Snacks & sweets · Korean home cooking

Crisp Korean potato pancakes (gamjajeon)

Name: Crisp Korean potato pancakes (gamjajeon)
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: Potatoes; Onion; Fine salt; Neutral cooking oil; Potato starch; Soy sauce for dipping; Vinegar for dipping

Grated potato becomes a thin, crisp pancake with a tender centre. Save the potato’s own settled starch to help the mixture hold together.

35 min2 servings6 stepsDifficulty: Easy

Crisp Korean potato pancakes (gamjajeon)

AI-generated cooking illustrations. Follow the written quantities and instructions.

01 / Before you start

Ingredients

2 servings

Everyday kitchen measurements

For 2 servings. Use a small 180 ml paper cup, a level eating spoon (about 15 ml) and a small teaspoon (about 5 ml).

How to fill the cup and spoons

Use the same cup and spoons throughout. Their sizes vary, so these amounts are approximate. Spoon flour in loosely and level the top without pressing. Measure vegetables after chopping, without packing them down. The amounts in g/ml are the original reference quantities. For part of a pack, use the specified pack weight and divide the contents evenly.

King Arthur Baking

Essential, optional and substitute ingredients

Keep essential ingredients. For a replacement, use its listed amount and cooking changes instead of that ingredient’s original amount. Skip optional ingredients and their preparation if omitted. Photos show the original recipe.

Potatoes2 medium potatoesOriginal quantity: 300 g
Essential
Use ordinary firm potatoes, peeled. Cook the centre fully; very waxy potatoes may need the optional starch.
Onion¼ medium onionOriginal quantity: 40 g
Optional
Grate finely with the potato, or leave out for a simpler potato flavour.
Fine salt¼ small teaspoonOriginal quantity: 1.5 g
Essential
Season the grated mixture lightly; the dipping sauce is also salty.
Neutral cooking oil2 level eating spoonsOriginal quantity: 30 ml
Substitute available
If Neutral cooking oil is unavailable

Use instead
Mild olive oil

Substitute quantity
2 level eating spoonsReference quantity: 30 ml

Use in the pan in the same small batches. Do not use butter, which can brown too quickly.
Potato starch1 level eating spoonOriginal quantity: 10 g
Optional
Add only if the drained mixture will not hold together. This is pure starch, not instant mashed-potato flakes.
Soy sauce for dipping1 level eating spoonOriginal quantity: 15 ml
Optional
Serve separately; the pancakes can be eaten without a dip.
Vinegar for dipping1 small teaspoonOriginal quantity: 5 ml
Optional
Mix with the optional soy sauce. Leave out both dipping ingredients if no dip is wanted.

Tap each ingredient as you prepare it. Check product labels for egg, soy, sesame, wheat, fish or shellfish where relevant.

02 / You’re ready to cook

Step-by-step cooking

Step 1

Peel and rinse the potatoes. Finely grate them into a bowl using a box grater, protecting your fingers near the end. Grate the optional onion too. A fine wet pulp gives a different texture from long shredded potato strands.
Step 1
Step 2

Put the grated potato in a fine sieve over a bowl and let it drain for 5 minutes. Press lightly, keeping the pulp moist rather than squeezing it completely dry. Leave the collected liquid still so white potato starch settles at the bottom.
Step 2
Step 3

Carefully pour the watery liquid off the settled starch and discard that liquid. Mix the white starch with the potato pulp, onion and salt. If the mixture is too loose to hold a small mound, mix in the optional spoon of potato starch.
Step 3
Step 4

Heat half the oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add small mounds and flatten to about 8–10 cm wide and less than 5 mm thick. Leave space so a spatula fits underneath. Make small pancakes in batches rather than one thick pancake.
Step 4
Step 5

Cook for 3–4 minutes until the bottom is golden and the edges hold. Turn carefully and cook the other side for 3–4 minutes. The centre should be tender with no raw potato taste. Lower the heat if the surface browns before the middle cooks.
Step 5
Step 6

Transfer to a rack, then repeat with the remaining oil and mixture to make about four small pancakes. Mix soy sauce and vinegar separately if using. Let a small bite cool before serving to children; enjoy while the edges are crisp.
Step 6

03 / Enjoy your meal

Finished dish

Helpful tips

Makes about four small pancakes. Potato variety affects moisture; do not add all the optional starch automatically. The dip is optional. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if the room is hotter than 32°C. Keep at 4°C or below, use within 3–4 days and reheat cooked leftovers to 74°C.