An easy and delicious side dish: Korean Potato Salad! Also known as Gamja Salad, it’s a soft and fluffy potato salad packed with vegetables. Different from the classic American potato salad, the creamy texture and tangy flavor make it unique. Enjoy as a side dish or sandwiched between soft brioche rolls!
What is Korean Potato Salad?
Korean Potato Salad, also known as Gamja Salad, is a Korean-style potato salad. At Korean BBQ restaurants, it’s a popular side side served alongside grilled meat. In Korean cafes, this creamy and savory potato salad is also served as a sandwich filling in soft brioche buns.
What makes Korean Potato Salad unique is the texture, flavor, and inclusions. The texture is soft and fluffy. The flavor is savory with a slightly sweet tang. And there’s always vegetables added!
The vegetables add freshness, color and crunch. In Korean cuisine, there’s many different combinations people enjoy. For example, salted cucumber and shredded carrot. Apples and raisins. Or bell pepper, red onion and corn. For extra protein and umami, you can also add chopped up ham, spam or canned tuna.
My Korean Potato Salad recipe includes salted cucumber and grated hard boiled eggs. Sometimes, I also add shredded carrot. They complement the starchy potatoes and add tangy freshness.
Serve with other Korean side dishes, like Spicy Cucumber Salad, Spicy Radish Salad, or Sesame Broccoli.
If you’re new to Korean side dishes, be sure to check out my guide to Easy Korean Side Dishes. Or for a more general intro, begin here: 10 Korean Recipes for Beginners.
Ingredients:
- Russet Potatoes. The high starch content of Russet Potatoes is ideal. Soft, fluffy, light — Russet potatoes have an added level of creaminess. While I love Yukon Gold Potatoes for regular mashed potatoes, I don’t use them for this recipe. They are too heavy and dense.
- Mayonnaise. Any good mayonnaise works, but I highly recommend Kewpie mayo, a Japanese mayonnaise that comes in a squeeze bottle. Kewpie is sweeter and eggier than regular mayo. It adds richness and depth of flavor. If you don’t have it, use Hellman’s or Duke’s. Even vegan mayo (Vegenaise is my favorite) works well.
- Hard Boiled Eggs. A classic addition to potato salad. In Korean potato salad, they are grated finely for a light and fluffy texture. Use the fine side of a box grater OR a microplane to create that nice, fluffy texture.
- Sugar + Vinegar. Vinegar is commonly used in potato salad recipes. Sugar is not. But this combination makes for a dressing with a distinctly Korean flavor profile: sweet and tangy.
- Cucumber. Thinly sliced and salted cucumbers add freshness and tang. Look for mini cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, or curly cucumbers — as they are smaller and don’t release as much water. I don’t recommend English cucumbers, as they are quite large and release a lot of liquid — creating a soggy texture when added to the potatoes.
- Carrot. A small carrot adds freshness and color.
- Salt + Black Pepper. Season generously!
How to make Gamja Salad:
- Prep cucumbers. Thinly slice the cucumber. Sprinkle with salt and scrunch the cucumbers together. Set aside to draw out the moisture.
- Cook potatoes and eggs. Peel potatoes and chop into equal-sized sections. Add to a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Add eggs (gently!) into the water so they cook with the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft and the eggs are hard-boiled, about 10 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and eggs. Transfer hard-boiled eggs to a water bath — a medium bowl filled with water and a few ice cubes. Drain potatoes through a colander and let it steam (in the colander) until completely dry, about 5 minutes.
- Season. Add drained, dry potatoes back into the medium saucepan. Using a potato masher or fork, mash until light and fluffy. Add Kewpie mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. Add salted cucumbers (drained and squeezed of excess liquid). Using the large holes in a box grater, grate carrot directly on top. Using the small holes in the box grater, finely grate 1 hard-boiled egg. Gently mix together with a spoon until combined and creamy looking. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed.
- Garnish. Use an ice cream scoop to plate onto a small dish. Optional: finely grate the remaining hard boiled egg on top for garnish. Season by adding a sprinkle of salt on top of the grated egg. Serve and enjoy!
PRO Tips:
- Fully cook the potatoes. Check for doneness with a fork. It should slide in easily. You don’t want hard bits of potato in this ultra-creamy and extra-fluffy potato salad.
- Combine ingredients while warm. Add seasoning and mix everything together while the potatoes are slightly warm. The flavors will meld together better.
- Make ahead. Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Good served cold, room temperature, or warm.
Variations:
There are so many ways to enjoy Korean Gamja Salad! Make it your own or change it up from time to time. Make sure to shred or dice up the ingredients finely. Some popular additions:
- Apples
- Raisins
- Canned corn
- Chopped ham
- Red onion
- Bell pepper
- Celery
- Spam
- Canned Tuna Fish
Serve with:
Serve like any potato salad, preferably with grilled meats, vegetables, burgers, or hot dogs.
If you’re serving with Korean grilled meats, some recommendations:
Add lettuce wraps to make it a complete meal. And don’t forget the rice!
FAQ
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days.
Yes, Gamja Salad is easy to multiply. Simply double or triple the ingredient amounts.
More salad recipes:
Korean Potato Salad (Gamja Salad) recipe
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- Colander
- Box Grater
- Peeler
Ingredients
- 1 small cucumber *mini, Persian, or curly cucumber preferred
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large (about 1 lb, 900 grams) Russet potato
- 2 large eggs *preferably organic, free run eggs
- 1 small carrot *peeled
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise *Kewpie mayo recommended but Hellman's or Duke's is also good
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp rice vinegar *white distilled vinegar or apple vinegar also works
- salt + pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prep cucumbers. Thinly slice the cucumber. Sprinkle with salt and scrunch the cucumbers together. Set aside to draw out the moisture for 10 minutes.
- Cook potatoes and eggs. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and chop into 2-inch chunks. Add to a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Add eggs (gently!) into the water so they cook alongside the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft and the eggs are hard-boiled, about 10 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and eggs. Transfer the hard-boiled eggs to a medium bowl filled with water and a few ice cubes. Drain the potatoes through a colander and let it steam (in the colander) until completely dry, about 5 minutes.
- Season. Add drained, dry potatoes back into the medium saucepan. Using a potato masher or fork, mash until light and fluffy. Add Kewpie mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. Add salted cucumbers (drained and squeezed of excess liquid). Using the large holes in a box grater, grate peeled carrot directly on top. Using the small holes in the box grater, finely grate the hard-boiled eggs. (Save the other one for garnish). Gently mix together with a spoon until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed.
- Garnish. Use an ice cream scoop to plate onto a small dish. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Fully cook the potatoes. Check for doneness with a fork. It should slide in easily. You don’t want hard bits of potato in this ultra-creamy and extra-fluffy potato salad.
- Combine ingredients while warm. Add seasoning and mix everything together while the potatoes are slightly warm. The flavors will meld together better.
- Make ahead. Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Good served cold, room temperature, or warm.
Nutrition
