Salad dishes using potatoes are common in other countries, right? In Europe and the United States, there is boiled potato with vinegar and wine vinegar, and the Mediterranean region’s Taramo salad and Russia’s Olivier salad are also well-known.

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In Japan, there is also a Japanese-style potato salad. Japanese-style potato salad is usually made by mashing boiled potatoes, adding vegetables and other ingredients, and mixing them with mayonnaise. Potatoes were introduced to Japan during the Edo era. During the Meiji period (1868-1912), potato salad was introduced from Europe and America, which consisted of sliced potatoes topped with vinaigrette sauce and dressings. The original Japanese potato salad of today, made with mayonnaise, was created in the Taisho era (1912-1926). After World War II, mayonnaise became popular as a condiment, and this potato salad quickly became a staple of Japanese potato cuisine. Potato salad is a very popular salad dish among the Japanese. It is almost always found as one of the menus in restaurants and izakaya (Japanese style pubs), and is always available in the prepared food sections of supermarkets and convenience stores. It is often the signature dish of those restaurants. Well, actually making potato salad at home requires a certain amount of time and effort, so it is a popular dish served at such restaurants and supermarkets. It is surprising for us Japanese, but it seems that potato dishes with mayonnaise are not so familiar to people from overseas, isn’t it? If you have no experience, please give it a try. By the way, as a side note… “I” like to eat potato salad with a small amount of yakiniku sauce. It is recommended～