Gamja Jorim is our favourite recipe for mouth-watering Korean Braised Potatoes.
Our quick & easy homemade Gamja Jorim recipe features tender potato chunks that are simmered in a sweet and salty sauce made of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic and sesame oil.
Traditionally in Korea Gamja Jorim is served as a side dish. It can be enjoyed hot out of the pan, cold or at room temperature.
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What Is Gamja Jorim?
Gamja Jorim is a braised potato dish from Korea. In Seoul it is a popular side dish served at restaurants and is regularly prepared in home-packed lunch boxes for school children.
In Korean cuisine “jorim” refers to dishes made by simmering the main ingredient in a sauce until the sauce is reduced. It involves quickly braising potatoes in a slightly sweet, soy sauce-based sauce. In Korean royal court cuisine, jorim is called jorini.
The dish can be prepared with baby potatoes with their skins on or by chopping large potatoes into bite-sized chunks.
If using large potatoes we suggest the less starchy variety like Yukon Gold or simply marked white and yellow potatoes. Red fingerlings work great as well.
Travel to Korea by Cooking Gamja Jorim at Home
I love traveling through Asia.
As a professional food and travel writer I’ve eaten my way through India, Maldives, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.
My first visit to Asia had me living in South Korea for a year as an English teacher. That’s when I was first introduced to yummy fermented vegetables like kimchi.
In Korea, I’ve enjoyed many beautiful bowls of Gamja Jorim at restaurants in Seoul, Suwon, Busan, Samcheok, Jeju and even the North Korean DMZ.
My first time eating Gamja Jorim was almost immediately after getting off the plane in Seoul. I spent my first week in Korea attending intensive teacher training classes. Whenever we’d break for lunch they’d serve us plates filled with bulgogi, mandu, gamja jorim and a selection of healthy banchan.
This Korean Potatoes recipe is a simple side dish that is quick and easy to make over the stove in a skillet. The dish is vegetarian and vegan friendly with plenty of flavour thanks to soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and garlic.
After enjoying your first few bites, you’ll realize why Gamja Jorim enjoyed with a cold pint of Hite beer is a must-try when visiting South Korea!
Where To Eat Korean Braised Potatoes
If you live in a large city in Canada or America you’ll likely have access to a local Korean restaurant that serves a traditional Gamja Jorim recipe.
Haven’t traveled to Korea before? It may be helpful to first sample Korean Braised Potatoes at a local restaurant to better understand how it is served. You’ll get an idea for the ideal size to cut the potatoes, how sweet and spicy to prepare the sauce and the best main course dishes to serve at the table.
In Toronto, popular Korean restaurants that may serve authentic Gamja Jorim include Doma, Korean Village Restaurant, Arisu, Charcoal and Salt, Koko Share Bar, The Owl of Minerva, Seoul Shakers, Té Restaurant, Barrio Coreano, Momofuku Noodle Bar, Tofu Village and Korea House.
My Family Loves Gamja Jorim
My parents flew to Asia to visit me on holiday during the 12 months I lived in Seoul. Before landing at Incheon they visited Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan.
They had never been to a Korean restaurant at home in Toronto or Oakville before so every dish was a delight and surprise to their taste buds.
It’s no secret that my dad is a picky eater so I was a little nervous about him finding commonplace menu items like raw fish, spicy soup and fatty samgyeopsal to be unappealing.
Thankfully my parents both fell in love with the local comfort food Gamja Jorim! They ordered the dish many times during visits to Insadong and Dongdaemun.
I knew my parents would love the dish because they enjoy sweet soy sauce, healthy vegan recipes and forking through tender potatoes.
I often cook this gamja jorim recipe during the colder months of the year in the Fall and Winter. After spending a day outdoors in the cold there’s no better way to heat up your chilly bones then forking through a comforting bowl of Korean Braised Potatoes.
Your hungry (and thawing) dinner guests will be smiling from ear to ear, chopsticks on the ready!
Gamja Jorim Recipe Cooking Tips
This Korean Potatoes recipe is quick and easy to make at home. We’ve included a few tips and tricks to get you started.
- We suggest using a large cast iron skillet or nonstick pan to prepare the potatoes over the stove.
- We recommend using baby potatoes with their skin on, or Yukon Gold potatoes cut into chunks .
- We’ve used rice wine vinegar in this recipe but you can substitute for white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- We like using a mixture of dark soy sauce and light soy sauce to give the dish an eye-catching blackened appearance.
- We sweeten the dish with brown sugar but you can use honey if you prefer.
- We’ve used canola oil in this recipe but you can substitue with another flavourless vegetable oil like avocado oil.
- Gamja Jorim can be made simply with just potatoes or you can add additional ingredients like carrot, onion, sweet bell peppers or chili.
- For additional seasoning feel free to add a teaspoon of gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste) and or gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes).
- We like to garnish the potatoes with sesame seeds and sliced scallions but you can substitute with other herbs like chives or cilantro.
Korean Braised Potatoes Recipe Health Benefits
Our homemade Gamja Jorim recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
It is only recently that scientists have begun to identify the components responsible for garlic’s myriad health benefits. Rich in phytochemicals and potassium, garlic helps boost your immune system, fight cancer and protect your heart.
Potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Studies have linked potatoes to a variety of impressive health benefits, including improved blood sugar control, reduced heart disease risk and higher immunity.
A useful source of copper, calcium, manganese, and phosphorus, sesame seeds help support circulatory, digestive and skeletal health.
Scallions are a humble vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Regular consumption of onions can help boost digestive health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
What To Serve with Korean Potatoes
There’s nothing more comforting than cozying up to a bowl of Korean Braised Potatoes!
In Korea the popular side dish is typically served alongside entrees like bulgogi, samgyeopsal, and spicy kimchi soup.
If you’re hosting a Korean feast you might like to serve Gamja Jorim with these other popular recipes:
- Spicy Korean Kimchi Soju Cocktail
- Homemade Korean Strawberry Milk
- Oven Roasted Korean Gochujang Pulled Pork Shoulder
- Korean Breakfast Recipe Gochujang Baked Eggs & Potato
- Korean Beef Bulgogi Noodles
- Sangchu Geotjeori Sweet and Sour Korean Lettuce Salad
- Crispy Vegan Pan Fried Korean Tofu
- Buchimgae Buchu-Jeon Korean Chive Pancake
- Spicy Gukbap Korean Rice & Beef Soup
- Homemade Spicy Pork Bibimbap
- Baked Korean Gochujang Chicken Wings
- Peanut and Sesame Noodle Bowl with Korean BBQ Pork and Pickles
- Korean Ssamjang Chicken Kimchi Nachos
Storage
You can refrigerate Korean Braised Potatoes in an air tight container for 3 to 4 days. You can serve them cold, at room temperature or reheated in a microwave.
You May Also Enjoy These Potato Recipes…
- French Mashed Potato Fritters
- Hovezi Gulas Traditional Czech Beef Goulash Stew
- Vegetarian Aloo Bharta Indian Style Mashed Potatoes
- Crispy Oven Roasted Cypriot Cyprus Potatoes
- Erdapfelsalat Viennese Warm Austrian Potato Salad
- Aloo Fry Vegetarian Indian Turmeric Potatoes
- Crispy Roasted Harissa Potatoes
- Culurgiones Sardinian Cheese & Potato Stuffed Pasta
- Vegetarian Malai Kofta
- Kartoffelknödel German Potato Dumplings
- Vegetarian Roti Canai Curry
How To Make Gamja Jorim Korean Potatoes
Gamja Jorim Korean Braised Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 4 Garlic Cloves grated
- Kosher Salt + Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Canola Oil
- 2 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes quartered
- 2 tsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
- 1 tbsp Scallions thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of water, light and dark soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, garlic and 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper.
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the potatoes and stir to coat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the exterior of the potatoes are lightly browned, 10-15 minutes.
- Stir in 3/4 of the soy sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover and cook, until the tip of a knife inserted into the largest pieces meet no resistance, around 10 minutes.
- Uncover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring gently until the liquid evaporates and the potatoes are glazed, around 5 minutes.
- Off the heat, stir in the remaining soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
- Serve hot sprinkled with sesame seeds and sliced scallions.
Nutrition
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