Guess who’s back in Manila? Ate Bel and family! We last saw each other over 5 years ago, then the Masaki family moves back to Japan so the children can experience a normal Japanese life. Now they are back in Manila for Masaki-san’s 2-year “call of duty”. ๐
Time flies by so fast! The last time I saw the boys, they were hyperactive little kids who treat you like a carousel horse. Jun was my favourite of the 3. I still cannot forget the time he wanted to get into the bath with me (erm…) and the time he wet the bed when i slept over. It was hilarious. I remember Hideo being the quiet one and Kengo being the one always with some scar on his face for bumping against the furniture. What rowdy boys and I loved my time with them!
Unfortunately, Jun stayed behind in Japan as he will be in high school soon. I am pretty sure he is much taller than me now. Hideo doesn’t remember me and I haven’t seen Kengo at all.
In the past few weeks, I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Masaki house. I usually go there in the morning before heading to work. Last week, Ate Bel and I went swimming nearly every morning at the pool. We also made plans for other stuff.
We used to hang out a lot before. If I wasn’t at her house, we would all be at Maricel’s house. Now that is another girl I really miss. Her children are all grown up too and I haven’t even seen her youngest kid.
The three of us together, we can turn any place upside down. We crazies. ๐
In one of my visits to Ate Bel’s house, she made me eat this salad…I am not a big salad person but this one was the bomb! After tasting it, I knew I had to make it and it is ridiculously easy that I think I will be making this often. My sister also loved it so I guess this will become a staple from now on!
Japanese potato salad
You will need
5 medium potatoes, peeled
1/4 to 1/2 cup Japanese mayonnaise (I used Kewpie, what else?)
1 small cucumber, sliced thinly into rounds then quartered
1 small carrot, julienned
Salt and pepper to taste
Let’s cook!
1. Boil potatoes in water until tender.
2. Drain and mash.
3. Place in the fridge to cool.
4. When cool, mix in cucumber and carrots. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Mix in mayonnaise.
6. Serve chilled.
Notes:
1. When mashing, make sure you leave lumps. This chunky texture is better for the salad.
2. Japanese mayo is what makes this dish yummy. Do not use anything else ๐
3. You can add in other ingredients like corn kernels and sliced sweet ham and serve on a bed of lettuce.
I suppose you can use sweet potatoes too. But just make sure you use the Japanese style mayo. Really makes a big difference ๐ Enjoy!
I didn’t know Japanese were such potato lovers! In China, nobody eats them and having a potato salad sounds weird to locals. I like the recipe. Could I use sweet potatoes instead? ๐ Can’t wait to make it!