If you have potatoes, you can make this crispy, chewy Korean potato pancake. Other vegetables are nice to have but not necessary. Enjoy gamjajeon as a delicious appetizer or snack.
Gamjajeon or gamja jeon (감자전) is a variety of Korean savory pancake (jeon) made with grated or ground potatoes (감자). It’s a humble dish that can simply be made with potatoes or sometimes with other vegetable additions. These crispy, chewy potato pancakes are great as a snack or an appetizer.
This recipe is inspired by a simple potato pancake I had as an appetizer, at a restaurant specializing in noodle soup, in Samcheong-dong neighborhood of Seoul. They serve one large pancake as an appetizer, which is made simply with potatoes, nothing else! It reminded me of the potato pancakes I enjoyed during our high school field trip to Seorak Mountain, Gangwon-do, the province that is known for their delicious potatoes.
How to make Korean potato pancakes
You can grate the potatoes on a grater or grind them in a blender or a food processor. I like to grate them on a grater for a coarse texture.
Whichever method you use, you need to remove some water content from the grated potatoes, or it will be too watery for a pancake batter. Do not throw away the drained water since it contains valuable starch. Let the starch water sit for a while until the starch sinks to the bottom and forms a dense, white layer. Carefully pour out the water, and use the starch in the batter. This is the traditional way to make a potato pancake batter without adding flour or powder starch.
Gamjajeon variations
It’s very common to add other vegetables such as garlic chives, scallions, chili peppers, zucchinis, etc. Whichever other vegetable(s) you choose to add, use a small amount, allowing the potatoes to be the star of the dish.
My favorite addition for gamjajeon is garlic chives. I like a delicate garlic flavor garlic chives give the mildly flavored potato. I grow garlic chives in my backyard, but they are also available at Korean/Asian markets.
When grated, potatoes turn brown quickly. It still is fine to cook with and eat. You can use a little bit of onion to prevent discoloring of the potatoes without overpowering the flavor of the pancake. Make sure to grate the onion first so you can mix with the potato as soon as it’s grated. If using a blender, blend it with the potatoes.
You can make 2 large pancakes with this recipe. Or, make a few smaller pieces instead.
More Korean savory pancakes recipes
Nokdujeon (savory mung bean pancakes)
Kimchi jeon (kimchi pancakes)
Hobak buchim (zucchini pancakes)
Haemul Pajeon (Scallion seafood pancakes)
Buchujeon (garlic chives pancakes)
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1/4 medium onion - optional (see note)
- 1-1/2 pounds potatoes (2 large or 3 medium)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces garlic chives (buchu, 부추) - Optional
- oil for pan frying
Diping Sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- pinch of black pepper
Instructions
- Grate the optional onion (about 2 to 3 tablespoons). Place in a large bowl. Peel and grate the potatoes, capturing the liquid. If using a blender or food processor, grind the onion and potatoes together.
- Drain the grated potato in a bowl lined with a strainer, reserving the liquid. Immediately transfer to the bowl with the grated onion, and mix well with the optional onion to prevent discoloring of the potato.
- Let the reserved liquid sit for about 10 minutes. The starch in the liquid will sink to the bottom. Carefully pour out the water, saving the starch. Add the starch and salt to the grated potato along with the optional garlic chives. Mix well.
- Heat a skillet with two tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add 1/2 of the batter, and spread it evenly into a round shape. You can make smaller pancakes if you like. Reduce the heat to medium to medium low, and cook until the bottom is light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Serve hot with a dipping sauce.
Notes
This gamjajeon recipe was originally posted in April 2015. I’ve updated it here with new photos, more information and minor changesto the recipe.
Lu says
What vinegar do you use?
Hyosun says
I usually use rice vinegar.
Anonymous says
Tried this and loved it. Easy (I follow step by step), inexpensive and delicious. I like that it can be made for a single person too. Thank you.
michelle says
hello! can i use sweet potato?
Hyosun says
Sweet potatoes don’t have as much water content and their starch doesn’t work the same way as potatoes. So, the method used in this recipe won’t work. You can cut into thin matchsticks and mix with some corn/potato starch and water to make sweet potato pancake.
Ali says
Loved these! Had them as a side with Jaengban Guksu meal & they went well together!
Sandra Hung says
I tried your potato pancake today. It came out very mushy, it was not chewy at all. What did I do wrong?
Hyosun says
Did you drain the liquid from the grated potatoes? Try to press down the grated potatoes to squeeze out more liquid. Grating will give you a better texture than blending. Also, you can add a couple of tablespoons of corn starch or potato starch to make it a little more dry. Increase the heat a little after the potato batter is cooked through to crisp up the pancake more. The inside is supposed to be soft and chewy. Hope this helps.
Lola says
Hi would I be able to use potato flour i bought some to make this and dont have actual potatoes. Thank you!
Sandra says
I forgot to rate the recipe. It’s definitely 5 stars!
Hyosun says
Thank you!
Sandra says
This is the second recipe I tried from your recipe list. It was amazing! I can’t believe such a tasty snack could be made with so little ingredients. I have some friends who are vegetarians and some that are gluten free, so this is the perfect dish for everyone. Thank you so much!
Elisa says
This recipe is perfect for my family who is gluten free, vegan. And simple enough to make. Question. Do the potatoes have to be grated? Can it be shredded b/c I don’t have any tool to grate the potato.
Helen Kwak says
Hi Hyosun! I was wondering how long these last? Would love to make a batch and meal prep! 🙂
Hyosun says
It should be okay for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. You can also freeze them. Be aware gamjajeon can turn color even after cooked, but it’s still okay to eat. The addition of grated onion will help maintain the color better. Hope this helps.
E says
This was so good! I made a spicy meal and the potato pancakes with dipping sauce was a delightful addition to the menu. THank you so much!
Hyosun says
Great to hear! Thanks for letting me know. I bet it nicely balanced out your meal.
Hiba says
Hi, can we not add seasonings to the pancake for some reason?
Hyosun says
The recipe uses a little bit of salt, but you can omit if you want.
JollyMeee says
The dipping sauce, do I need to combine it in a pot with fire or not?
Lisa says
Hello Hyosun!
I absolutely love your recipes- such clear instructions. These pancakes were delicious with a chewy bite. I think next time I will try a little garlic chive and green chili pepper slice very thinly. For me, I don’t ever want a dipping sauce because of the great flavor!
Collecting the starch is so cool… The texture of the starch is so unusual. Talk about using the entire potato!
Thanks
David Pack says
HELLO Hyosun, I read about your use of the thick water of potato to use in the batter. Would this type of water also be useful as the “glue” for fried wontons?
thank you, David
Hyosun says
That’s pretty much starch water. You can use it where starch slurry is called for. I’m sure it will work to seal wontons, but usually all you need to seal wontons is plain old water.
KC says
Hi Hyosun! This recipe is delicious! I tried making potato pancakes before but was unaware of using the potato starch. The texture and results were perfect. Thank you!
Hyosun says
You’re welcome, KC! Thanks for trying it out and letting me know how it turned out for you! Happy to hear about the perfect results.