Potato

Ravinder Bhogal's Kimchi Royals

by:
October  4, 2022
5
3 Ratings
Photo by Kristin Perers
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

These appear on the menu at Jikoni as soon as the Jersey Royal season kicks in. They are our version of patatas bravas, via Korea. Instead of salsa you have kimchi, there’s Japanese mayonnaise rather than allioli – and it’s finished off with crunchy peanuts, spring onions, sesame seeds and shards of prawn cracker. It all adds up to a lively little dish that’s feistier than the standard patatas bravas.

Extract taken from Jikoni: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes from an Immigrant Kitchen by Ravinder Bhogal ($36, Bloomsbury).Food52

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Ingredients
  • 500 grams Jersey Royals, halved lengthways
  • 30 grams butter
  • A few drops sesame oil
  • 300 grams kimchi, shredded
  • 30 milliliters tamarind concentrate
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 8 tablespoons Kewpie mayonnaise (or regular mayonnaise doctored with a pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lime juice)
  • Large handful of salted roast peanuts, roughly crushed
  • Small handful of sesame seeds, toasted
  • 8 spring onions, sliced
  • Handful of coriander leaves
  • Handful of broken-up spicy prawn crackers
Directions
  1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain well. In a frying pan melt the butter with the sesame oil over medium heat. Place the potatoes, cut side down, in the hot fat and cook on this side only until crisp and brown. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the kimchi, tamarind concentrate, soy sauce and fish sauce.
  3. Arrange the potatoes on a platter, cut side up. Top with the kimchi mixture, then drizzle over the mayonnaise. Scatter over the peanuts, sesame seeds, spring onions, coriander leaves and shards of prawn cracker.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

3 Reviews

Darian August 11, 2020
OMG. This was beyond delicious. I was intrigued and excited when I saw the recipe, but the end result was far beyond my expectations. What an explosion of textures and flavors! The combination was SO good. I used chives instead of spring onions, and Greek yogurt instead of kewpie mayo. I also used more soy sauce instead of fish sauce and eliminated shrimp crackers due to a shellfish allergy. The peanuts were a must. I will definitely make this again.
Nicole L. July 25, 2020
Amazing! I added a little ssamgang to the kimchi mixture (mostly bc my kimchi was not outstandingly fresh)

And I didn't have prawn crackers so as I rummaged around my kitchen I decided to chop up some cheetos instead. Classy? Not so much but the right texture element and I've noticed a lot of snack food and cheese mashups lately so it hit the mark for the task.
Anne H. July 20, 2020
Thank you very much and I don't think I can wait for the jersey royals - baby potatoes are available year round here and I am putting this on the menu this week at our house