I guess potato salad falls under the category of Yoshoku as well as summer foods as it was inspired by a Russian potato salad that could stand as a full meal. Gma’s version stays true to that form with the addition of hard-boiled eggs and eventually her later additions of bacon and ham. There are a lot of version of this kind of potato salad out there and they sound great, but when it comes to summer, the version that Gma made is perfect as a barbecue and picnic side dish.
Gma’s Potato Salad Base:
- 4 large russet potatoes
- 1 large cucumber (seedless preferred) peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 head of cabbage, thinly julienned
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 1/2 cup up to a full cup of mayonnaise depending on taste preference
Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender (you can poke a skewer through one without any resistance). You can also throw in the eggs to hard boil at the same time, but make sure to take them out after 7 minutes or so of cooking time otherwise the egg yolks will have that nasty grey-green halo.
While the potatoes are cooking, place the thinly sliced cucumber and cabbage in a strainer, salt generously, and toss. After about 20 minutes, you will see that the cucumber and cabbage are starting to release their liquid. Firmly squeeze the mixture to remove as much excess liquid as possible.
Once the potatoes are done, drain them, remove their skins and slice into chunks while still hot/warm. Season with salt and pepper as you like, mix in the cucumber/cabbage slaw and the chopped hard-boiled eggs. Let this mixture cool to room temperature before adding the mayonnaise especially if you are using a homemade version or one that is not “shelf-stable.”
Sometimes Gma liked to get fancy; She reserved the egg yolks, crumbled them and sprinkled them over the potato salad as a garnish, but only if the yolks weren’t greenish.
The Tips:
Gma swore by the Idaho russet for her potato salad and there was no arguing with her. Personally, I prefer the Yukon gold variety as the texture remains consistent from room temperature to chilled and I just like the taste better. Whatever variety you end up using, make sure to boil the potatoes whole and with the skin on. I learned the hard way that this allows the potato to cook without turning into mush – unless you want to have half-mashed potato salad. Also depending on the amount of salt in the water, the potato ends up having a much nicer flavor and texture and you won’t need to use so much mayo or extra salt to flavor.
“Peel” the potatoes while they are still hot – if you don’t have asbestos fingers it’s not a lot of fun, but it is easier than waiting for them to cool off. I sometimes slice the potato first, then peel the skin off the slices which reduces a lot of the direct contact time my fingers will have with a hot potato! Gma liked to have the potatoes still warm when she added the cucumber and cabbage as the salt from the slaw infused into the potatoes.
The “gestalt” of Gma’s Potato Salad: No matter what version you want to make, the essential part of her potato salad is the cucumber-cabbage slaw. Without it, you have nothing – just a lot of boiled potatoes soaked in mayo! This slaw is probably the most time-consuming part of the recipe if you don’t have a mandolin, but it’s what makes this potato salad so refreshing.
