Gamja jo rim – Potato side dish

gamja jo rim

I love potatoes. I am a Dutch Canadian girl married to a Korean and though I enjoy eating rice, I really like potatoes. This recipe is a wonderful marriage of both of our roots: potatoes in a salty sweet garlic sauce.

A Korean meal usually consists of rice, a main dish and a few side dishes. Side dishes (ban chan) are often made in a big batch and a small portion is served with each meal. This is one of my favourite side dishes. Seeing how I feel about potatoes, I have no problem forgoing the rice and eating this all.

The recipe:

The time you need:

Prep time: 10 minutes   Cook time: 15 minutes

The things you need:

  • 3 medium potatoes (about 2 cups)
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp garlic (minced)
  • sesame seeds

The how to:

  • Cut potatoes into cubes
  • Fry the potatoes in the oil for a five (ish) minutes on medium-high
  • Mix the water, soy sauce, honey, sugar and garlic together
  • Add the mixture to the potatoes and continue to cook until the sauce is reduced (another five minutes – it will start smelling divine at about this point)
  • Lower the temperature a little and continue to fry until potatoes are fully cooked, stirring occasionally (about another five minutes)
  • Use a fork or chopstick to check if the potatoes done (while you are at it, sneak a taste!) If they are not done add a little water to ensure the sauce does not burn.
  • Garnish with sesame seeds
  • Enjoy hot or cold.  (Korean side dishes are often eaten cold.)

My big helper enjoying the last licks of the honey pot!

My original picture:

honey garlic potatoes

Recipe adapted from aeriskitchen.com


10 thoughts on “Gamja jo rim – Potato side dish

  1. Hey Leslie, I just finished making and eating this dish, along with Gloria of course :). They are delicious! And easy to make. Although not having made them before there was a little guess work… Will the potatoes finish cooking before the sauce burns? Might I suggest you include two time elements to your recipes? Prep time and cooking time? I am looking at your ‘glass noodle’ recipe to tackle next, so time elements would help me plan. Thanks for doing this! I look forward to your next blog post!

    • I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for the suggestion about times. I will go in and edit the posts to include this. And yes the potatoes should cook before the sauce burns. If you are concerned as you are cooking, add a smidge more water.

  2. made this tonight for the fam- it was a hit. super tasty. did add ginger, cause i’m just that way with recipes and it was delish. gotta master the stage between crunch and mushy potatoes though. . . will work on it. thanks for sharing!

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