with sugar and salt, resulting in a distinctly sweet-creamy profile that is noticeably different from Western versions of the dish. Chilling the assembled salad for at least one hour before serving allows the seasoning to equalize throughout the mixture, improving the flavor considerably compared to eating it straight away. The salad is served as a banchan alongside rice, and it is also commonly spread inside sandwiches.
Ingredients
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Control
Place 3 potatoes and 1 egg in cold water, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Remove the egg once hard-boiled, and cook the potatoes about 20 minutes, until a skewer reaches the center easily.
- 2Step
Peel the potatoes while they are still hot and place them in a large bowl.
Mash with a fork, but stop before they become perfectly smooth so small tender lumps remain for a fluffy, varied texture.
- 3Season
Cut half a cucumber into 5 mm cubes and salt it lightly for 5 minutes.
Squeeze it firmly by hand to remove excess water, which prevents the salad from becoming watery after chilling.
- 4Heat
Dice half a carrot about the same size as the cucumber, blanch it in boiling water for 2 minutes, then cool it.
Peel the egg and chop it roughly so it mixes without disappearing into the potatoes.
- 5Control
Cut 80 g of ham into 5 mm cubes and place it in a cold pan over medium heat.
Cook about 2 minutes, until lightly browned and some fat renders out, then drain on paper towel and cool.
- 6Control
Add the cucumber, carrot, ham, and egg to the potato bowl.
Fold in 4 teaspoons mayonnaise, 0.5 teaspoon sugar, and 0.5 teaspoon salt with a cut-and-turn motion, then cover and chill for 1 hour before serving.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Potatoes mashed hot but left lumpy, mixed with seared ham and salted cucumber in sweet mayo from yoshoku.
- Finish cue
- Mash with a fork, but stop before they become perfectly smooth so small tender lumps remain for a fluffy, varied texture.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
35min, 8 ingredients
Category median
25min, 8 ingredients
Based on 189 recipes
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