Although we’ve had a few false starts this year, the past few days have seen Tokyo blanketed in a magical canopy of white and pastel-pink cherry blossoms. It’s the symbol of Spring, and we mark the season with Hanami, which means “flower viewing.” Hanami typically involves taking a spring-themed bento box lunch outdoors and enjoying the meal under a fluttering shower of cherry blossom petals.
A close friend inspired this Spring-y potato salad, and it’s the perfect refreshing combination that embodies the spring landscape with its pastel green and pink colors and bold flavors of cilantro and lime. The method is based on my Japanese Potato Salad, which is a bit different than most American versions.
I know cilantro isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but this should work equally well with other fragrant herbs such as basil, shiso, or parsley, and you could even use a blend of different herbs.
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Units
Ingredients
For Potato Salad
- 450 grams potatoes peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 100 grams cucumber 1 Japanese cucumber, thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 65 grams ham chopped
For Dressing
- 18 grams cilantro roughly chopped
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
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Add the 450 grams potatoes and over with a few inches of water. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook the potatoes until they’re tender enough to pass a fork through easily.
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Put the sliced 100 grams cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Let these sweat while the potatoes cook.
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For the dressing, add the 18 grams cilantro, ¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoons lime juice, and ½ teaspoon salt to the beaker of an immersion blender (or a small food processor) and blend until smooth.
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When the potatoes are done, drain them well. Add them to a bowl along with the cilantro lime dressing and stir the two together while lightly mashing the hot potatoes. You should still have some small chunks of potatoes.
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Give the cucumbers a massage with your hand to coax out their liquid, and then scoop them up and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
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Add them to the potato salad along with the 65 grams ham and stir to coat evenly.
Kathy Stroup says
I've already made this twice. A huge hit! It's going in the regular rotation, most likely with some variations. But the recipe the way it is tastes so perfect! The salty, smoky ham, vibrant cilantro, creamy potatoes, and crunchy, pickle-y cucumbers are so delightful. It's actually better the next day, too. Thanks, Marc! You're so creative!💚🥔🥒🌿🐷🌸
Marc Matsumoto says
I'm glad this has been popular with your family! Totally off topic, but frozen green peas are such a challenge to find here in Japan and I spent half a day scouring 3 suburbs of Tokyo for them (needed a few for a client video). Ended up with the rest of the bag and I knew if I put them in the freezer they'd just end up freezer burned. Ended up making falafels with them last night using cilantro and mint and they were 🤯 Gonna head back to the store with the peas to buy more and make another batch to post the recipe here. 💚