Earlier this year we ate dinner at The Fatty Bao in Bangalore, India and we ordered their Kimchi Baby Potato dish, one of many delicious items on their menu (try The Fatty Bao PB&J if you go!). Kimchi is a staple in our household, most often used for breakfast to make kimchi fried rice with an egg on top, so as soon as we started eating this dish our minds began working on how we could improve upon it at home. The texture of the kimchi was missing in the thick sauce; we wanted the fermented cabbage to stand out more and for the potatoes to not be drowned. We also thought the dish needed a cool aioli to offset the spiciness. Pretty soon we had an idea on how to make this dish at home, with our own twist.
RECIPE: Kimchi Potatoes with Garlic Aioli
Inspired by The Fatty Bao
Serves 4 as a side or more as an appetizer
Ingredients:
- Garlic aioli (we prefer this simple, addictive recipe)
- 1 lb fingerling or baby potatoes, rinsed and thoroughly dried
- Sesame oil
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
- 1 ½ cups of roughly chopped kimchi
- 2 Tablespoon kimchi juice
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 4-5 drops of fish sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts, half roughly chopped and the rest crushed
- Salt
To Prepare:
- Make the aioli, set aside
- In a pot, cover the potatoes and a pinch of salt with water, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Remove lid and cook at a boil for another 10 minutes or until tender enough to pierce with a fork. Drain, slice in half lengthwise when cool enough to handle, set aside.
- Heat enough sesame oil to cover the bottom of a wide pan or pot over medium. Add the scallion whites and cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes until they begin getting soft. Add the kimchi and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until tender.
- Mix in the potatoes, without crushing them, so they’re covered in the kimchi mix. Let the potatoes crisp up a bit, stirring every now and then, adding more sesame oil if necessary to avoid burning.
- Once the potatoes are golden brown add in the kimchi juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and a couple pinches of salt, stirring together to combine. Cook for another couple of minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Remove from heat, garnish with peanuts and scallion greens, and serve with the aioli on the side for dipping
