...

For my first post to the kitchen blog, I thought I should share something I'm asked to make all the time for friends and family. This recipe is based on a few different gamja jorim recipes I've tried and played with over time. See Notes for variations and substitutions.

Ingredients

approx. 1 lb. small red-skinned or yellow potatoes

1 tbsp neutral oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch scallions, chopped, whites and greens separated

1 inch of fresh ginger, grated or minced (optional)

2 cups water

2-3 tbsp soy sauce

2-3 tbsp sweetener (see notes)

1 tbsp gochujang

1 tsp sesame oil

toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Wash your potatoes. Cut off bruised or rotten spots.

Heat neutral oil in your sauté pan over medium heat. Add your potatoes, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes. Shake the pan every few minutes. You want the potatoes to have gotten some color and start getting wrinkly.

Add garlic, ginger, and scallion whites, and toss with potatoes for about a minute.

Add water, soy sauce, sweetener, and gochujang, and stir. Taste the mixture and add more seasoning to your taste. Cover and bring the mixture to a simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. After 10 minutes, uncover, and stir every few minutes. You want the sauce to thicken and the potatoes to be coated and cooked. If the sauce has reduced but the potatoes aren't cooked enough, add more water and continue to cook.

When sauce is reduced, turn off the heat, add sesame oil, and mix. Add sesame seeds and scallion greens. Serve.

Notes

If you only have full-sized potatoes, cut them up into small, 1-inch chunks. They will take a little less time to cook, and might fall apart in the pan, but they will still be delicious!

If you don't have scallions, add 1/2 of an onion, minced, when you add your garlic and ginger.

If you don't have fresh ginger but you do have pickled ginger, take out about a tablespoon's worth and mince. Add it with the garlic and scallion.

I use agave nectar for my sweetener. You can use whatever you have: honey, corn or rice syrup, even brown sugar works. Adjust amounts to your taste.

If your gochujang is drying out in the container, use slightly less than a tablespoon (the heat gets more concentrated as it dries out), and mix it with the 2 cups of water before adding it to the pan.

If you don't have gochujang, sub with sriracha.