This rich & creamy Korean potato salad is loaded with fluffy mashed potatoes, eggs, ham, and crunchy vegetables to give you the most decadent flavors in every bite. This potato salad makes for a perfect side dish but can also be used as a delicious filling in a sandwich.
What is Korean potato salad?
Gamja Salad (감자샐러드), which translates to potato salad in Korean, is one of the most popular banchans (side dishes) served at Korean restaurants, often alongside Korean BBQ to refresh your palate whilst serving the grilled meats.
Contrary to other variations of potato salad, Korean potato salad has a soft and fluffy consistency that’s similar to mashed potatoes, and studded with crunchy vegetables and hard-boiled eggs to make it extra luscious and satisfying.
Although I’ve shared many Korean side dishes in the past, Gamja salad has always been one of my favorite dishes in Korean cuisine, which makes it so special to share the recipe with you today.
Despite its sophisticated flavors, this Korean potato side dish is incredibly easy to prepare using a simple list of ingredients, making it to be the perfect make-ahead meal to prepare ahead of the busy weekdays.
If you’ve never tried this dish before – I promise you, you will be absolutely hooked on the first bite. The flavors and textures of this potato salad are absolutely divine, and best of all, it is so delightfully easy to make!
What do I need to make Korean potato salad?
As mentioned earlier, this Korean potato salad recipe calls for ingredients that are commonly found in your kitchen, which can also be modified based on what you have at hand.
Here is everything you’ll need for this easy potato salad recipe:
- Russet potatoes: or Yukon Gold potatoes. These higher starch potatoes will give you the most fluffiest, smoothest and the most flavor-packed results for this recipe and for mashed potatoes in general.
- Hard-boiled eggs: for an extra layer of richness.
- This is optional, but you can also set aside an extra egg to use as a garnish for your potato salad. Simply separate the egg yolk from the whites and grate it on a sieve or a grater as a final touch, as per the photos in the post.
- Onion, carrot, cucumber: for the fresh vegetables.
- Depending on what you have in the fridge, you can easily substitute the vegetables to your preference.
- Some popular additions include diced apples, corn, raisins, peas, bell pepper, and green onion.
- Ham: for the savory touch.
- You can also use imitation crab, spam, salmon, or tuna and chop them up into smaller pieces before adding to the mix.
- Mayonnaise: I am using regular mayonnaise for this recipe as we are already adding eggs to the salad and Kewpie mayonnaise can be a little overpowering and expensive to use in a large amount.
- Some prefer it with kewpie however, so it’s all up to personal preference!
- Salt, pepper, and sugar: to season the salad.
And that’s it! All the ingredients you need to make your own batch of Korean potato salad.
How do you serve Korean potato salad?
Although this Korean potato side dish is delicious on its own, my personal favorite way to serve this is in a sandwich, tucked between soft slices of white bread which perfectly complements the soft and creamy texture of the potato salad.
Any kind of bread will work, but ideally, I recommend using white milk buns that is soft and fluffy in texture with a slight touch of sweetness, which can be found in most Asian bakeries.
Tucked between soft slices of white bread, potato salad sandwiches make for an incredibly satisfying lunch, especially when paired with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
These scrumptious sandwiches never fail to brighten up my mornings, and I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I do. ツ
I hope you enjoy this easy potato salad recipe, and as usual, please feel free to leave a comment below or message me on Instagram with any questions you may have. Happy cooking everyone!
Other easy side dish recipes you may like:
- Mayak Eggs (Korean Marinated Eggs)
- Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes)
- Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim)
- 5-Minute Silken Tofu (Soft Tofu)
- Dubu Jorim (Korean Braised Tofu)
Easy Korean Potato Salad (Gamja Salad)
Ingredients
- 1 lb (2 medium) russet potatoes peeled and cubed into ½ inch pieces
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 (40g) carrot finely chopped
- 1 (70g) persian cucumber thinly sliced
- 1/4 onion finely chopped
- 2 slices (50g) ham imitation crab, salmon, or tuna
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Slice the cucumber as thinly as possible. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of salt over the cucumbers, toss to coat, and set aside for 10 minutes. Using your hands, squeeze out as much water as possible, and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat and add a tsp of salt. Add the potatoes, reduce the heat to low, and boil for about 10-12 minutes until they are fork-tender. Drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- While the potatoes are cooking, bring another pot of water to a boil, add a generous amount of vinegar and carefully add the the eggs. Boil for 10 minutes before cooling them in an ice bath.
- Mash the potatoes in a large mixing bowl, then add onion, carrot, cucumber, ham, and boiled eggs, and mash together until the eggs are evenly distributed. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and mayonnaise and mix to combine.
- Serve at room temperature or chill in the fridge for at least an hour to serve cold. Use an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to serve on its own, or add it between slices of bread or milk buns to make a sandwich.
Notes
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1 comment
This was so easy to make and so delicious! My 5 year old said it was the best thing he’s ever eaten. It is SO delicious as a sandwich. I plan on making another batch very soon. Thank you!