cookbook_challenge | Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes)

I made Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes) this afternoon. I followed the recipe as written with the roasting method, except I sprinkled the potatoes with garlic and onion powder before I put them in the oven.

Ingredients
MAIN
▢ 1 kg baby potatoes (red or white), skin on, (35 ounces)
▢ 1 cup water
▢ 2 Tbsp cooking oil , I used rice bran oil
▢ 2 Tbsp honey (or your choice of sweetened syrup)
▢ 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
▢ 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

BRAISING SAUCE
▢ 5 Tbsp soy sauce
▢ 2 Tbsp rice wine
▢ 2 Tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

1. Rinse the potatoes thoroughly – use a scrubber to remove any dirt if needed. (I used pre-washed potatoes and it was very easy to clean them.) Trim off any bruised spots if needed. Cut the potatoes in half if your potatoes are bigger than a small egg.
2. Preheat a large (shallow) braising pot over medium high heat. Add some oil (1 Tbsp) and spread it well. Add the potatoes and drizzle more oil (1 Tbsp) over them. Pan fry the potatoes over medium heat for about 25 mins. Turn them around often to avoid burning.
3. Alternatively, you could roast the potatoes in the oven at 200 C / 392 F for 30 mins. I actually prefer oven roasting as it’s less hands on.
4. Once the outer layer of potato is nicely cooked and browned, add the water and the braising sauce. Bring it to boil over medium high heat (about 2 mins). Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the potatoes until the most sauce is boiled away (about 15 mins), leaving about 5-6 Tbsp worth sauce in the pot.
5. Reduce the heat to low. Add the honey, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Gently toss to coat while you continue to simmer until the sauce thickens (another 15 mins). Potatoes should be all cooked by now.
6. Continue to simmer to achieve darker colored potatoes (because it looks more appealing) and to make the sauce stickier. You may turn the heat up to medium to quicken this process. Stir often. Remove from the heat.
7. Serve with a bowl of steamed rice. The potatoes taste better once cooled down for about 30 mins in the fridge.

These are really good, but you really can't take your eyes off them once you add the honey and toasted sesame oil - I walked away for a minute and when I came back, the potatoes had begun to stick to the bottom of the pan.