Gamja Jorim is potatoes braised in a sweet and savory sauce. It’s a quick and easy side dish you can make in under 30 minutes! This is better than the average mashed potatoes!
This Gamja Jorim (literally meaning braised potatoes) recipe is inspired by one of the Korean restaurants I often eat. They serve these glossy, savory, and steaming tender potatoes as a side dish, and I’m absolutely hooked, I knew I had to remake them at home.
While this has long been a popular Korean side dish, I only recently discovered what the hype is all about. Cooking it myself showed just how simple yet incredibly delicious it is.
The beauty of this recipe? Minimal prep! Aside from slicing the potatoes, no chopping is required. You also likely already have the six pantry staples needed for the flavorful sauce. It’s cheap and filling, and I’m sure your kids will love this!
Gamja Jorim Ingredients
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- Potatoes – Use less starchy potatoes so they hold their shape better. This recipe can use both regular-sized or baby potatoes (sliced in half)!
- Garlic – For aroma and fresh flavor to counter the sweet and savory sauce
- Water – To help cook the potatoes thoroughly
- Gamja Jorim Sauce – Soy sauce and oyster sauce for the savory flavor, sugar and plum juice for the sweet flavor, sesame oil for a nutty and earthy complement, and corn syrup to help create a nice glaze for the potatoes. If you don’t have plum juice and/or corn syrup, just use more sugar.
- Sesame Seeds – For garnish
How to make Korean Braised Potatoes?
Rinse the potatoes and remove any dirt from the skin, then peel and slice them into bite-sized pieces.
You can either microwave the potatoes for 5 minutes or boil them for 10 minutes to cook, then rinse to remove any excess starch from it.
Place pan on high heat, add a bit of oil, and once it is heated, place the potatoes in it. Add garlic, then stir fry for a couple of minutes to infuse flavor and give the potatoes a bit of golden brown color before adding the sauce.
Add water, then add the braising sauce ingredients such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, corn syrup, plum juice, and sesame oil. Mix this thoroughly ensuring every inch of the potatoes is covered by the sauce.
Cover the pan and place it on medium heat. This will help cook the potatoes thoroughly, braising down the sauce and having them absorb all the flavor. Heat is also lowered to prevent the sugar and corn syrup from burning.
Once the braising sauce has reduced and thickened, stir fry the potatoes so the sauce sticks and turn them golden and glossy.
Avoid overcooking the dish as it can get mushy. You want it to just be steaming tender but still hold its shape. Finish with sesame seeds, serve, and enjoy!
Serving and Storage
Koreans typically add Gamja Jorim to their lunch box, serve as a Korean BBQ side dish, or just generally enjoy this with other side dishes like spicy cucumber salad, soybean sprout banchan, fresh kimchi, etc. over freshly steamed rice.
This is the type of side dish you can make ahead and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. It keeps well so you can enjoy it anytime! You can eat it cold or heated up in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Other savory side dishes you might like:
- Soy Marinated Eggs
- Ojingeochae Muchim (Spicy Dried Squid)
- Eomuk Bokkeum (Stir-fried Fish Cake)
- Korean Sausage Stir Fry
- Wanja Jeon (Mini Beef Patties)
- Yachae Jeon (Vegetable Pancake)
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Korean Braised Potatoes (Gamja Jorim)
Ingredients
- 500 grams Potatoes Peeled and chopped into bitesize pieces
- 2 tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil For sauteing
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic
- 1 cup Water
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Corn Syrup
- 1 tbsp Plum Juice
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 tbsp Sesame Seeds For garnish
Instructions
- Rinse the potatoes to clean, then peel and chop them into bitesize pieces.
- Microwave the potatoes for 5 minutes (or boil for 10 minutes).
- Rinse the potatoes again to remove the excess starch and let drain.
- Place pan on high heat, put oil in it, then place the potatoes in the pan. Add garlic then stir fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add water then season with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, corn syrup, plum juice, and sesame oil.
- Cover the pan, put it on medium heat, and let the sauce braise the potatoes.
- Once the sauce has reduced and thickened up, stir-fry the potatoes so the sauce sticks and makes them glossy.
- Finish with sesame seeds, serve, and enjoy!
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