Today I’m going to show you an easy way to make a delicious potato pancake, called gamjajeon (감자전) in Korean. I posted a recipe and video showing how to make traditional gamjajeon years ago, but this version uses a few shortcuts and is much simpler. In the traditional way, we grate the potatoes, then drain and capture the starch to use in the pancake mixture to make it thick. In this simpler version, we add potato starch powder directly, and we use the whole potato.
When you feel like a snack, you can whip this up in minutes. The inside is chewy and soft, and the outside is a little crispy and crunchy like a french fry. The grated onion totally makes it: onion and potato is a good combination! If your children come home from school hungry, this is a perfect snack before dinner. If you have a potato, just grate and make and serve with a glass of milk!
It’s also much better with the sauce, which is optional, but I highly recommend it.
This is the last in my series of videos filmed in Montauk, after my fried flatfish recipe and my scallops doenjang-jjigae recipe. I was planning on filming this one on the beach, but it was too windy down there, so I filmed it on the deck at sunset. I really enjoyed my time in Montauk, some day I’ll go again.
Enjoy the recipe! Everybody can cook this! If you have a potato at home, time to make a pancake!
Ingredients
(2 servings)
- 1 large potato (8 ounces), peeled and grated
- ¼ cup grated onion
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup grape seed oil (or vegetable oil)
For dipping sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (or vinegar)
- 1 green onion, chopped
- ¼ cup thinly sliced onion
- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sugar
Directions
- To make the dipping sauce, combine soy sauce, lime juice, green onion, onion, jalapeno pepper, and sugar in a small bowl and mix it together until the sugar is melted. Set aside.
- Put the grated potato and onion in a bowl. Add salt, potato starch and mix it together.
- Heat up a 9 to 12 inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
- Add 2 tablespoons grape seed oil and swirl the pan around to coat it evenly. Add the potato mixture and spread it thinly on the pan.
- Cook a few minutes until the bottom of the pancake turns crispy and a light golden brown.
- Turn it over with a spatula or flip it. Add the rest of the grape seed oil to the edge of the pancake. Shake the pan and tilt it so that oil spreads underneath the pancake. Let it cook until the bottom of the pancake turns golden brown.
- Keep turning it over and cooking until both sides are crispy and light golden brown, usually about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer it to a plate and serve hot with the sauce.
We did not expect the texture, but this was super tasty! We used corn starch instead of potato starch and did not have pepper for the sauce, but this recipe still worked great! Thank you, Maangchi.
For others trying to grate the potato: If you grater just makes shreds, you should use a food processor or blender instead. The potato being a puree helps the texture and makes the mix wet enough for the starch.
Maangchi! I just found your channel / recipes this week, and I am in love! I’ve already cooked so many of them, and about to try this one. Thank you!
Hello! I have been a fan of yours for a while now, and just tried making your “simple potato pancake” recipe.
I followed the recipe as written, and love it!
Now that I have made it, I know that next time I want to add lots and lots of shrimp and green onions.
Excellent recipe, and easy enough for a timid cook such as myself to try – and have success with!
Hello Maangchi!
Due to the quarantine I decided to start cooking, since I’m already 18 it’s inexcusable (haha). I have tried Japanese recipes and for a while I wanted to try something Korean! My mom was a bit skeptical about me cooking Asian food because she is not used to it but now she has started to like it! She liked this too! Your channel is great and I’m definitely going to try more from it, thank you!
PS. It turned out thinner but that’s because I should have made more mixture, it tasted amazing anyway! Onion and potato are indeed best friends :)
See full size image
Yes, adding a little bit crushed onion makes this pancake much tastier! Your gamjajeon looks crunchy outside and soft and chewy inside!
I watched the video last night and made the pancake first thing this morning, used corn flour instead of potato starch as I didn’t have any of that. Success! My wife devoured her portion even faster than I did mine! Thanks :-)