Ultimate Potato Salad — with Homemade Mayonnaise

Put the potatoes in a pot and boil in salted water for 20 to 30 minutes. Salting the cooking water keeps them from turning watery and seasons them from within.

In a separate pot of boiling water, gently lower in the room-temperature eggs and boil for about 7 minutes. Nothing needs to be added to the water.

Cut the cucumber into thick rounds so it stands out, slice the carrot thinly, and slice the onion against the grain so it is easy to eat raw.

Put the cut vegetables in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and work it in well by hand. Once they soften, squeeze them with a little pressure to draw out the vegetable juices and bring the flavors together. Leave them as they are.

Cut the ham about 0.9 cm thick.

Roll up a damp towel to use as a base, and tilt the bowl to create an "egg yolk spot" where the yolk collects at the bottom. Add the egg yolk, mustard, half of the vinegar, and salt, and mix thoroughly.

Add the blended oil of 20% olive oil and 80% refined sesame oil, starting with just a tiny amount and mixing until fully incorporated. Once it comes together, add another small amount, repeating in small increments to emulsify. Once it thickens it separates less easily, so you can add slightly more at a time.

Add the remaining half of the vinegar to adjust the thickness. Once the added liquid loosens it and it turns whitish, the homemade mayonnaise is done.

Peel the boiled eggs, make a small cut with a knife, then tear them apart by hand. Sprinkle salt on the yolks at this stage.

Insert a skewer into the potatoes to check whether they are cooked through. If it meets resistance partway, the center is not done yet, so keep boiling until it slides all the way through.

While still hot, peel the potatoes on a paper towel and break them into large pieces. While piping hot, work in the salt and vinegar and toss lightly.

Add the salt-massaged vegetables and ham along with their juices, and mix without mashing the potatoes too much. Next add the torn eggs, then add about two-thirds of the mayonnaise rather than all of it, mixing just enough to leave it uneven rather than fully coated.

Serve in a dish and finish by piping the remaining mayonnaise over the top.