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Japanese Macaroni Salad
Like curry rice and tonkatsu, this macaroni salad is an example of yoshoku cuisine: a Western-influenced style of Japanese cooking. This salad typically is made with Kewpie—a custardy, yolk-rich Japanese mayonnaise made with rice vinegar or cider vinegar, both of which have a natural subtle sweetness in addition to acidity. To replicate Kewpie’s flavor, we toss cooled macaroni in a mixture of tangy rice vinegar and American-style mayonnaise. The creamy yet balanced base is brightened by crisp vegetables, salted and drained for concentrated flavor and crunch, plus umami-packed smoked ham. The salad is a delicious side to grilled soy-seasoned meats and poultry. Serve it sprinkled with shichimi togarashi, a Japanese seven-spice blend, or furikake, a sesame seed and seaweed condiment.
4 to 6
Servings
Tip
Don't undercook the macaroni. In Italian pasta dishes, al dente noodles are best, but here, the pasta should have a soft, creamy texture. Going over the cooking time by a minute is perfectly acceptable to achieve the necessary tenderness.
35 minutes
Ingredients
-
8
ounces elbow macaroni
-
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
Directions
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01In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add the macaroni and 1½ teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fully tender. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water, tossing well, until cool to the touch. Drain again, shaking the colander to remove as much water as possible.
Reviews
May 1, 2026
Great Pot-luck Dish
What a super easy, fairly cheap, and delicious potluck dish to bring for the HOA meeting! Instead of ham, I used Bachan's Spam, but any Spam flavor would do. I fried up the Spam to give it good color. Very pretty with the green cucumber, orange carrot, purple and red onion. I also used jalapenos sliced into half moons. I topped it with Nori Furikake, and it looked gorgeous! My only critique would be with the recipe writer. C'mon, man! Vegetables vary greatly by size. Please give quantities of veg by cups and an approximate number of pieces. Personally, I used equal piles of the vegetables to give a pleasing color and texture combination.
July 1, 2023
Just unique enough.
This recipe is great. My whole family loves it. Easy to double as well. Don’t skip the togorashi!
July 4, 2026
Great twist on a macaroni salad
I ended up using deli chicken instead of ham and it was still so good.
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