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Japanese potato salad, also known as potesara, is a creamy and comforting side dish made with tender potatoes, crunchy vegetables, and rich Japanese mayonnaise. The potatoes are boiled until soft, lightly mashed, then mixed with thin cucumber, carrot, onion, ham, corn, boiled egg, or green peas for color and texture. Japanese mayo gives the salad its smooth, slightly tangy flavor, while rice vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, or a small amount of sugar can make the taste more balanced. The soft potatoes create a creamy base, and the vegetables add a fresh bite so the salad stays light enough to enjoy with many meals. The final potesara is easy to prepare and works well for bento boxes, sandwiches, fried chicken, grilled meat, rice bowls, or izakaya-style small plates at home.
Transcript
00:00I've never been much of a fan of potato salad. That was until I created this
00:05Isakaya-inspired Japanese potato salad packed with crispy bacon, creamy mashed potatoes,
00:10crunchy vegetables and delicious eggs blended with the perfect selection of seasonings.
00:16It's seriously a potato salad like no other.
00:19You can also find this recipe on my website along with over 400 Japanese recipes.
00:24Just google potato salad space sedachi to find me.
00:27First, I place two eggs and three potatoes in a pot.
00:35Fill it with cold water and bring it to a boil over high heat.
00:45Add half teaspoon of salt to season the potatoes.
00:48We start with cold water so that the potatoes cook evenly.
00:51If you start with hot water, then outside the potato will cook too quickly and fall apart.
00:57Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and continue to boil until you can easily
01:03pierce the potatoes with a fork, about 15 minutes or so.
01:08While I wait, I've cut half a Japanese cucumber into thin slices and I'm going to rub them with
01:13a few pinches of salt to improve the flavour and drill out some excess moisture.
01:20Once they're evenly covered, set them aside for later.
01:24Next, I'm heating a frying pan on medium with about half teaspoon of cooking oil.
01:29Once it's hot, add quarter of a sliced onion, 50 grams of cubed bacon and two finely diced cloves of
01:38garlic.
01:39Simply fry those until the onion is soft and golden and the bacon is cooked through.
01:45As always, all ingredients and exact measurements for this recipe can be found in the description
01:50box below.
01:52Many Japanese potato salads are made with raw onions, but I find them a bit too pungent.
01:58Frying the onions will soften the onion flavour and bring out their natural sweetness.
02:04And any fatty bacon works great here.
02:07For something a bit different, you could try using Italian pancetta.
02:12Okay, this looks good, so I'm going to take the pan off the heat and set aside for later.
02:18It's been about 10 minutes, so I'm going to transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water
02:23and let them cool down for about 10 minutes. The potatoes aren't quite ready yet, I can pierce them
02:30but not easily, so just keep checking them from time to time.
02:34Okay, it's been about 20 minutes in total and my potatoes are finally soft enough.
02:39I'm going to use a mesh spoon to scoop that into a heatproof bowl because I actually want to reuse
02:45this water one more time.
02:51Add about one third of a carrot. I thinly cut it into half moons, but the shape is up to
02:58you.
02:58Hold these for one minute. We want them to be crunchy but not too raw tasting.
03:04After a minute, scoop them out and into a bowl and set aside for later.
03:13Mashed potatoes while they are still hot. Not only is it easier to mash them,
03:17but they also absorb flavour better when they're still hot. Just be careful not to overcook them
03:23because mashing or mixing too much can make the texture gummy.
03:27Once it's more or less smooth, add the contents of the frying pan from before,
03:33the blanched carrots, and the boiled eggs. We're just going to give this a quick mix with a spatula
03:40and break up the eggs. It's believed that the first Japanese potato salad was born at the Imperial
03:46Hotel Tokyo in the early 20th century, and it's become a staple dish that you can find anywhere from
03:53home kitchens to convenience stores, restaurants, and izakayas. We often call it potesara for short.
04:00There are many ways to make Japanese potato salad using different ingredients. You can add or leave
04:06out anything you like really. Okay, next squeeze the cucumbers thoroughly and add it to the bowl along
04:12with one tablespoon of grape parmesan cheese, half teaspoon of dashi granules, quarter teaspoon of
04:19black pepper, one teaspoon of upper vinegar, four tablespoons of mayonnaise, one teaspoon of toasted
04:26sesame oil, one teaspoon of honey, and half teaspoon of Japanese mustard. Mix everything together until
04:34evenly distribute it. I recommend using Japanese mayo like Kewpie, but you can use regular mayonnaise,
04:41or try making your own using my homemade recipe on my website. Also, if you can't find karashi mustard,
04:48a good quality smooth diesel mustard is a good substitute. What I like most about the flavour of
04:55this potato salad is the unique sweetness of the honey, and the unique spiciness of the mustard,
05:01mixed with the mayonnaise. The appeal is that you can enjoy a variety of different flavour and texture
05:07layers all at once. Anyway, once it's mixed, you can serve it right away while it's still warm and add
05:16an
05:16extra sprinkle of black pepper. However, I personally think it's even better if you chill it in the fridge
05:23first. And that's it, Japanese izakaya style potato salad. Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free
05:31cookbook from the link in the description. I hope you enjoyed this video, and if you want to read the
05:37full recipe, you can find it on my blog, the link is on the screen. If you love this video,
05:42don't miss
05:43my appetizer playlist popping up on your screen right now. Hope to see you in the next one. Thanks for
05:49watching.
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