Recipes / International dishes / Fried Dishes

Gamja Jeon (Korean Cheesy Potato Pancakes)

Name: Gamja Jeon (Korean Cheesy Potato Pancakes)
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Korea
Ingredients: 2 large potatoes, ideally a yellow fleshed variety; 100g mozzarella cheese, grated or torn; 1/4 onion, finely chopped; 2 spring onions, finely sliced; 2 tablespoons all purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; cooking oil, enough to come up the sides of the pancake; a dipping sauce of 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 finely sliced spring onion, chopped chili to taste and 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

International dishesFried DishesKoreaabout 40 minutes

Gamja jeon comes out crisp on the outside with cheese pulling into strands inside. The potato is grated into thick strands, so the pancake keeps some bite instead of turning pasty.

The hardest part is the water in the potato, because any left behind gives a limp pancake that will never crisp. Toss the grated potato with salt, leave it 10 to 15 minutes and wring it out thoroughly. Fry over medium heat so the pancake cooks to the center without scorching outside.

This batch weighs about 504g, at roughly 132 calories per 100g.

Nutrition (this recipe makes 2 servings)

132.4kcal

6.6gprotein

4.6gfat

1gsugar

The sweetness here comes from kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and milk. There is no added refined sugar.

Estimated from raw ingredients; the real numbers shift a little depending on how you cook and what you buy.

This batch makes 2 servings. This batch makes about 2 servings. Cut the pancake into wedges, divide it between two plates and share one bowl of dipping sauce.

Ingredients for the batch

2 large potatoes, ideally a yellow fleshed variety
100g mozzarella cheese, grated or torn
1/4 onion, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
cooking oil, enough to come up the sides of the pancake
a dipping sauce of 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 finely sliced spring onion, chopped chili to taste and 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Method

Peel 2 large potatoes, wash them and grate them into fairly thick strands so the pancake does not fall apart in the pan.
Put the grated potato in a large bowl, add a little salt, toss well and leave it 10 to 15 minutes to draw out the water.
Wring the potato out thoroughly and transfer it to a dry bowl.
Add 1/4 of a chopped onion, 2 finely sliced spring onions, 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper to the potato and mix well.
Set a pan on the stove with enough cooking oil to come up the sides of the pancake and wait until it is properly hot.
Spoon in enough potato for one pancake and spread it into a thin round. Fry over medium heat until the underside is golden and crisp.
Scatter 100g of mozzarella over the surface, cover it with another layer of grated potato and press lightly so the two layers hold together.
Keep frying until both faces are golden and crisp and the cheese pulls into strands. Lift the pancake onto a plate lined with paper towels.
Mix the dipping sauce: combine 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 finely sliced spring onion, chopped chili to taste and 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds.

Tips

Wringing the potato out thoroughly is the most important step, because a wet mixture will never fry up crisp.
Medium heat cooks the pancake to the center without scorching the outside.
Without mozzarella, use cheddar or parmesan, though they pull into strands far less.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so stir it into the soy sauce and vinegar first, leave it 5 minutes and stir again for an even dipping sauce.
Grated carrot or zucchini, or chopped bacon and kimchi, all work stirred through for a change.
Spread the pancake thin, because a thick one stays raw in the middle while the outside darkens.

Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?

The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.

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