Japanese Potato Salad

When it comes to cooking Japanese food, one of my favourite sources for recipes online is JustOneCookbook. Just think of a Japanese dish you feel like eating (or cooking) and chances are you'll find it there. The author, Nami, also makes the effort to post step-by-step pictures of how the food is prepared, which I'm grateful for especially since Japanese cooking sometimes involves specific food preparation techniques that are easier explained in pictures.

As I was browsing her website, I saw that she had posted a photo and recipe for Japanese Potato Salad. It instantly reminded me of the "scoop" of mashed potato salad that is commonly served in bentos in Japanese restaurants, and that is one of my favourite components of bento sets. I always thought that it was just regular mashed potato with colourful bits of vegetables in it, and wondered why there's an un-Japanese side dish in my bento. Well, now I know! If there is Japanese mayonnaise, there has to be Japanese potato salad! Okay. But really, it's delicious especially with the light and delicate tasting mayonnaise, and the creaminess of the mashed egg makes all the difference. I never had potato salad with carrots and cucumber before, but surprisingly, they work well to add a little crunch and texture to the dish. I've made a ham and potato salad with mayo and sour cream before, but this recipe just makes it complete. It's chilling in the fridge at the moment, and I will be having it for dinner tonight with some Tonkatsu and rice. Yum yum!

Please click here for the recipe. As the cucumbers that I used were not the seedless type, I removed the  seeds (and water content) with a teaspoon before cutting them into slices.