Korean Potato Salad Gamja Salad Food

KOREAN POTATO SALAD (GAMJA SALAD)

Steps:

• Wash/scrub the potatoes (you can use Russet or Yukon Gold) and put in a pot of cold water. Add about a teaspoonful of salt and bring to a boil, then simmer until cooked (check by inserting a skewer or toothpick into the center). Remove the potatoes and put on a plate, but do not discard the water.
• Bring the water to a boil and add the carrots for one minute, then remove. Chop the carrots into small pieces.
• Peel the potatoes while still warm. Mash half or more of the potatoes in a large bowl, and chop the rest into bite sized pieces.
• In a jug or medium sized bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, pinch of sugar and black pepper until a smooth consistency is acheived.
• Add the chopped potatoes, carrots, celery, cucumber, and apples to the bowl of mashed potatoes. You can mix or omit whatever you choose. Traditional gamja salad doesn't have celery, but I sometimes add it. Sprinkle with about ½ teaspoon of Kosher salt, and black pepper, if desired.
• Pour the creamy dressing over the vegetables and fruit. Mix well.
• Add the chopped hard boiled eggs and mix again, gently. Once mixed, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. You can just serve as is in a bowl (I added a celery leaf).
• Or you can make individual servings in bowls using an ice cream scoop, which is the traditional way to serve it with Korean bbq.

KOREAN POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Make hard-boiled eggs - use your favorite method but I usually like to start cooking the egg in cold water on medium-high, bring to a boil, cover then turn heat off and leave for 10 minutes. When eggs are done, put them in ice water, peel them.
• Roughly chop cooked eggs into small pieces. If you want to garnish the top with egg yolk, set aside 1 egg yolk and leave it uncut.
• Peel potatoes and carrots. Cut potatoes into 3/4 inch thick discs then further into 1 inch or so squares. Cut carrots into 1/2 inch discs then cut the thicker parts into halves. Basically, you want the carrots to be about 1/2 the side of a potato.
• Add potatoes to a pot and add enough water to fully cover it and then some. Add about 1/8 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and then boil on medium heat for 8-9 minutes then add the carrots. Cook about 8 minutes more until the potatoes kind of crumble when cutting with a fork and the carrots should be just softly cooked but not mush.
• While potatoes are cooking, cut cucumbers into cubes.
• Cut the apple into cubes. For color, you can just core them and cut with peels on. But if your apple is not organic or is waxed, peel it and then cut into cubes.
• Drain potatoes and carrots. Set aside and let it cool.
• In a large bowl, add potatoes, carrots, cucumbers and apples.
• To the bowl, add mayonnaise and gently mix them all up. Then add chopped eggs. Mix again.
• Add salt and sugar to taste. (About 3/8 to 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp sugar to my basic 2 potato salad).
• Mix and taste again. By now, potatoes will most likely have disintegrated and become total mush as you see in the picture and that's how it should be. But it's also fine if it is still holding shape.
• Optionally, using a sieve, grate the egg yolk on top of the potato salad.
• Serve room temperature or cold from the fridge.

GAMJA SALAD

Steps:

• Add the cucumber and carrot to a medium bowl and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
• Prepare an ice bath and set aside.
• Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with at least 1 inch of cold water and season lightly with salt. Carefully add the eggs. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to the ice bath with a slotted spoon. Drain the potatoes in a colander and transfer to a large bowl. Mash while still hot. Season with salt.
• Remove the eggs from the ice bath and peel. Cut one of the eggs in half and remove and reserve the yolk for later use. Chop the remaining eggs and egg whites finely and add to the mashed potatoes.
• Put the cucumber and carrot in a dry towel and squeeze out and discard the liquid. Add the cucumber, carrot, mayonnaise, sugar, rice vinegar and onion to the mashed potato mixture and fold to combine. Season with salt.
• Scoop portions with an ice cream scoop onto small side dishes/banchan plates and pass the reserved yolk through a fine-mesh sieve over the portioned salads.