Braised Dishes
Gamja-jorim (Soy-braised Potatoes)
Reduce the liquid to a glossy glaze before the potatoes break down. Stir-fry the onion and the white part of the leek first to build sweetness, and add the soy sauce in two parts, tasting as you go rather than pouring it all in at once.
한국어로 보기 (Korean version)
Steps
- 1
Cut out any sprouts and green parts from the potatoes, cut them into 2 cm cubes, and soak in cold water to rinse off the starch.
Cut too small, they'll crumble while braising.
- 2
Thickly slice the onion and the white part of the leek; set the green part aside.
Add the green part at the very end so it keeps its color.
- 3
Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and stir-fry the onion and leek whites for 2 minutes.
- 4
Add the potatoes, 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce, the sugar, minced garlic, and water. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 12 minutes.
Spoon the liquid over the top now and then, and don't stir hard enough to mash the potatoes.
- 5
Uncover, add the remaining soy sauce, and simmer over medium heat for 4 minutes more. Top with the leek greens, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.
Turn off the heat when the sauce thinly coats a spoon.
Substitutions
| Instead of | Use | How |
|---|---|---|
| sugar | 1 tsp oligosaccharide syrup | The color darkens faster, so reduce for only 1 minute more at the end. |
| potatoes | 200 g Korean radish (mu) | Simmer radish 2 minutes less than potatoes and stop once it turns translucent. |
Storing leftovers
Store submerged in the sauce in the fridge and eat within 3 days. As it cools, the potatoes soak up the sauce and taste saltier while the sauce reduces, so reheat with 2 Tbsp water over medium heat for 3 minutes. Potatoes turn mealy when frozen, so don't freeze.
Serve with
Rice and a fried egg, or a mild namul such as sigeumchi-namul (seasoned spinach).
Making more or less
When making more, scale up the water and soy sauce along with the potatoes, but taste before deciding how much sugar to add at the end.
Before you cook
- Cut out potato sprouts and any green parts.
Questions
What if my gamja-jorim potatoes are breaking apart?
The edges break if the potatoes were cut too small or stirred too often while braising. If they've already started to break, lower the heat and gently shake the pot instead of using a spatula to coat them with sauce. Soaking the cut potatoes to rinse off surface starch also keeps the sauce clearer.
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