With tender macaroni in a creamy flavorful dressing, Hawaiian-style Macaroni Salad is must-have side for any plate lunch. It’s not the prettiest thing, but what it lacks in aesthetics it more than compensates for with its ability to bring everything together on your plate whether your entree is katsu, teriyaki, or poké.
I know it may sound crazy for pasta purists who are used to cooking their macaroni al dente, but because macaroni salad is served cold (which causes starches to gel), the key to getting a plate-lunch style macaroni salad is to cook the heck out of the pasta. It gives the salad a wonderful tender consistency even when cold, and it allows the dressing to soak into the pasta better.
Because onions from Maui are very sweet and mild, they’re well suited for adding to salads, but unfortunately they can be hard to get on the Mainland. That’s why I’ve omitted chopped onions and opted to grate some onion straight into the dressing instead. This adds just enough onion flavor, without the tear-inducing pungency that biting into a raw onion can have. To make up for the lack of crisp onions, I’ve added celery which lends the texture as well as some extra flavor.
Most recipes for Hawaiian-style macaroni salad call for adding a ridiculous amount of mayonnaise to the dressing along with some milk, but I’ve found you can cut back on the mayo while saving a bit of work, by boiling the macaroni in milk. This gives the macaroni a rich creamy flavor to start. Then, by adding some of the dressing before the pasta cools, it has a chance to soak into the pasta infusing it with plenty of flavor.
I like using Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise for this because it has a lot more flavor than western brands of mayo, but if you can’t find it (it comes in a clear plastic squeeze bottle with a red cap), regular mayonnaise will work fine.
Delicious Sides
Units
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 150 grams dry macaroni (about 1 1/2 cups)
- ½ cup mayonnaise (I like Kewpie brand)
- 1 tablespoon onion (grated)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- 90 grams ham (diced)
- 70 grams celery (~1 rib, finely chopped)
- 45 grams carrot (~1/2 , shredded)
- 1 scallion (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Bring the milk and salt to a boil and add the macaroni. Cook for 15 minutes at a gentle simmer, stirring frequently to prevent burning. If you start running out of liquid before the time is up, add some more milk.
- While the macaroni is boiling prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, grated onion, vinegar, sugar allspice and pepper.
- When the macaroni is done, stir in half the dressing and then let the salad cool completely.
- When the macaroni has cooled, stir in the remaining dressing, along with the celery, carrots, ham and scallions.
Jennifer says
Do you think the kewpie mayo (which I’ve never had) is better than homemade mayo? It’s so easy to whip up that I tend to learn towards homemade!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jennifer, I prefer kewpie to other brands because it tastes more like homemade, but nothing can beat mayo made from scratch. If you make your own, definitely go with that!
Wendy Fong says
I have had another version of this. The ham was substituted for what I think was tuna. There were no recognizable lumps of tuna, so I’m not sure that’s what it was. I’m guessing it was tuna only because of the texture when you ate it. Do you know what this alternate ingredient might be?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Wendy, there are a couple possibilities. It could have been tuna, but it could have also been a dried and shredded fish or meat such as denbu (https://washoku.guide/recipe/1442230) or Rousong (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rousong) neither of which would leave any chunks like canned tuna would unless it was deliberately shredded.
Kasper Bornauw Vanderlocht says
Any tips to keep the milk from burning while boiling the macaroni?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kasper, if the milk is burning your heat may be up too high, or you ran out of milk, in which case you need to add more.
Siam Sea says
It’s nice tip to boil macaroni until they are very soft. Next picnic in the park, I can enjoy macaroni or pasta salad even more. Can I boiled macaroni in water to al dente and then continue with (only) milk until they are very soft? Will they be as creamy as yours way? Thanks.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Siam Sea, I guess you could boil them in water first, but I guess my question would be why you would want to do that? It adds work, and will likely make the pasta less creamy. It will also be difficult to gauge how much milk to add after you drain the macaroni once, so you’ll probably have to drain it gain after its done cooking.
Rose Boghosian says
You have put his recipe in the vegetarian section, whereas it has ham in it…
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Rose, sorry but the categorization happens automatically on the blogging platform. I’m in the process of moving the blog for this and other reasons. Should be fixed once I’m back on WordPress.
kitchens city says
Love the combination of veggies and the dressing recipe you have for this macaroni salad! I’m pinning and making!
Marc Matsumoto says
I hope you enjoy it!
Kathy says
Another genius recipe! This is going to up my Hawaiian Plate Lunch game for sure. I think I would leave out the ham, though, since I usually serve this with tons of Hawaiian barbecue chicken or Kalua pork. I like to put fresh grated ginger in my mac salad; it adds a fresh bite.
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Kathy, and great idea adding some ginger. I’m going to try that next time!