How a dish from Wow Wow Tonight, a Kyoto izakaya, helped me make tastier potato salad.

Ever since that day a few years back when I decided to slather my chicken with mayo before roasting it, I have been unable to stop thinking of this thing: roasted potato salad. I don’t mean a salad made out of roasted potatoes. I mean taking your leftover potato salad from the cookout, then roasting it all in the oven or pan-frying it until it gets brown and crisp. It just makes sense to me. My typically method of making roasted potatoes or hash is to start by par-boiling the potatoes until tender then tossing them in fat—the exact same steps you follow when making a classic American-style potato salad. The only difference is in the seasoning, and the roasting.

“So,” I asked myself as I cleaned up after a cookout dinner the other day, “what would happen if I took this leftover potato salad and roasted or pan-fried it?”

I never actually got an opportunity to test this theory out, but a trip to an izakaya in Kyoto was the kick in the pants I needed to get around to it. Here’s why.

Grill Seeking

While our team was in Kyoto, we visited a place called Wow Wow Tonight, an izakaya run by Yasu Hayashi. Izakaya are often described as Japanese pubs, but that undersells the food. They're places where people gather to drink, but also to eat—small plates, snacks, and dishes designed to be shared. Chicken karaage, gyoza, and the like are to izakaya what wings, nachos, and deviled eggs are to a pub.

Wow Wow Tonight takes the concept of an izakaya but goes a little wild with the execution in a truly delicious way. Think: Grilled marinated duck (served with an intense sansho pepper sauce), poached chicken with okra and yuzu kosho, or freshly-made tofu with local salt.

Their teppanyaki potato salad is a perfect example. To make it they start with a simple version of a Japanese potato salad (which is typically softer, sweeter, and creamier than American potato salad) packed with ingredients like ham, cucumber, carrots, onions, egg, or corn, and all bound together with plenty of mayonnaise. Wow Wow’s version keeps it simple with large chunks of house-cured pork leg, softly boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, scallions, and plenty of mayo. When an order is placed, Yasu takes a scoop of the salad and drops it on the teppanyaki—the Japanese term for a flat griddle—where it heats, sizzles, and just barely starts to brown.

The result is a dish that has the lightness and creaminess of a Japanese potato salad, but with a little extra depth of flavor from the browning and heating.

So my question: What if we take this to the extreme? What if instead of stopping after light browning, we just keep going?

Hashing it Out

I knew that if I was going to go for heavy browning, I’d want to make sure to pick ingredients that can handle it. I decided to go with a mix of potatoes, thick-cut slab bacon cut into chunky lardons, fresh corn on the cob, and sliced scallions. I par-boiled the potatoes, then tossed them with the remaining ingredients along with plenty of mayo, salt, and pepper.

Then I spread the whole thing onto a hot griddle.

As the mixture cooked, the moisture evaporated, the mayonnaise broke, fat rendered from the bacon, the potatoes crisped, the corn browned, and eventually, the whole thing crossed an invisible line where it stopped being grilled potato salad and started becoming something closer to hash. A very good hash.

In fact, by the time I finished eating it, I wasn't thinking about Japanese potato salad at all. I was thinking about how mayonnaise continues to be one of the best ingredients for browning and crisping. Oil helps conduct heat, the egg proteins brown into delicate lacy bits that cling and add flavor, and the acid brightens it all. You end up with something that's deeply crisp, richly savory, and somehow lighter than you'd expect. (And no, it does not taste or feel like mayo by the time it’s done.)

The next step is obvious: I'm going to try this with leftover American potato salad. For now, though, this version is pretty delicious.

One note before you start: Don't use Kewpie mayonnaise. I love Kewpie, but when cooked for extended periods it develops a slightly fishy aroma that I don't particularly enjoy. Regular mayonnaise works better here.

Recipe: Mayo-Grilled Potato Hash

This recipe was inspired by a grilled potato salad I had at Wow Wow Tonight, an izakaya in Kyoto. Somewhere along the way, however, it transformed into something else entirely: a deeply browned, crispy hash bound together with mayonnaise. The mayo helps everything brown beautifully, while bacon, corn, and scallions add plenty of flavor and texture. Top it with a fried egg and some hot sauce, and you've got a dish that's equally at home on the breakfast table or alongside a cold beer.

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

What I love about this recipe:

Inspired by a memorable dish from Kyoto while becoming something entirely its own.

Great for a griddle, flat-top, or cast iron skillet.

Mayonnaise creates exceptional browning and crisp texture.

Yield: 4 servingsActive Time: 20 minutesTotal Time: 35 minutesNotes: I cooked this recipe on a teppanyaki griddle, but a large cast iron or non-stick will work as well. Resist the urge to flip too early. The browning is where the magic happens.

Ingredients

For the potato mixture:

2 pounds (900g) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

Kosher salt

MSG (optional)

1 teaspoon sugar

8 ounces (225g) slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup (150g) fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels

2 medium scallions, whites and greens separated, sliced

1/3 cup (80g) mayonnaise (not Kewpie)

Freshly ground black pepper

For serving (optional):

Fried eggs

Hot sauce

Additional scallion greens

Method

Place the potatoes in a pot of cold salted water with a pinch of MSG (optional). Bring to a boil and cook until just tender but not falling apart, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well, transfer the potatoes to a sheet tray and shake into a single layer. Season lightly with salt and sugar and set aside to cool.

When cool, transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. Add the bacon, corn, scallion whites, mayonnaise, and several grinds of black pepper. Fold everything together until combined and coated with the mayo. Season lightly with salt and sugar.

Preheat a griddle, flat-top, or large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Spread the potato mixture in an even layer, working in batches if necessary. Cook without disturbing until the underside is deeply browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.

Using spatulas, carefully flip sections of the potato mixture. Press lightly to maximize contact with the cooking surface. Continue cooking, flipping and pressing occasionally, until crisp browned bits are distributed throughout and the bacon, corn, onions, and potatoes are all well browned, about 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Stir in the scallion greens during the final few minutes of cooking. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, topped with fried eggs and hot sauce if desired.

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