There’s a bustling Korean restaurant nearby who serves a delicious macaroni salad as a start to the meal. The dishes I’m referring to are called “banchan” in Korean, which is traditionally served on small plates to be shared among the table.
Banchan always comes free at the restaurant, but I usually only take a small spoonful so that everyone else can try it too. We usually ask for seconds, but I feel a bit bad doing this.
When my family stopped going out to eat as much, I decided I need to try to replicate this recipe at home! I’m very, very pleased with what I created. Though it’s not a perfect replicate to the original, it tastes delicious! It’s not like your traditional American macaroni salad because of the sweeter taste. Also, the diced apples and cucumbers give it a nice crunch with the soft pasta.
This macaroni salad pairs great as a side dish to almost any setting! It’s great for BBQs, a picnic, family gatherings, lunch, dinner… You can also swap out the veggies for anything you prefer. You could add corn, chopped broccoli, sweet onions, or carrots. It takes no more than 20 minutes to prepare and the results are delightful! Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Watch my video tutorial below!
Korean Macaroni Salad
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry pasta, boiled to al dente
- 1 apple, diced into bite size pieces
- 1 mini cucumber, diced into bite size pieces
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- Drizzle of honey
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it – it should be salty like seawater
- Boil the pasta until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. It should be soft but firm, with a slight bite when you chew it.
- While the pasta is boiling, prepare the sauce mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients to a large serving bowl and whisk until combined.
- Drain the pasta when ready and do not rinse! You want the starch left on the pasta after draining. The pasta will cling to the sauce more easily with the starch left on.
- Add the drained pasta to the sauce dish and mix until combined.
- This macaroni salad makes the perfect side dish! The flavors also develop more over time. Enjoy!
Keywords: korean, macaroni salad, easy recipe
