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    Home » VEGAN

    The Best Spicy Korean Braised Potatoes and Shishito Peppers (vegan)

    August 12, 2020 by George Leave a Comment

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    The BEST spicy Korean braised potatoes and shishito peppers recipe that you will love forever! Potatoes, shishito peppers, onion, and carrots are braised in the delicious sweet and spicy sauce! This recipe is vegan friendly!

    braised potato and shishito peppers in the skillet with a wooden spoon

    Korean Braised Potatoes

    Have you heard of the Korean word "Ban-chan"? Ban-chan is a various side dish that Korean eat with their rice or noodle. And braised potatoes are one of the well-known and popular ban-chan. There are two types of braised potatoes.

    • Sweet and salty braised potato - potatoes are braised in sweet soy sauce. Because it's sweet and salty, it's a very popular side dish among children in Korea.
    • Spicy and sweet braised potato - the recipe I'm sharing with you all today is the spicy and sweet braised potato. The spicy heat comes from gochujang (Korean pepper paste) and gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes).
    • Potato, carrot, onion and shishito peppers on a wooden plate
    • sweet and spicy sauce for the briased potato and shishito. Gochujang in the background

    Shishito peppers

    What is shishito peppers?

    Shishito peppers are thin skin, wrinkled peppers that are bright green in color. They are usually mild and slightly sweet in taste. Although most shishito peppers are mild in general, I've heard that 1 out of 10 can be spicy. The hot weather can also contribute to the spicy level of the peppers.

    You can easily buy shishito peppers at your local grocery stores these days. Trader Joe's also carries shishito peppers and you can always find them at an Asian grocery store.

    Cooking methods for shishito peppers

    • Steamed - Korean people like to steam shishito peppers covered in corn starch or potato starch. Then those peppers are tossed together with spicy soy sauce.
    • Blister or pan-fried - It's not hard to find blistered shishito peppers as a popular appetizer in restaurants. But you can also pan-fry shishito peppers with mushroom to make a killer stir fry dish.
    • Braised - Due to the thin skin of shishito peppers, they are great in soaking up whatever flavor(s) that the braising liquid has.
    • browned potato and carrot pieces with onion in the skillet
    • sauce and water is added to browned potato, carrot, onion and shishito pepper in the skillet

    Main Ingredients in Spicy Korean Braised Potatoes and shishito peppers

    • Potato - You can use any type of potato but I personally like to use either white potato or red skin potato. They are better at retaining their shape during the braising process.
    • Shishito peppers - It adds mild spiciness as well as sweetness. Shishito peppers are great for soaking up the flavor of the sauce or braising liquid.
    • Carrot - Another vegetable that gets sweet when cooked. The sweetness of the carrot balances the savoriness of the potato.
    • Onion - When the onion is cooked, it naturally is sweet in taste. Also, it provides a different texture to the dish.
    • Gochujang - Gochujang is a Korean fermented pepper paste. It's sweet and spicy in taste. My favorite brand of gochujang is this one.
    • Gochugaru - Gochugaru is Korean red pepper flakes. It adds lingering warmth, spiciness, and heat to the dish. I highly recommend buying a Korean brand of gochugaru rather than an American brand. They are not only cheaper but they better in taste as well. This is one of the main ingredients in making my famous vegan kimchi!
    • Soy sauce - Soy sauce is adding the much needed salty component to the dish. Soy sauce is not only great in seasoning the dish but also adds great umami flavor!
    overhead shot of spicy Korean braised potato and shishito peppers

    Tips on making spicy Korean braised potatoes and shishito peppers

    • Size of the vegetable - The smaller the size of potatoes and carrots, the quicker it will cook. But if you are worried about retaining the shapes of vegetables, you just need to cook them a little longer.
    • Cooking time - This is pretty much a no-fail recipe. If your potatoes are not cooked, just braise them longer with a little more added water. If your braised potatoes and shishito peppers look watery, cook them on a higher heat with the lid off with occasional stirring.
    • Shishito pepper portion - You can add as much (up to 1 and ½ cup) and as little (you can even omit them if you don't like shishito peppers or can't find them) as you want.
    close up photo of spicy braised potatoes and shishito peppers on a wooden spoon
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    The Best Spicy Korean Braised Potatoes and Shishito Peppers (vegan)

    close up photo of spicy braised potatoes and shishito peppers on a wooden spoon
    Print Recipe

    The BEST spicy Korean braised potatoes and shishito peppers recipe that you will love forever! Potatoes, shishito peppers, onion, and carrots are braised in the delicious sweet and spicy sauce! This recipe is vegan friendly!

    • Author: George
    • Prep Time: 5 minutes
    • Cook Time: 15 minutes
    • Total Time: 20 minutes
    • Yield: serves 4
    • Category: Side Dish
    • Method: Braise
    • Cuisine: Korean
    • Diet: Vegan

    Ingredients

    Scale

    For braised potatoes and shishito Peppers

    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 5 white potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes
    • 2 small carrots, diced into small chunks (about 1-inch cubes)
    • ¼ large onion, diced
    • 1 cup shishito peppers

    For the sauce

    • 1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
    • 1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
    • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 tablespoon agave nectar
    • 1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • ½ tablespoon sesame oil
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
    • ½ cup water

    Instructions

    1. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside. 
    2. In a large skillet, heat the oil and add all the vegetables except shishito peppers. Cook them until potatoes are browned, about 5 minutes. 
    3. Pour the sauce over the vegetable and add shishito pepper on top. Stir to mix everything and bring the mixture to a boil. 
    4. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and place a lid. Continue to cook for 10 minutes. 
    5. After 10 minutes, take the lid off and check to see if you need to add more water (1 to 2 tablespoons at a time) or need to increase the heat to reduce the sauce. 
    6. Once the sauce reaches the desired consistency/thickness, serve right away. 

    Notes

    • The smaller the potato cubes are, the quicker it will cook. If you are worried about retaining its shape, you can cut them a little bigger and add 1-2 tablespoons more water to cook it longer. Also, not peeling the potato skin helps. 
    • If your potatoes are not cooked, add a little more water (1 to 2 tablespoons at a time) and cook them a little longer.
    • If your braised potatoes and shishito peppers are too watery, take the lid off and increase the heat. Stir frequently until the sauce reaches the consistency you desire. 
    • If you are not a big fan of spicy food, reduce the gochugaru amount to 1 teaspoon or ½ tablespoon. 

    Keywords: Spicy Korean braised potatoes and shishito peppers, braised potatoes and shishito peppers, spicy potatoes and shishito peppers, Korean potatoes and shishito peppers

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    About George

    Welcome! I’m George.
    I’m the author, recipe developer, and photographer behind My Eclectic Bites. I wanted to create a space to share my love of food and cooking with as many people as possible and that’s how My Eclectic Bites was born! Read More…

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