This is a potato salad I first tried in Sapporo, Hokkaido, but as I would venture further around the island of Japan I realized it is a potato salad that is everywhere. Every izakaya, every supermarket, literally everywhere. But I sampled it in Hokkaido first so I just called it Hokkaido potato salad.

The potato for this salad was certainly over cooked and often even quite crushed. That, coupled with the fact that it is dressed quite heavily with mayonnaise, sometimes made its appearance more of a condiment than a salad. And then there is the tartare sauce which was quite often so chunky it resembled a salad more than a condiment. Condiment-salads and salady-condiments. What a whacky place, right?

But back to that potato salad.

I have zero qualms with a condiment-salad, so this worked just fine for me.

HOKKAIDO POTATO SALAD

(for the table)

4 large boiling potatoes
150 g ham, chopped
2 eggs, boiled, peeled and chopped
½ cup frozen corn
½ Lebanese cucumber, sliced into ½ rounds
1 small carrot, sliced into ½ rounds
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 – 1 ½ cups Japanese mayonnaise, depending on how mayonnaisey you think you like it

Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. Boil until tender, strain and then place potatoes back in the pot and onto the heat for another 10 seconds to make sure all of the wetness is gone.
Transfer cooked potato into a bowl and season with vinegar, salt and a good pinch of pepper while still hot – this allows the potatoes to really suck in the seasonings.
Lightly salt cucumber and carrot and sit in a colander or sieve over a bowl for 30 minutes to release excess moisture. Rinse and allow to drain for another 5 minutes.
Combine all ingredients, roughing up the potato slightly as you go, and dress with mayonnaise.
Mix well to combine.
Check seasoning and then whack it on the table next to some other things that you like to eat.
Hai.