Japanese Pasta Salad
This colorful and flavorful pasta salad isn't your ordinary Japanese pasta salad. Made with traditional Japanese ingredients, it's a great new side dish for your next potluck or a cookout!
Ingredients
- 1 lb bow-tie pasta or any other kind of pasta
- 2 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 4 - 5 slices ham
- 1 1/2 cups English cucumbers, seeded and partially peeled
- 1/2 white onion, medium sliced thin
- 3 green onions finely chopped
- paprika, ground cayenne powder or Shichimi pepper optional
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise Japanese, regular, or blend the two
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Instructions
- Cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions. Rinse under cold water and drain.
- Slice the onion thinly and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Massage the salted onions and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Rinse with water then squeeze the washed onions to get as much moisture out.
- Cut up ham into small strips. Seed and partially peel the cucumbers (leaving some green peel for color) then slice them into matchsticks.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing. Add pasta, cucumbers, ham and onions into the dressing. Mix to coat the dressing.
- Garnish with hard boiled eggs and green onion.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. (Optional: sprinkle Shichimi or paprika pepper right before serving.)