Recipe: Gamjajorim (Korean Braised Potato Banchan)

Recently at a KBBQ restaurant, I was served this deliciously savory potato banchan dish. I couldn't stop thinking about those flavors and wanted to learn how to recreate it at home.

With a sack of leftover potatoes in my pantry, I took this opportunity to experiment:

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Soy Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Garlic
• Gochugaru (Korean Red Pepper Flakes) 
• Sesame Oil
• Sesame Seeds
• Onion
• Black Pepper
• Dried Seaweed

1. Boil whole potatoes until the skin can easily be peeled. Peel and quarter the potatoes. Try to make the chunks as small and uniform as possible. Then soak the pieces in cold water for at least 10 minutes to remove excess starch. 

2. Sauté the potatoes in a frying pan with light oil. Add onions and sauté together until slightly browned.

3. In the meantime, mix together a sauce consisting of 1/2 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (OPTIONAL: add a bit of honey and/or corn starch), 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of gochugaru, a dash of black pepper (OPTIONAL: a dash garlic and onion powder), a bit of sesame oil for taste, and some pieces of dried seaweed (This ingredient is KEY for achieving that umami.)

4. Add the prepared sauce to the pan. Drizzle and then stir thoroughly to coat the pieces. Continue sautéing until the sauce reduces to a nice glaze. 

5. When ready to serve, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Enjoy!