• 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.