Hawaiian Mac Salad
Hi Mom!
I’m returning to this site after a six month hiatus specifically to show you guys how to make this Hawaiian Mac Salad. Don’t snoop too much around the rest of the website - it’s still under construction - but this recipe is not. Make it please.
Pair it with some grilled teriyaki chicken thighs (I prefer the Fruitful Island Gourmet Teriyaki Sauce, but can’t tell if that’s only a west coast thing. If it is, text me and I’ll mail you some. I have also liked this one, which is available on Amazon.) and some white rice (top with Furikake so the plate isn’t all shades of beige). You could roast some broccoli if you feel like mayonnaise negates the health benefits of this salad! But trust and believe that you will be eating this in the dark for second dinner in front of the new season of Project Runway (all hail Heidi).
Pictured here as leftovers with a pan fried chicken sausage that I chopped up and mixed in immediately after taking this picture.
Credit where it’s due, this salad originated as an interpretation of Ian Fujimoto’s recipe. But I had to fix his ratios and specify certain ingredients and steps. Let’s do this!
Ingredients:
Macaroni - 1 pound
Actually Organic, Bronze Cut, Italian Wheat, Lumache - Trust me, it’s worth the $4. The large shape traps the mix-ins, the grooves capture the dressing. It’s a whole thing.
Rice vinegar, seasoned - 2 Tbsp
Walla Walla Onion, grated - 2/3 large
Can sub another sweet onion, but reduce to 1/2 onion.
Carrot, peeled, grated, 1 large or 2 medium
Green onion, sliced - 4 stalks
Dill pickle, diced - 1 medium
Kewpie mayo - 1 cup, eye-balled
No substitutions - I’m serious.
Whole milk - 1/3 cup, measured
Sugar - 1 Tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Pepper, freshly ground - 1/4 tsp
Instructions:
Boil generously salted water and add entire bag of pasta. Stir periodically to prevent sticking. The bag says ten minutes - that is a lie. It’s al dente around 13, and for this recipe we want to overcook slightly, since it will firm up in the fridge. I go for 15-16 minutes, just before the pasta shapes start to rip.
While the water is boiling and pasta is cooking, rinse the green onions well (especially if you’re like me and accidentally buy organic) and slice them thinly. Set aside.
Chop the pickles. Set aside.
Grate the onion and carrot on the large holes of a box grater. Set aside.
Drain the pasta. Transfer to a large bowl.
While still hot, sprinkle the pasta with rice vinegar (this further seasons the pasta) and add the carrots (this slightly softens the carrots, so that when you ignore me later when I say to let this sit in the fridge overnight, the carrots at least won’t be obnoxiously crunchy.)
While the pasta cools to room temp, whisk together the mayo, milk, sugar, salt, and pepper. You want this to be the consistency of crepe batter. If it’s too thin, add more mayo; too thick, more milk.
Once no longer hot, add the onion, green onion, pickles, and dressing to the pasta.
Let sit in the fridge overnight.
Serve, and garnish with more green onion!
Options are optional:
Here are some things I’ve thought about adding: diced celery, corn kernels, green peas, tuna, hard-boiled egg, cubed, fried spam (reduce the salt in the dressing, if using), Kani (imitation crab), hot sauce (for a spicy version), and Chinese hot mustard (Maybe just try this with one serving - who knows what will happen.).
Please make this! And send me a nicer picture to put up here!