Sweet
Honolulu
View of Kuli'ou'ou Beach Park from Hui Nalu O Hawai'i Canoe Club
Bon Dance @ Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
Winter sunset @ Hawaii Kai
View of Kuli'ou'ou Beach Park from Hui Nalu O Hawai'i Canoe Club
Japanese-style Potato Salad
Remember I mentioned some friends that we visited with in Tokyo a few years ago? This is their recipe for a common potato salad you would find in Japan. When they lived in Hawaii they made it often for potlucks we had together, and I thought it would be the perfect side dish for my mom's nori chicken.
As you can see, Japanese-style potato salad is very colorful due to the corn, sliced carrots and Japanese cucumbers. The cucumbers actually provide a nice crunch to the salad, and so do the minced sweet onions in there. Thinly sliced ham is normally added as well, but I cut up crispy baked turkey bacon instead to reduce our nitrite intake.
According to my friend, there are quite a few other components that distinguish a Japanese-style potato salad from others. One is the potatoes. Japanese-style is typically mashed, however, I prefer my potatoes in this salad to be half mashed-half chunky. Another common characteristic is the addition of cheese and Kewpie Mayonnaise (you know, the mayonnaise bottle with the recognizable red cap, like the one you see here on my gachapon snail), which is a must for Japanese potato salad! You won't get that distinct tangy flavor if you use any other mayonnaise than Kewpie.
All that mixed together with a few other standard ingredients makes a very tasty potato salad. My friend also notated on her recipe that you could serve this salad warm or cold. I prefer to eat mine cold. I find that all the flavors mesh well together after sitting in the fridge for a few hours.