Continuing with my love of side dishes, here is one that is good for both summer and winter. It is stir fried potatoes with onions and green peppers. Many potato dishes are heavy and unhealthy (ex. french fries, hash browns, baked potato with the works) but this one is light, nutritious, and deceptively delicious. A little salt and heat brings out the great natural flavors of this starchy vegetable. Whenever my mom set this out before dinner, my sister and I would slowly sneak a few chopsticks-ful until none of it was left when we actually sat down to eat!
I had a hankering for stir fried potatoes the other day so I went to my second best resource, this Korean cookbook, for the recipe. A red light should’ve gone off in my head when I copied down five green bell peppers, but I guess my mind was not functioning very well because I didn’t think twice about it. So, I went to the grocery store and bought two yellow potatoes and five green bell peppers. Once I started cooking, I began to feel like there were one too many green pepper slices but I just kept on cutting away. Seriously, I was like a robot, strictly following illogical directions! I blame it on the heat.
If there weren’t as many bell peppers it would have been really spectacular. Finally, when the time difference allowed me to contact my first choice of reference, my mom, she cried, “Messy! Confusing! Random!” (one word in Korean summarizes all those definitions). According to her, the best way to make this is with just potatoes and a little bit of garlic. Simple, clean, and easy.
The next time I make this I will definitely try making it without the bell peppers, however, I think having just a few would be ok too. I’ve adjusted the recipe so that no one makes the same (thoughtless) mistake I did. If you want to make my mom’s version, omit the green peppers, onion, green onion, and sesame salt.
Stir Fried Potato Side
Adapted from A Korean Mother’s Cooking Notes
Serves 4
2 large yellow potatoes
2 tablespoons salt
2 1/2 cups cold water
2 green bell peppers
1/2 onion
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
t tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tablespoon sesame salt
Black pepper
Wash and peel potatoes. Slice into thin strips (I used my mandolin). Sprinkle with salt and cover with 2 cups of water. Set aside for 15 minutes. When the potatoes are soft, drain and rinse.
Cut open the bell peppers and discard the seeds and insides. Slice into small strips. Cut the onion into similar sized strips as well.
Pour the vegetable oil into a non stick pan. When hot, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes and onion slices. In three or four additions, pour the remaining 1/2 cup of water into the pan. The water will help keep the potatoes soft and keep them from sticking to the pan. Stir fry for about 4 minutes. The potatoes should be cooked but still have a bite to them. When the potatoes are cooked add the bell peppers. Remove from heat when the bell peppers are bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the green onions, sesame salt, and a dash of black pepper.
Serve warm or cold.
mina says
hmm, just stumbled upon your blog today and loving every bit of it. (:
babycakes says
Great side dish, my mom used to make it with just potatoes too! when we were in middleschool though. I liked the bell peppers.
Maangchi says
Your potato side dish looks great! Delicious!
Natalia M. says
This is delish, Jessica. I make a similar dish, except instead of peppers, I use carrots, and I also add a bit of soy and sesame seeds while cooking.
Love your blog so far. Keep writing!
stopping by says
Stopped by from the goodgawker. The second I saw the picture, I shouted out (in my head) Korean!
I do make the dish quite often as one member in my family loves it… so I try to change it up each time to make it more interesting. As others suggested, carrots can be used, as well as julienned onions or “chili” peppers. I guess that’s where the confusion came from. In Korean, “green pepper” means just chili pepper (not as hot as jalapeno or habanero) that is green – as we do have red chili pepper, usually dried to make pepper powder/flakes, gochujang, etc. Green chili pepper is never dried to make pepper flakes, but usually put in soups, etc. 🙂 I love onion and chili peppers in the said potato dish as it makes it more interesting and slightly more spicy.
I know when the first source of reference fails… things can go wrong in a lot of ways. I lately google for recipes in Korean as I’ve noticed more Korean moms have been blogging, to my happy surprise!
The dish looks good!
Michelle Choi says
I’m making this today! Hopefully it turns out as good as your pictures.
ray says
i totally ruined this. i used sesame oil instead of sesame salt. i tried to salvage it though and made tortilla espanola instead.
Xiaolu says
This looks great! I think my mom’s made a similar Chinese dish before. And thanks a lot for stopping by my blog.
Valerie says
I had this a dish similar to this at a Chinese restaurant in Lansing, MI. From what I’m told, the restaurant has pretty authentic Chinese food. They use a hot green pepper instead of bell pepper which gives it a nice kick of heat. I use the leftovers and cook them with eggs for a delicious breakfast.