potato pancake (gamja jeon)
Potato pancake—gamja jeon in Korean. Good for breakfast, snacking … and pre-gaming to line your stomach before making excellent life decisions…
Crispy, starchy, salty and (how I like it) spicy.
My version is a bit different than traditional gamja jeon—specifically, the texture.
The potatoes in gamja jeon are typically blended or shredded down to a finer texture than how I prepare them. Personally, I prefer a thicker texture, because I like the crispiness and crunch that results from it.
Also, normally when making gamja jeon, you save the leftover starch that’s been squeezed out of the potato as a binding agent—I don’t use the leftover starch—instead I add corn starch because it’s easier. In my recipe I also add some jalapeno for some extra dimension and heat to this classic dish.
I hope you enjoy it—plain, with sour cream, or with the dipping sauce I’ve included below in the recipe :)
Ingredients:
Makes 1 pancake
1 medium-sized russet potato
1 ½ tablespoons of corn starch
2 teaspoons of onion powder
2 teaspoons of finely chopped jalapeno (Note: I like potato pancakes spicy—If you do not like heat, you can omit this. I think it tastes better with—but to each their own. For some heat, cut it to a single teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon of salt
pinch of black pepper (optional)
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (for frying)
Dipping Sauce
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of water
1/2 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
Pancake ingredients (L-R): Corn starch, onion powder, jalapeno, salt, vegetable oil, sesame oil and a medium-sized russet potato. Not pictured: black pepper
Directions:
Peel, then grate the potato. The thickness should be similar to shredded cheese (think cheddar/mozzarella-in-a-bag type thickness)
Using your hands, squeeze the excess water/starch from the potato. You can discard the liquid/starch.
In a bowl, mix together the grated potato, corn starch, onion powder, jalapeno, salt and black pepper.
Mix it!
In a pan on medium high heat, add the vegetable oil. Make sure that the entire surface of the pan is coated in oil.
When the pan/oil is ready—spoon your pancake mixture into the pan. Place it in the middle and fan it out. Spread out the mixture evenly into a circle—your pancake should be about 6 ½ inches in diameter for the best result (yes, I measured with a tape measure)
Once shaped into a circle, fry each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
For the dipping sauce, mix the soy sauce, water, sugar and onion powder until all the ingredients have dissolved and combined together.
You can serve this with the dipping sauce, or sour cream. I garnished mine with scallions. Enjoy!
