Korean potato pancake : Gamjajeon

Potatoes are a very common food all over the world.

Many countries have their potato recipes.

For example, Hash brown in the U.S and Reibekuchen in Germany.

What is it when it comes to Korea?

It's Gamjajeon.

What is Gamjajoen(감자전) and Jeon (전)?

Gamja means potato in Korea and Jeon means a fritter or pancake in Korea.

There are a lot of Jeon in Korea, it is made by fish, meat, vegetables etc., served as an appetizer, a barchan (side dish), or anju (food served and eaten with drinks).

Korean eat it with traditional Korean liquor made of rice called Makgeolli.

There are many restaurants at the entrance of the famous mountains for hiking in Korea. 

They mainly serve Jeon, such as Kimchi Jeon (Jeon made with Kimchi), Pa Jeon (Jeon made with Pa (Scallion)), Gamjajeon etc,, Samgye-tang (Ginseng chicken soup), Dotori-muk (Acorn jelly) and traditional liqour Makgoelli, Dongdongju, Soju etc.

Mountain hikers come down from the mountain tried and hungry and eat food with Makgeolli at restaurants.

Potato pancake is a local food in Gangwon-do (Province of South Korea) that produces a lot of potatoes.

Since Gangwon-do is an area with many high mountains, it has farmed crops such as corn, potatoes rather than rice.

It is also.a region where the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games were held in 2018 due to its high mountains. 

While other Jeon contains flour, egg, Gamjajeon is made by only grinding potatoes and salt.

It is simple, but it's very delicious with a chewy, crispy and savory taste. 

Above Gamjajeon in the picture, it was what we ate during our honeymoon.

The restaurant called "Gulpijip" in Samcheok, Gangwon-do served the best Gamjajeon I have ever eaten.

It was very good because the edges were crispy and potatoes had a mild sweet flavor.

Gulpijip, the name of restaurant, is the name of a traditional house in Ganwon-do.

It is a house that connects the roof with thick bark and has been used since the Goryeo Dynasty (AD 918~1392), and has been widely used in houses of slash-and-burn farmers in mountainous regions, including the Tae Baek Mountains and the So Baek Mountains. 

Gulpijip is a restaurant with old traditional house, and the inside of the restaurant is made of wood. 

It was a place where I could eat delicious food in a traditional atmosphere.

Recipe

Prep Time : 15 minutes

Cook time : 10 minutes

Total Time : 25 minutes

Servings : 2

Ingredients

1Tbs=15ml

• 5 Potatoes (500g, 17.6oz, 1.10 lb)
• 1/2 Tbs Salt

Sauce

• 1 Red chili papper (10g, 0.35oz, 0.02lb)
• Ganjang (soy sauce) (30g, 1.05oz, 0.06lb)
• Vinegar (10g, 0.35oz, 0.02lb) 

Instruction

Step 1. Wash potatoes in running water and peel them. Cut the potatoes into 4 pieces and grind them with a cup of water in a blender.

Step 2. Drain the ground potatoes in a large bowl lined with a strainer for 10 minutes. it is to separate the starch from water and use it afterwards.

Step 3. Make the sauce while draining the water. Slice the peppers, add soy sauce and vinegar, and mix them.

Step 4. After 10 minutes, only water is poured from the reserved liquid and the starch is obtained. Add it and ground potatoes, salt in the bowl, and mix it well.

Step 5. Put oil on the pan, pour one scoop of batter on the pan and cook it over medium heat.

When it turns golden brown color, flip it and cook it until the other side is golden brown. Serve it with dipping sauce.

Sauce : Name wiki, Wikipedia