Lee Jung-hyun’s Myeongran Potato Pizza: Smashed Potatoes, Roe and Cheese

Lee Jung-hyun’s myeongran potato pizza uses flattened boiled potatoes instead of pizza dough. Salted pollock roe, mayonnaise and mozzarella go on top before a short oven finish. The recipe comes from KBS Fun-staurant Episode 231, and its most useful detail is the order: cook the potatoes fully first, then melt the toppings.

What is myeongran potato pizza?

Myeongran is salted pollock roe. In this dish, individual potatoes become small pizza-like bases after they are boiled and pressed flat with a cup. There is no flour dough in the published ingredient list. It is therefore a potato-based snack or meal component rather than a conventional pizza crust recipe.

The original KBS clip pairs the potatoes with Korean melon pickles. The photograph below is the broadcaster’s official clip image and shows both dishes; the jar on the left is the pickle, while the cheese-topped potatoes are on the right.

Photo: KBS Fun-staurant official clip image, June 28, 2024.

Ingredients from the KBS recipe

• 6 potatoes
• A little salt for boiling
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 piece of white salted pollock roe (baek-myeongran)
• 1 package mozzarella cheese
• Black pepper, olive oil and dried parsley

KBS does not specify potato weights or the weight of the cheese package. Those omissions matter when shopping abroad, where a “bag” of mozzarella can vary considerably. Buy enough to cover the potatoes as shown rather than treating an unspecified package as an exact gram measurement. The source also does not name a brand of mayonnaise or roe.

Boil, flatten, top and bake

1. Wash the potatoes and put them in a pot with enough water to cover them and a little salt. Boil over high heat for about 20–30 minutes. KBS checks doneness by piercing a potato with a chopstick: it should enter easily.
2. Let the boiled potatoes cool slightly, then press each one flat with a cup.
3. Add mayonnaise to each flattened potato. The method describes one teaspoon per potato.
4. Remove the membrane from the roe and put a teaspoon of roe over the mayonnaise.
5. Add mozzarella, a little black pepper and a little olive oil. The recipe allows the cheese and pepper amounts to be adjusted to taste.
6. Place in an oven preheated to 180°C, approximately 356°F, for about ten minutes to melt the cheese.
7. Finish with dried parsley.

Why the first cooking stage matters

The ten-minute oven step is a finishing stage, not an instruction to cook raw potatoes in ten minutes. The potatoes have already been boiled until tender. If you start with raw slices or skip the boiling stage, you are making a different dish and should not expect the same timing to work.

The recipe describes pressing with a cup after allowing some steam to escape. It does not specify an exact thickness, tray size or air-fryer setting. Keep those details separate from the confirmed instructions, especially if comparing this dish with another smashed-potato recipe.

Choosing roe and checking the topping amounts

The ingredient name is baek-myeongran, or white salted pollock roe. Check the label carefully rather than assuming a spicy roe spread is interchangeable. The recipe calls for removing the membrane and using the roe itself. Saltiness can differ between products, which is another reason not to add extra seasoning automatically.

There is a small difference between the ingredient-list quantity of mayonnaise and the teaspoon-per-potato wording in the method. Both are reported here as KBS publishes them, rather than silently replacing them with a newly calculated amount. Start with the stated topping guidance and consider the size of your potatoes.

Watch the original and cook the same version

This guide follows Lee Jung-hyun’s published method. It does not claim a personal taste test, a calorie total or a tested storage period. For the original visual demonstration and the accompanying melon pickle, use the KBS clip below. The recipe page is useful when checking the ingredient wording.

Watch Lee Jung-hyun’s original KBS clip · Korean →

Read the official ingredient list · Korean →

Source: KBS Fun-staurant, Episode 231. Checked November 1, 2026.