Goguma Salad (Korean Sweet Potato Mayo Salad)
The Korean sweet potato take on gamja salad. Creamy mashed goguma with apple, cucumber, carrot and egg in a Kewpie mayo dressing, served cold as banchan.
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 ½ pounds Korean sweet potatoes (goguma) peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 1 Persian or Kirby cucumber quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt for the cucumber
- 1 medium carrot finely diced
- ½ Fuji or Honeycrisp apple finely diced
- 3 large eggs hard-boiled
- ½ cup corn kernels drained, optional
For the Dressing
- ½ cup Kewpie mayonnaise or regular mayonnaise plus ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds to finish
Instructions
Prep the Vegetables and Eggs
- Peel and cube the sweet potatoes, then steam for 12 to 15 minutes or boil in salted water for about 10 minutes, until a fork meets slight resistance. Drain and spread on a sheet pan to cool completely, at least 15 minutes.
- Toss the sliced cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt and let it drain for 10 minutes, then squeeze it dry in your palm until no more water comes out.
- Cover the eggs with cold water, bring to a boil, cover and pull off the heat for 10 minutes. Cool in ice water and peel. Mash the yolks to a fine crumb and chop the whites into rough pieces.
Dress and Chill
- Stir the mashed yolks into the mayonnaise with the rice vinegar, sugar, white pepper and salt until pale, thick and glossy. It should taste slightly too sweet and salty on its own.
- Mash about two thirds of the cooled sweet potato in a large bowl, leaving real lumps, then add the remaining cubes whole.
- Add the squeezed cucumber, carrot, apple, corn and chopped egg whites, then fold the dressing through with a light hand until coated. Do not beat it smooth.
- Chill at least 1 hour. Taste again cold and adjust the salt, then finish with toasted sesame seeds.
Notes
- Salt and squeeze the cucumber: skipping this is the number one reason Korean potato salad turns watery in the fridge.
- Never dress warm potato: heat thins mayonnaise and breaks the dressing. Cool the goguma completely first.
- Season after chilling: cold mutes both salt and sugar, so the final adjustment happens out of the fridge.
- This is the goguma version: the classic Korean banchan is gamja salad, made with regular potato. Sweet potato is the home-kitchen variant.
- Substitute: regular orange sweet potatoes work but are wetter and sweeter, so cut the sugar to 1 teaspoon.