Our Korean potato salad recipe will make you a popular Korean barbecue restaurant banchan or side dish that’s also eaten as comfort food in the home. Like a Japanese potato salad, Korean potato salads include salad vegetables such as raw cucumber, carrot and onion, and have a texture that’s somewhere between a potato salad and mashed potatoes.
One of our best Korean recipes and one of our best potato salad recipes, this classic Korean potato salad recipe is next in our series of recipes for the small Korean side dishes served in Korean barbecue restaurants called banchan, which you’ll also find at Korean bars and taverns on menus for ‘drinking food’ or ‘anju’, as well as cooked in the home as comfort food. This potato salad is fantastic with Korean fried chicken.
Readers are loving our recipes for Korean corn cheese, Korean meatballs, Korean coleslaw, and Korean cucumber salad, all of which are versatile: make the cheese corn cheesier with more cheese, chewier with mozzarella, or gooier with American burger cheese slices; spice up the cucumber and cabbage salads and meatballs with gochujang (chilli paste) or gochugaru (chilli flakes).
This Korean potato salad is just as versatile – like the best potato salads – and while this is a classic potato salad in Korea, there’s no reason you can’t bump up the amount of boiled eggs, say, reduce or increase the veggies, especially the corn, or add bacon or ham, like this Japanese potato salad, which is similar.
If you’re a Korean food lover and have enjoyed our recipes for Korean spicy udon noodles, Korean japchae (glass noodles), and bokkeumbap (kimchi fried rice), you will love this Korean potato salad. It’s another quick and easy recipe, but I’ll share tips to making this Korean potato salad recipe below.
Korean Potato Salad Recipe for the Korean Barbecue Restaurant Side Dish
For me, summer is potato salad weather. As a child growing up in Australia, potato salads accompanied almost every weekend meal, whether it was beachside picnics or backyard barbecues or Sunday family meals at our grandparents’ homes.
My Russian-Ukrainian grandmother and mother made this pink beetroot potato salad and Olivier potato salad, while a Russian potato salad with salmon made appearances on special occasions. This is my fancy version of that salmon potato salad. My nanna made an old-fashioned Australian potato salad, which I’ll also share a recipe for soon.
But what I’ve realised over the years is that potato salads are actually fantastic year-round. Right now I’m in Australia at my mum’s where the winter temperatures are frequently dipping below zero, so I’ve been making warm potato salads, like this German potato salad.
Although I have to say that almost any potato salad can be eaten warm or cold. If fresh herbs are involved, as they are with this fragrant herb potato salad, just sprinkle them on top and give the potato salad another stir just before serving.
Just a few tips to making this Korean potato salad recipe below, as it’s a cinch and comes together quickly.
Tips to Making this Korean Potato Salad Recipe
This Korean potato salad recipe is so easy to make, so I only have a few tips. Firstly, let’s talk potatoes.
Potatoes
Most potato salads require waxy potatoes, which stay firm and don’t lose their shape. However, this Korean potato salad recipe calls for starchy floury potatoes, such as Russets, as Korean potato salads, like Japanese potato salads, are actually somewhere between a potato salad and mashed potatoes in texture.
When boiling your potatoes, always start with cold water so the potatoes cook through evenly. You’ve probably been taught to boil potatoes with skins on to keep the flavour in and moisture out, but Korean potato salad recipes, like Japanese potato salad recipes call for peeling the potatoes.
Other Vegetables
When it comes to the other vegetables to be added, Korean cooks like to draw the moisture out while softening the veggies, so while your potatoes are boiling, you’ll need to sprinkle salt on your finely sliced veggies, which you’ll rub into them, then when the moisture surfaces, you’ll squeeze them between your hands to remove excess water.
Preparing the Potato Salad
Once the potatoes are cooked and have cooled, all you’ll need to do is combine the vegetables, potatoes, corn kernels (canned corn is typically used), finely chopped hard-boiled egg (see Terence’s guide to boiling perfect eggs every time), mayonnaise, rice wine vinegar, pepper, and remaining salt in a bowl, and you’re done.
Make sure to stir well to incorporate everything and in this case, there’s no need to worry if the potato breaks up a bit, as that’s exactly what you want with a Korean potato salad.
Seasoning and Serving Your Potato Salad
Don’t forget to taste the potato salad and adjust the mayo and vinegar, salt and pepper to suit your palate, then transfer it to a salad bowl, and sprinkle some sliced spring onions or chives on top, and serve. Enjoy!
Korean Potato Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 floury potatoes - peeled, quartered, such as russet potatoes
- 1 small carrot - peeled, halved lengthwise, finely sliced
- 1 cucumber - halved lengthwise, finely sliced
- 1 purple shallot - finely diced
- 1 tsp salt - divided
- ½ cup corn kernels - canned, drained
- 1 egg - hard-boiled, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- ½ tsp white pepper - or to taste
- 1 spring onion - finely sliced on an angle
Instructions
- To a pot of water, add the potato pieces and simmer over medium-high heat until cooked. When the potatoes are done – you should be able to easily slide a fork or skewer into a potato. Drain the potatoes in a colander and set aside to cool.
- While the potatoes are boiling, transfer the finely sliced carrot and cucumber and finely diced shallot to a bowl, sprinkle on half a teaspoon of salt, rub it into the salad vegetables, and set aside. When water appears on the vegetables, squeeze them with your hands to remove excess water and transfer them to a bowl.
- To the same bowl, add the potato pieces, corn kernels, finely chopped hard-boiled egg, mayonnaise, rice wine vinegar, pepper and remaining salt.
- Stir to combine well and don’t be concerned if the potato breaks up – like a Japanese potato salad, the text of a Korean potato salad is somewhere between a potato salad and mashed potatoes.
- Taste and adjust the mayo and vinegar, salt and pepper to suit your palate. Transfer to a salad bowl, sprinkle spring onions on top, and serve.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make our Korean potato salad recipe as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.
