Korean Gamja-jeon (Potato Pancakes)
Grated potato bound only by its own settled starch, with a little onion and garlic chives, pan-fried into crisp, chewy Korean pancakes with a soy and vinegar dipping sauce.
Gamja-jeon is a Korean jeon, a savory pan-fried pancake, made by frying finely grated potato in oil until golden; potatoes have been grown mainly in the hills and mountains of Gangwon Province, where gamja-jeon became a specialty, and it is traditionally made with only potato, salt and oil and served with choganjang, a soy and vinegar dipping sauce (Wikipedia:). The potato is a newcomer in Korea: Wikipedia, citing historian Felix Siegmund, says it may have come across the Tumen River from China in 1824, or by sea with the German missionary Karl Gützlaff in 1832. Hyosun of Korean Bapsang based her version on a single large potato pancake served at a noodle restaurant in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.
Why it works the kitchen science
The potato is its own glue
The starch that settles out of the potato juice binds the pancake with no flour or egg, and it fries up crisp outside and chewy inside.
Onion first
Grating the onion into the bowl and mixing the potato in at once slows the browning of the cut potato (Korean Bapsang).
Step by step
- Step 1
Grate the onion into a large bowl. Peel the potatoes and grate them finely over a strainer set on a second bowl, catching the liquid (or grind the onion and potatoes together in a food processor).
- Step 2
Press the grated potato in the strainer to drain it, saving the liquid, and stir it into the onion right away so it doesn't darken.
- Step 3
Let the potato liquid stand about 10 minutes, until a layer of white starch settles on the bottom. Carefully pour off the water and scrape the starch into the potatoes with the salt and chives. Mix well.
- Step 4
Stir the dipping sauce ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.
- Step 5
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Spread a quarter of the batter into a thin round, turn the heat to medium-low and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until light golden underneath; flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until golden and cooked through.
- Step 6
Repeat with the rest of the batter and oil, holding finished pancakes on a rack in a 200°F oven. Cut into wedges and serve hot with the dipping sauce.
Korean Gamja-jeon (Potato Pancakes)
Serves 4 · 4 large pancakes · 40 min total
Pancakes
- 1/2 medium onion
- 3 lb potatoes (4 large or 6 medium)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 oz garlic chives (buchu), cut into 1-inch lengths, optional
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil, for frying (2 tbsp per pancake)
Dipping sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sugar
- Pinch of black pepper
Method
- Grate the onion into a large bowl. Peel the potatoes and grate them finely over a strainer set on a second bowl, catching the liquid (or grind the onion and potatoes together in a food processor).
- Press the grated potato in the strainer to drain it, saving the liquid, and stir it into the onion right away so it doesn't darken.
- Let the potato liquid stand about 10 minutes, until a layer of white starch settles on the bottom. Carefully pour off the water and scrape the starch into the potatoes with the salt and chives. Mix well.
- Stir the dipping sauce ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Spread a quarter of the batter into a thin round, turn the heat to medium-low and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until light golden underneath; flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until golden and cooked through.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter and oil, holding finished pancakes on a rack in a 200°F oven. Cut into wedges and serve hot with the dipping sauce.
Adapted from Korean Bapsang, "Gamjajeon (Potato Pancakes)" by Hyosun (April 9, 2020, updated June 11, 2021), doubled from 2 servings to 4. The onion and garlic chives are optional in her recipe; we keep both. Her heat (medium, then medium-low) and 2 to 3 minutes per side are kept; the extra minute for doneness in step 5 is ours. Korean Bapsang. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Use other vegetables sparingly so the potato stays the star (Korean Bapsang).
- Thin is better: spread the batter no more than 1/4 inch thick so the middle cooks before the outside scorches.
- Sweet potatoes don't work with this method, the author says in her comments.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Gamja-jeon is just potato, salt and oil. Documented as the traditional form (Wikipedia); onion, chives, carrot or chili are common additions.
- Potatoes reached Korea in 1824. Disputed: Wikipedia gives two routes and dates, across the Tumen River in 1824 or by sea with Karl Gützlaff in 1832, citing Felix Siegmund (2010).
- Gamja-jeon is Gangwon's dish. Documented: Wikipedia says it became a specialty of Gangwon Province, where potatoes are grown in the highlands.
- Eat jeon on rainy days. Folklore: a popular Korean saying that the sizzle sounds like rain; we found no source for its origin.
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