Korean potato salad is a creamy and slightly sweet Korean side dish that many Koreans love. It’s one of the most common side dishes you’ll find at Korean restaurants, from BBQ spots to casual meals at home. But surprisingly, TasteAtlas ranked Korean potato salad among the world’s “Worst Foods.” For Koreans, this feels almost unbelievable—since it’s a favorite comfort food! Here’s an easy Korean potato salad recipe so you can try it yourself and decide whether it deserves to be called the best banchan or the worst food.
Table of Contents
What is Korean Potato Salad?
A Popular Korean Banchan
Koreans call it Gamja Salad(감자 샐러드). Just as many countries around the world have their own version of potato salad, Korea has one too. Similar to mashed potatoes, it’s made by mashing boiled or microwaved potatoes and mixing them with vegetables like cucumber, carrot, and corn, and sometimes ham.
Sweet and Creamy Flavor
What sets potato salad in Korea apart is its extra creaminess from plenty of mayonnaise and its slightly sweet flavor, which many Koreans find comforting.
How Korean Potato Salad Differs from Western Potato Salad
Ingredients and Seasoning Differences
In Europe, potato salad usually includes mustard, vinegar, and salt, giving it a lighter and more refreshing taste compared to Korean potato salad. The Korean version uses plenty of mayonnaise along with sugar, making it heavier and sweeter.
Serving Style: Banchan vs Side Dish
Another significant difference is how it’s served. In the West, potato salad is often served as a side dish alongside meat or other main courses, so the portions tend to be larger. In Korea, however, potato salad is considered a small side dish typically eaten with rice. Since it’s just one of many banchan on the table, the portion is much smaller than what you’d typically see in a Western meal.
TasteAtlas Worst Foods 100
Why It Was Ranked 44th
Korean potato salad was ranked 44th on TasteAtlas’s list of the world’s worst foods. The main reason is that it’s considered heavy and has an unfamiliar sweet taste. From the perspective of many non-Koreans, who often wonder “Why is Korean food always a bit different?”, this reaction is understandable.
Why Koreans Still Love This Banchan
But here’s the thing—this dish is actually one of the favorite side dishes for many Koreans. You’ll often see it served as banchan (side dishes) in Korean restaurants, and even if you’ve only been to a Korean BBQ restaurant outside of Korea, chances are you’ve already tried it. For us Koreans, this potato salad is beloved, so honestly, I couldn’t believe it made the “worst foods” list. Haha. What do you think?
Simple Korean Potato Salad Ingredients
- Potatoes: The base of the salad—mashed potatoes give it that creamy texture.
- Vegetables: Today I used just cucumber and carrot for simplicity, but many recipes add onions or canned corn to enhance both texture and flavor.
- Ham: Some recipes include sliced ham, or even bacon, but I skipped it for a cleaner, summery salad.
- Mayonnaise: Korea’s potato salad uses plenty of mayonnaise. I added 4 tbsp, but you can add more for an even creamier and richer taste. To keep calories lower while keeping it smooth, I added 2 tbsp of milk—this is optional, so adjust to your preference.
- Sugar and Salt: Many Korean dishes are sweet, but not just sweet—they often balance sweet and salty, a flavor we call dan-jan. Salting the cucumber draws out water and seasons it, then sugar is added to complete that sweet-and-salty harmony.
Easy Korean Potato Salad Recipe (Step by Step)
1. Cook the Potatoes
Boiling potatoes makes them softer and more moist, but I used the microwave for a faster result.
2. Mash the Potatoes
Mash the potatoes well with a masher or fork—like making mashed potatoes.
3. Prepare the Vegetables
Finely chop the carrot and sprinkle salt on the cucumber to draw out moisture.
4. Mix Everything
Combine the potatoes and vegetables, then add plenty of mayonnaise and sugar. Mix well, and it’s ready to serve!
Best Food Pairings with Potato Salad
Korean BBQ
This is one of the most common side dishes served at Korean BBQ. Don’t eat the salad and meat separately—try them together to enjoy the harmony of flavors. Korean BBQ is all about combining different foods in one bite to create the perfect balance.
Potato Salad Sandwiches
Have you heard of Korea’s potato salad bread? In Korea, this potato salad is packed into dinner rolls to make a hearty sandwich. It’s perfect for breakfast, lunch, or even as a kid-friendly snack.
White Rice with Other Banchan
Korea’s potato salad is also delicious on top of plain white rice. Many Korean dishes are spicy, and this mild, creamy potato banchan balances out the heat while creating a harmonious flavor combination.
Other Delicious Korean Potato Dishes
Cheese Potato Hotteok
Making traditional hotteok dough can be tricky, so why not try using potatoes? This is one of the trendy potato dishes in Korea right now. The potato dough is filled with cheese and pan-fried thin like a hotteok. The sweet and savory soy sauce is the key—it makes the pancake even chewier. Here’s a potato hotteok recipe for you to enjoy as a snack. It might even go well with a beer.
Cheese Potato Pancake
You can find this on the menu at many Korean pocha (bar food) spots. Unlike traditional Korean potato jeon, which is mashed and soft, this version uses shredded potatoes to make a pancake that’s crispy on the outside and packed with cheese inside. Bite into it, and the salty cheese melts and stretches. Here’s the crispy cheese potato pancake recipe—perfect for pairing with two bottles of beer.
Butter Potato
This is a beloved snack sold at Korean rest stops. Small potatoes are pan-fried in butter until crispy, then sprinkled with either salt or sugar. People usually pick sides—either salty or sweet—but in this recipe, both salt and sugar are used to create a sweet-and-salty treat. It’s surprisingly delicious.
Korean Kitchen Guide for Making Potato Salad
- Mandoline Vegetable Slicer: In Korean cooking, many recipes call for thinly slicing or finely mincing ingredients. A mandoline slicer is incredibly useful for this—you’ll probably end up using it almost every day.
- Microwave Steamer: US l UK
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What’s in Korean potato salad?
Korean potato salad is made by mashing potatoes and mixing them with vegetables such as cucumber and carrot. Sometimes corn, ham, or even apple are added. The key flavor comes from plenty of mayonnaise, plus a balance of sugar and salt.
Can I put cucumber in my potato salad?
Yes! Cucumber is a common ingredient in the potato salad. It adds crunch and freshness to the creamy base. In Korea, cucumber is usually salted first to draw out water, so the salad doesn’t become watery.
What is the difference between Japanese and Korean potato salad?
Korean potato salad is sweeter. It is made with lots of mayonnaise and sugar. Japanese potato salad often contains eggs or fruit and is usually seasoned with rice vinegar.
What is a famous salad in Korea?
Korean potato salad itself is very popular, often served at restaurants and homes. Other well-loved Korean salads include oi muchim (spicy cucumber salad) and sangchu-geotjeori (fresh lettuce salad served with BBQ).
What are common potato salad mistakes?
Skipping the step of salting cucumber can make the salad watery. Using too little mayonnaise makes it dry, while adding no sugar loses the sweet-and-salty balance Koreans love. Another mistake is mashing potatoes unevenly, leaving the texture clumpy.
Where does Korean potato salad come from?
orean potato salad was inspired by Western potato salads but adapted to Korean tastes. Over time, it became creamier, sweeter, and portioned smaller to fit the banchan style. Today it’s a beloved side dish, even though TasteAtlas ranked it as one of the “worst foods.”
Korean Potato Salad: From Best Banchan to “Worst Food”
Equipment
- 1 microwave safe bowl:
- 1 Knife & cutting board
- 1 potato masher or fork
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Spoon
Ingredients
- 2 large potatoes
- 1/4 cucumber
- 1/3 tsp salt (for cucumber)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt (for potatoes)
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise (or more if needed)
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes into cubes.
- Add 3 tbsp of water to the potatoes in a microwave-safe dish and cook for 8 minutes.
- Thinly julienne the cucumber and sprinkle it with salt. Let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients. Using a mandoline slicer makes it much easier.
- Cut the carrot into small cubes. Using a vegetables slicer makes it much easier.
- Mash the cooked potatoes while mixing in 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt.
- Add 4 tbsp mayonnaise and mix well. If the salad is too thick, you can add 2–3 tbsp milk to loosen it.
- Drain the cucumber and add it with the carrot to the mashed potatoes, then mix everything together.
Korean Potato Salad 감자 샐러드
- It's one of my favorite banchan.
- It's so soft creamy and sweet. Hope you enjoy too!
Video
Did you make this recipe?
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