Korean Potato Salad Recipe

If you're a fan of potato salad and want to try something new, this Korean potato salad recipe from recipe developer and photographer Stephanie Rapone is just what you're looking for. This potato salad is creamy, flavorful, and makes a great side dish to accompany a wide variety of meals. Korean potato salad, or gamja saelleodeu, is one of the many banchan or side-dishes that are served with Korean barbecue, according to Thrillist. There are over 250 million types of banchan being served at Korean BBQ restaurants, though we'd argue that the potato salad is one of the tastiest options.

What's the difference between this Korean potato salad and an American potato salad? According to Rapone, "The biggest difference is that the potatoes in this recipe are smooth instead of in chunks. I also find this recipe a little sweeter than most 'American' versions." To make this recipe, you just need less than an hour, a handful of ingredients, and the desire to eat some gamja saelleodeu let's get started!

Gather your ingredients for Korean potato salad

For this recipe, you'll need russet potatoes, carrots, Persian or English cucumbers, a red onion, apple cider vinegar, kosher salt, sugar, hard-boiled eggs, and mayonnaise. Easy enough, right?

Cook the potatoes and carrots

Peel, rinse, and slice the potatoes. Add the potatoes to a medium pot, and add just enough water to cover the potatoes. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook for 18 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, peel and rinse the carrots. Slice the carrots and add them to a small pot. Cover the carrots with an inch of water, and then cover the pot with a lid. Bring the pot to a simmer and simmer uncovered for three to five minutes, or until the carrots are fork-tender. Once the carrots have finished cooking, drain and add them to a large mixing bowl.

Chop the red onion and mash the potatoes

Mince the red onion. Add the apple cider vinegar, salt, and ½ teaspoon of sugar to the minced red onion and stir everything together. Set the onion and vinegar mixture aside.

Once the potatoes have finished cooking, drain them from the pot. Use a ricer or a potato masher to the get potatoes to a very fine, mashed texture in a large mixing bowl. Make sure to not leave any large chunks of potato!

Grate the egg yolk and mix everything together

Now it's time to turn your attention to the hard-boiled eggs. Cut two of the hard-boiled eggs in half and remove the yolks. Grate the egg yolks by pressing them through a mesh sieve. Set the grated yolks aside. Chop the remaining two egg whites and hardboiled eggs and add them to the mashed potatoes and carrots. Add the red onion and vinegar mixture, the mayonnaise, and the cucumbers to the bowl, and mix everything together.

Serve and store the potato salad

And that's it! Your Korean potato salad is done and ready to eat. Serve the potato salad with an ice cream scoop, and top it with the grated egg yolk. Rapone recommends serving this dish with gochujang chicken wings or even karaage. This potato salad should last a couple days in the refrigerator, but Rapone says it might need a little TLC after day 1: "I have noticed that the dressing seems to lose it's punch and found I needed to add a little more mayo, sugar, and vinegar to wake it back up on day 2."

Korean Potato Salad Recipe
4.9 (31 ratings)
If you're tired of American potato salad, give this flavorful Korean potato salad a try.
Prep Time
20
minutes
Cook Time
20
minutes
Servings
8
servings
korean potato salad in bowl
Total time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
  • 4 large russet potatoes
  • 2 medium carrots
  • 2 Persian cucumbers
  • ¼ red onion
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sugar, divided
  • 4 hardboiled eggs
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
Directions
  1. Peel and rinse the potatoes. Slice the potatoes into ¼-inch thick slices and put them into a medium pot. Add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for the potatoes for 18 minutes.
  2. While the potatoes are cooking, peel and rinse the carrots. Cut the carrots into ¼-inch slices. Add the carrots to a small pot, and cover with about 1 inch of water. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer, then cook, uncovered, for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the carrots are fork-tender. When the carrots are done cooking, drain and add to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Rinse and finely chop the cucumber and set aside.
  4. Mince the onion. Add the apple cider vinegar, salt, and ½ teaspoon sugar to the minced red onion and stir with a spoon. Set aside.
  5. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain them. Use a ricer to get the potatoes to a very fine mashed texture in a large mixing bowl.
  6. Cut two of the eggs in half and remove the yolks. Press the yolks through a mesh sieve to finely grate the yolks and set aside.
  7. Chop the remaining 2 eggs and 2 egg whites and add them to the potatoes and carrots.
  8. Add the red onion and vinegar mixture to the potatoes and carrots. Add the mayonnaise and the cucumbers. Mix everything together with a spatula.
  9. Serve the potato salad with an ice cream scoop and top with the grated egg yolks.
Nutrition
Calories per Serving 341
Total Fat 18.9 g
Saturated Fat 3.2 g
Trans Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 88.4 mg
Total Carbohydrates 36.9 g
Dietary Fiber 3.0 g
Total Sugars 3.3 g
Sodium 411.1 mg
Protein 7.0 g
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Rate this recipe