I often get asked which Japanese dishes are great to serve as a side dish for summer BBQ and potluck. A few of our family favorites include Japanese Potato Salad, Harusame Salad (Japanese Glass Noodle Salad), and Grilled Rice Balls (Yaki Onigiri).
Today I’m adding another one to the list. It’s the crowd-pleasing, kid-friendly Japanese Macaroni Salad (マカロニサラダ).
Why You’ll Love Japanese Macaroni Salad
- So delicious, and easy to make!
- Very simple, pantry-friendly ingredients.
- The creamy, tangy, and sweet dressing will make everyone come back for more.
- Full of textural crunch.
- Japanese mayo makes everything so darn good!
Big fan of Japanese Potato Salad? This will remind you of similar deliciousness. You might want to make extra because it will be gone in an instant!
How to Make Japanese Macaroni Salad
The Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Macaroni – You can use other short pasta, or even spaghetti noodles (we call it Spaghetti Salad (スパゲッティーサラダ)).
- Cucumber – Use Japanese or Persian cucumber. If you’re going to use English cucumber, slice in half lengthwise and remove the watery seeds with a spoon. I don’t recommend American cucumber for this recipe as the skin is thick.
- Onion – I recommend using it for the texture and zing.
- Ham – You can substitute it with shredded cooked chicken, canned tuna, imitation crab, or sweet corn.
- Boiled Egg – Add richness, creaminess, and savoriness.
My Secret for the Seasoning
The majority of Japanese Macaroni Salad recipes may just call for Japanese mayo and black pepper. However, to season my Japanese Macaroni Salad, I always include these 3 items:
- Japanese Mayonnaise
- Mizkan Natural Rice Vinegar
- Sugar
It’s a simple layering, but that’s what makes a difference! You’ll yield a much tastier and superior salad. Rich and creamy, yet refreshing. Sweet yet tangy. All at the same time! It’s so good that you’ll want to come back for more.
The Japanese Macaroni Salad isn’t what it is without Japanese mayo. Period. However, if you can’t get it, I’ve included a quick recipe to convert American mayo to Japanese mayo. It’s not exactly the same, but only if you absolutely can’t get it. You’ll also find my homemade Japanese mayonnaise in the recipe.
The Right Vinegar for All Japanese Recipes
To give the salad a rounded acidity, I used Mizkan Natural Rice Vinegar in this recipe. Crafted with real organic ingredients, the rice vinegar has a mild tang, and refreshing aroma, and brings out the flavor beautifully.
You’ll find that I solely use Mizkan Natural Rice Vinegar in all my Japanese cooking. You can use it to toss, stir-fry, marinate, dress, and dip all kinds of Japanese-inspired dishes. The brand has been around in Japan for over 200 years and is known for using the finest ingredients and brewing according to traditional practices. If you wish to create authentic Japanese recipes at home, I always recommend using Mizkan.
With this rice vinegar in your pantry, you’ll be able to cook up many delicious Japanese dishes at home with confidence and ease!
3 Tips to Make Macaroni Salad
1. Cook Macaroni for 1 Extra Minute
We are often trained to cook pasta till al dente. However, this might be the only time that you’re supposed to cook macaroni 1 extra minute. You can be a pasta rebel for once!
The reason why we cook the pasta longer for the salad is to create a tender, mochi-mochi texture. It melds together so much better with the rest of the ingredients. It’s personal taste, but many recipes would advise the same, and I’d recommend that too.
2. Let The Macaroni Cool Completely
After you cook the macaroni, drain well and season it immediately with olive oil, Mizkan Natural Rice Vinegar, and sugar. Let the macaroni absorb the hidden flavor while it’s still hot. The olive oil and sugar help to retain the moisture of the macaroni, resulting in a great texture throughout.
Then, let cool completely before dressing it with mayonnaise. If the macaroni is still hot, the mayo will separate, so you want to be patient.
3. Withdraw Moisture Out from Vegetables
Nobody likes a soggy salad. Therefore, it’s very important to withdraw moisture from the ingredients. If you add cucumber and onion, sprinkle salt and set aside for 5 minutes. You’ll see a small pool of water drawn from the vegetables in the bowl.
Now quickly rinse off salt from the vegetables and squeeze the water out before mixing with macaroni. If you don’t squeeze water out, the moisture will dilute the flavor.
Fun Variations
Since this Japanese Macaroni Salad is a staple during our BBQ season, I like making different variations to keep things fresh. You can swap ham with shredded cooked chicken, canned tuna, or imitation crab, and toss in extras like sweet corn.
For a punch of creative flavor, you can even add a touch of soy sauce, ponzu, Dijon or Japanese karashi mustard, or curry powder to the dressing.
The salad makes the most delicious accompaniment to this Traeger Baby Back Ribs, BBQ Short Ribs, and Teriyaki Burger.
But don’t think it only belongs to your backyard BBQs and cookouts in the park. You can totally serve it as a main meal for dinner!
Other Delicious Japanese Salad Recipes
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Japanese Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
For the Macaroni
- 4 oz uncooked elbow macaroni (or use penne, farfalle, fusilli, or spaghetti)
- 1 Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for boiling the macaroni)
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned) (I used Mizkan Natural Rice Vinegar)
- 1 tsp sugar
For the Salad
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) (you can use 2 eggs for a more prominent egg taste)
- ½ onion (3.5 oz, 100 g)
- 2 Persian cucumbers (or 1 Japanese cucumber)
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for the onion and cucumber)
- 4 slices ham (3.5 oz, 100 g; or substitute canned tuna, shredded cooked chicken, or corn)
For the Dressing
- 4 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise (you can make my Homemade Japanese Mayonnaise; or see below to substitute American mayonnaise, rice vinegar, and sugar)
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Before You Start…Please note that this recipe requires 1 hour of chilling time. Gather all the ingredients.
To Make the Japanese Mayonnaise
- You can make my Homemade Japanese Mayonnaise or modify American mayonnaise with Mizkan Natural Rice Vinegar and sugar. For 4 Tbsp of American mayonnaise (I use Best Foods/Hellmann’s Mayonnaise), add ½ Tbsp rice vinegar and ¾ tsp sugar. Whisk until the sugar dissolves.
To Boil the Macaroni
- Start boiling 3 quarts (12 cups, 2.8 L) water in a large pot (I used a 3.5 QT pot). Once boiling, add 1 Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 4 oz uncooked elbow macaroni. Cook 1 minute longer than the package instructions.
- Drain the macaroni and transfer to a large bowl. While it‘s hot, add 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil.
- Add 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned) and 1 tsp sugar and mix well together. Set aside to let cool completely.
To Prepare the Egg
- In a medium saucepan, add enough water to completely cover 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Tip: If you want your egg yolk to be in the center, gently rotate the egg with chopsticks once in a while for the first 3 minutes.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and set a timer for 12 minutes (or 9 minutes for a soft-boiled egg). Once it’s done cooking, bring the pot under running water to cool or immediately transfer the egg to an ice bath.
- Peel the egg and chop it into small pieces.
To Prepare the Vegetables and Ham
- Cut off the ends and peel ½ onion. Cut into thin slices along the grain.
- Peel the skin of 2 Persian cucumbers alternately, leaving some part unpeeled (so it looks striped). Cut off the ends.
- Thinly slice the cucumber with a knife or mandoline. Put the sliced cucumber and onion in a medium bowl.
- Sprinkle 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt on the onion and cucumber and lightly massage by hand to evenly distribute the salt. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- When you see liquid in the bowl, give the sliced vegetables a quick rinse to remove the salt.
- Squeeze the liquid out and set aside.
- Cut 4 slices ham into small pieces 2 inches long and roughly ⅛ inch thick. Set aside.
To Assemble the Macaroni Salad
- When the macaroni is cool, add the ham, cucumber, and onion.
- Mix well together. Add the chopped boiled egg.
- Add 4 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise and ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper. Mix it all together.
- Taste the salad and see if you want to add more salt, pepper, or mayonnaise. Once seasoned, chill the salad for 1 hour in the refrigerator before serving.
To Store
- You can keep the Japanese Macaroni Salad for up to 2–3 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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