Cycle 14 – Item 200

24 (Mon) July 2023

Nuked Potato with Cheese

3.0

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

solo

The Gamja Project (13)

In this series, I cook potato dishes using freshly harvested gamja gifted to us from a neighboring farmer at the cabin (for more background and related posts, see THE GAMJA PROJECT).

On my own for dinner, I made a single baked potato.  Technically, it wasn’t baked but rather microwaved.  The application hadn’t been part of the original plan (not that there was ever a plan, really), but recently the CNN mobile app recommended an article featuring easy dishes that college students should learn to make, including microwaved potatoes.

Here’s the “recipe”:  First, poke a few holes in the skin with a fork, nuke on high for 5 minutes, turn over and nuke again for 3 minutes: a total cooking time of just 8 minutes – I air-fried a potato once, which took 60 minutes (see 11.308 Potatoes Golly, Too!).  Next, cut a slit down the middle, season the inside with salt + pepper + butter + items  for melting(e.g., shredded cheese), nuke for 1 minute.  Finally, garnish with fresh toppings (e.g., minced red onion, fresh parsley).

Good.  The starchiness of the Korean potato made for a creamy interior, though the thin skin was a bit flabby.  And because the potato had broken open, the butter ended up melting onto the plate, rather than being absorbed into the potato.  Nevertheless, the laughably quick/easy preparation – the toppings and garnishes can be made within the 8-min cooking window – guarantees that the dish will become part of the regular rotation.

1.2 kg of potatoes remaining.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)