Delicious Korean potato side dish – Gamja Jorim Recipe! Learn how to make Korean braised potatoes using baby potatoes.
Soy sauce braised baby potatoes are a popular Korean side dish. It’s called algamja jorim (알감자 조림) in Korean. I used to love having these little cuties in my school lunch box.
Baby potatoes are soft inside but the outer layer is somewhat sticky, chewy and it’s irresistibly delicious. What’s more, it’s coated with sweet and salty braising sauce, making it a perfect side dish to simple steamed rice.
Best Cooking Tips
- The picture below shows the type of potatoes I used for this recipe. I particularly loved the texture of baby red royale potatoes, which apparently is a perfect variety for roasting.
- The ideal size of baby potato is quail’s egg size. However, I couldn’t find that size baby potatoes, so I used regular egg size baby potatoes and cut these into half.
- Bear in mind that when the potato is cut in half, the area that is not covered with potato skin can become a bit brittle while cooking. So try to be gentle when turning them over.
- In a typical Korean braised potato recipe, potatoes are usually boiled first then braised later. However, I couldn’t get the potato skin texture I wanted by boiling them. Also, some potato skin got peeled off during the boiling process. I don’t know why this happened, but I was able to get the texture I wanted by pan frying or roasting the potatoes first.
Ingredients for Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes)
Main
- 1kg / 35 ounces baby potatoes (red or white), skin on
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil (I used rice bran oil)
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tbsp honey (or your choice of sweetened syrup)
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Braising Sauce
- 5 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp rice wine
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
* 1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml
How to Make Gamja Jorim
1. Rinse the potatoes thoroughly – use a scrubber to remove any dirt if needed. (I used pre-washed potatoes and it was very easy to clean them.) Trim off any bruised spots if needed. Cut the potatoes in half if your potatoes are bigger than a small egg.
2. Preheat a large (shallow) braising pot over medium high heat. Add some oil (1 Tbsp) and spread it well. Add the potatoes and drizzle more oil (1 Tbsp) over them. Pan fry the potatoes over medium heat for about 25 mins. Turn them around often to avoid burning.
Alternatively, you could roast the potatoes in the oven at 200 C / 392 F for 30 mins. I actually prefer oven roasting as it’s less hands on.
3. Once the outer layer of potato is nicely cooked and browned, add the water and the braising sauce. Bring it to boil over medium high heat (about 2 mins). Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the potatoes until the most sauce is boiled away (about 15 mins), leaving about 5-6 Tbsp worth sauce in the pot.
Reduce the heat to low. Add the honey, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Gently toss to coat while you continue to simmer until the sauce thickens (another 15 mins). Potatoes should be all cooked by now.
However, continue to simmer to achieve darker colored potatoes (because it looks more appealing) and to make the sauce stickier. You may turn the heat up to medium to quicken this process. Stir often. Remove from the heat.
4. Serve with a bowl of steamed rice. The potatoes taste better once cooled down for about 30 mins in the fridge.
How to Store
You can refrigerate the braised potatoes in an air tight container for 3 to 4 days. It tastes best on the day of making it though. You can serve them cold or reheated.
If you like this potato recipe, you might also like these recipes too. – Korean Soy Sauce Braised Eggs and Korean Potato Side Dish
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Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes)
Ingredients
MAIN
- 1 kg baby potatoes (red or white), skin on, (35 ounces)
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil , I used rice bran oil
- 2 Tbsp honey (or your choice of sweetened syrup)
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Rinse the potatoes thoroughly – use a scrubber to remove any dirt if needed. (I used pre-washed potatoes and it was very easy to clean them.) Trim off any bruised spots if needed. Cut the potatoes in half if your potatoes are bigger than a small egg.
- Preheat a large (shallow) braising pot over medium high heat. Add some oil (1 Tbsp) and spread it well. Add the potatoes and drizzle more oil (1 Tbsp) over them. Pan fry the potatoes over medium heat for about 25 mins. Turn them around often to avoid burning. Alternatively, you could roast the potatoes in the oven at 200 C / 392 F for 30 mins. I actually prefer oven roasting as it’s less hands on.
- Once the outer layer of potato is nicely cooked and browned, add the water and the braising sauce. Bring it to boil over medium high heat (about 2 mins). Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the potatoes until the most sauce is boiled away (about 15 mins), leaving about 5-6 Tbsp worth sauce in the pot.Reduce the heat to low. Add the honey, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Gently toss to coat while you continue to simmer until the sauce thickens (another 15 mins). Potatoes should be all cooked by now.Continue to simmer to achieve darker colored potatoes (because it looks more appealing) and to make the sauce stickier. You may turn the heat up to medium to quicken this process. Stir often. Remove from the heat.
- Serve with a bowl of steamed rice. The potatoes taste better once cooled down for about 30 mins in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I was craving Korean potatoes that I get at KBBQ and this recipe was so delicious. Super easy. I like how it is vegan friendly (If you add the sugar syrup instead of honey). The only thing I did differently was add a bit of chicken powder to add some saltiness and I also didn’t add honey since I didn’t have that on hand. It was still GOOD without the honey though.
Tried your recipe. I really liked it. Thank you
These were absolutely delicious! They’ve been requested again by the family. Thank you!!
Great process but definite bit salty for my family. We tasted as it cooked and ended up adding about 1 Tablespoon of rock sugar and 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Maybe next time we will try 3 Tablespoon soy sauce. But pretty good after the modifications.
Hi Sue, this was one of the things I prepared for our New Year as a side dish of course, along with your other recipes which I will be rating each. Gamja Jorim was consumed first! They love it! Super thank you for your easy to follow recipes. Happy New Year and keep sharing your recipes. ❤️❤️❤️ I’m a big fan of Korean Cuisine!
Happy new year, Cess! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoyed my recipes. Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Hi Sue, I’ve been subscribed to your blog for quite a while now but never really found I wanted to post anything, but I have a thought about your gamja jorim.
Maybe the reason your skins came off or didn’t work properly when boiling is that you cut the potatoes in half, which lets more water and uneven heat into the potato, and because they are small this is a big effect. I have not had this problem with other dishes where you boil first, but must not boil for very long then just leave them in the hot water for a while (depends how big they are) then run under cold water, drain let dry until needed. Thanks for your recipies – I didn’t know much about Korean food before.
I’m definitely going to try this! Love Korean food.
Thank you! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Sorry I forgot to rate in my last message…
Hi Sue,
Thanks for your recipes – this one is special – I will try it however I would add some fresh garlic to the braise sauce…
Tibor
from Hungary
Fresh garlic sounds good. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Interesting. I am not into sugar but I like the idea of Sesame Oil. Maybe you can do a version with Sesame Chili oil?
If I use the roasting method, do I still boil it for approx. 30 minutes after to reduce the sauce? Would it not get too soggy?
Yes, if you’re roasting in the oven, it only replaces pan frying step. Don’t change rest of the instruction.
Also, the aim of texture isn’t crispy roasted potato texture. Assuming you left the potato skin on, you will get soft & fluffy potatoes (inside) with very slight sticky and chewy texture (outside).