Gamja jorim is a quick & easy side dish that is loaded with incredible flavors that will have you craving for more. Coated in a sweet and savory glaze, these decadent potatoes can be prepared with ease with this simple recipe! Make a batch of Gamja Jorim today in the comfort of your home.
What is Gamja Jorim?
Korean Braised Potatoes, also known as Gamja Jorim (감자조림) are one of the most popular side dishes (banchan) in Korean cuisine, and one that I immensely adore.
Succulent baby potatoes are boiled, pan-fried, and simmered down in a sweet, garlicky, and savory sauce, resulting in a batch of glazed potatoes that are perfectly chewy and sticky on the outside, and velvety soft on the inside.
This easy side dish pairs wonderfully with a bowl of freshly steamed rice and complements any dinner table thanks to its simple yet addictive taste.
Due to its popularity, this dish is widely found in Korean restaurants around the globe, and I’m here with you today to share my best-ever recipe for Korean braised potatoes which tastes 10x better when made fresh in the comfort of your home!
What do I need to make Gamja Jorim?
Despite its alluring taste, one of the best parts about this recipe lies in its simplicity and concise list of ingredients. Here is a list of everything you’ll need:
- Mini/baby potatoes: you can also use regular-sized potatoes for this recipe, but I highly recommend using baby potatoes to keep the skin intact, helping the delicious glaze to stick onto the potatoes.
- Both red and yellow mini potatoes will work with this recipe, or you can even use a mix of both.
- These potatoes are to be cooked in boiling water first, then pan-fried and simmered down in the sauce to finish.
- If your baby potatoes are larger than bite-size, I would recommend slicing them in half prior to cooking.
- Vegetable (or any neutral) oil: to pan-fry the potatoes before adding them to the sauce.
- Soy sauce, honey, garlic, Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes – optional), and water: for the sauce.
- Gochugaru is optional but gives the sauce a kick of spice that truly elevates the flavor. You can also add in some chopped chili peppers if you prefer them to be extra spicy.
- If you don’t have any honey at hand, you can use any kind of sweetened syrup such as rice syrup, maple syrup, corn syrup, or agave syrup.
- Sesame seeds + green onions: for garnish.
How do I make the best Korean Braised Potatoes?
Add salt and vinegar to your water when boiling your potatoes.
This helps to elevate the flavors of the potatoes and helps them stay firm and hold their shape while cooking. I also found that adding vinegar reduces the slightly bitter taste of potatoes.
Cover with a lid while boiling & test with a toothpick:
This will ensure that all the steam will not escape when boiling your potatoes, making sure they cook evenly and maintaining the water level while cooking.
To check doneness, I recommend using a toothpick to test the potatoes around the 10-15 minute mark, in which the toothpick will slide in without resistance when they are ready for the next step.
Try not to overcook the potatoes as the skin will become brittle and peel off. The key is to keep the skin intact while making the potatoes extra tender on the inside!
Make the sauce in advance.
this will make your process a lot more seamless as the braising sauce needs to be added as soon as the potatoes are pan-fried to golden brown and crispy.
Simply pour in your prepared sauce and simmer down to a thick, shiny consistency! The last thing you want is overcooked or burnt potatoes and this step will ensure that your process is a breeze.
And that’s it! I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe as it is easily one of my favorite dishes of all time. Please leave me a comment below or message me on Instagram if you have any questions. Happy cooking everyone!
Other easy Korean recipes you may like:
- Korean Potato Salad (Gamja Salad)
- 5-Minute Korean Silken Tofu
- Korean Marinated Eggs (Mayak Eggs)
- Korean Tuna Pancakes (Chamchijeon)
- Dubu Jorim (Korean Braised Tofu)
Easy Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb baby potatoes
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- green onions for garnish
Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp honey or your choice of sweetened syrup
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) or red pepper flakes, optional
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Add salt and vinegar to a pot of boiling water. Add potatoes, cover, and cook until tender on medium-low heat, about 10-15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil and pan-fry your potatoes for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Pour in the sauce and simmer until thickened, stirring frequently for even coating.
- Turn off the heat and mix in sesame seeds. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
♥ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a 5-star rating or leave a comment below to share your experience, or tag @cookerru on Instagram to showcase your creations!
13 comments
Oh my god, these are probably the best potatoes I’ve ever had. I used some little purple potatoes, and I reduced the sugar by just a little. My sauce ended up not thinking up as much so I added a little cornstarch slurry and it was perfect! Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Wonderful!! So happy to hear that you enjoyed it Kylie! The cornstarch is a great idea for anyone subbing sugar for honey 🙂 thanks for sharing your idea with us!
Sooo gut, ich werde die Kartoffeln ganz bald nachmachen!
Viele Grüße sendet,
Jesse-Gabriel aus Berlin
P.S.: Toller Blog, danke!
Hoffe es gefällt euch! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! This is our family’s new favorite way to have potatoes.
So happy you enjoyed them Christine! Thanks for sharing ❤️
I will be making this often! I followed your recipe almost exactly, but I used peeled Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1” chunks, and I added 1 lb. of peeled, deveined shrimp to the skillet for the last couple of minutes after the sauce had reduced (the shrimp only cook for about one minute per side). I also served this with your spicy cucumber salad, which I eat almost every night!
The shrimp is a lovely addition! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes 🙂 Thanks for sharing your ideas with us!
Delicious! Made this recipe for dinner and everyone loved it. Will be making this again. I didn’t add the water to the sauce and it turned out perfect. We live at 6000 feet above sea level, the reason why I omitted the water.
Haha amazing, so happy your loved ones enjoyed the potatoes Laura! ❤️
Seriously DELICIOUS . Like others we used slightly less sweet, used honey and jaggery (with sesame) and corn-starch slurry.
This was very good! Indeed very easy to make! Used this as a side-dish with Korean BBQ spare ribs. The family really enjoyed Gamja Jorim!! This recipe will be seen again with some other BBQ meats.
A new staple in my house! Super easy and flavorful.