If you see a recipe combining kimchi and carbs, it’s 100% guaranteed to be good. Kimchi fried rice. Kimchi grilled cheese. Kimchi pasta. And now: kimchi potato salad.
When chopped and made into a dressing, kimchi adds a funky zing to your traditional potato salad. Serve it as a vibrant side to fried food or inihaw, maybe snack on it straight out of the fridge (as we have). The cold potatoes add a nice contrast to the kimchi’s warm flavors.
Drain your kimchi for less mess
Kimchi carries a lot of brine. Draining it first does prevents two things:
- It prevents your potato salad from getting too watery.
- It prevents your chopping board from looking like a crime scene.
Place the kimchi in a fine-mesh strainer or colander over a bowl, then use your hands to squeeze and wring the kimchi of the bright red brine. Work in batches if you have a small strainer, repeating until all of your kimchi has been drained.
Save the squeezed-out kimchi juice! Add it to your potato salad in small increments to fine-tune the flavor and moisture.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 kg potatoes
- 3 cups kimchi
- ⅓ cup Japanese mayo
- 1 cup chopped chives
- 1 tbsp paprika
- salt and pepper, to taste
Prepare potatoes: Peel potatoes and discard their skins. Chop peeled potatoes into uniform 1 ½-inch chunks.
Boil potatoes: Transfer cut potatoes to a pot. Add enough water to cover, about an inch above the potatoes. Add about 1 tbsp salt. Bring pot to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a steady simmer—a vigorous boil can break the potatoes apart. Simmer potatoes until fork-tender, about 10–15 minutes depending on size. Drain potatoes and let cool before dressing.
Drain kimchi: While waiting for your potatoes to cool down, add kimchi in batches to a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Using clean hands, squeeze and wring the kimchi of as much kimchi juice as you can. Transfer drained kimchi to a chopping board. Reserve kimchi juice for later.
Make kimchi dressing: Chop kimchi into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add Japanese mayo, ¾ cup chives, and paprika. Stir with a rubber spatula until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
Toss potatoes: Combine cooled potatoes and kimchi dressing in a big mixing bowl. Toss to coat potatoes evenly, making sure not to fold too vigorously and mash the potatoes. If the mixture looks a bit dry or could use more kimchi flavor, adjust with reserved kimchi juice. Transfer potato salad to the fridge and chill, at least 1 hour. Sprinkle remaining chives before serving.
Notes
Add 1–2 tablespoons of pommery or yellow mustard to the dressing for a more American-tasting potato salad. For a more full-bodied flavor, add 3–4 tablespoons of sesame oil.
