korokke コロッケ (croquettes)

I love potatoes of all kinds, mashed, fried, baked, boiled... it's a perfect Winter food. After scavenging through my cupboards today, I realized that I had some potatoes that needed to be used up before they went bad... and also a small bit left of panko bread crumbs.

I knew I had to make Japanese croquettes.

Croquettes are eaten all around the world, and they vary from country to country, but they mostly all share the same main ingredient: potatoes. A distinguishable character of the Japanese croquette is the use of panko breadcrumbs. Regular breadcrumbs? They're good. They'll do. But panko breadcrumbs? Light, crispy, and for some reason I always found more aesthetically pleasing.

Again, this snack takes me back to the days of snacking from the street vendors in Korea and Japan. I'd miss Western food sometimes, a lot of the time it was potatoes. I'd dream about crispy fried hash browns, french fries, mashed potatoes and gravy... but once I found the croquette, to me, it was the lovechild of hash browns and mashed potatoes. Smooth mashed potato with minced onion, and simple seasonings of salt and pepper. Sometimes just like that or sometimes filled with ground meat. Always enveloped in a crispy golden panko breaded crust.

Even though I've never had anything like it growing up in the States, it really reminded me of home.

For this recipe, I decided to also use sweet potato as well, I had never made a sweet potato croquette before, but I decided to give it a shot. The mash is a bit stickier than regular potatoes, but it'll work, oh how it will work.

My condiment of choice for dipping? Sriracha or curry ketchup.

Japanese Croquettes (korokke コロッケ)
Serves 4 (or 1, if you're like me.)

• 1 lb. potatoes
• 1/2 medium onion, minced
• 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
• 1-2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 c. flour
• salt and pepper
• vegetable or canola oil, for frying
  
  Set a pot of water on the stove on high heat. When boiling, add potatoes and let cook until soft. Once soft, drain water and place in a medium-sized bowl to cool. In a separate skillet, add 1 tsp. oil and set to medium. Add minced onions,a pinch of salt and pepper and saute till soft and slightly caramelized. About 8 mins.
  
  Add cooked onions with cooked potatoes and mash until light and fluffy. Let sit about 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are cool enough to handle with your hands. Shape potato mixture into 8 small oval-shaped disks. Refrigerate one hour.
  
  Add enough oil to a pot for croquettes to be submerged and float while frying. (I love using a wok for this) Heat oil on high.
  
  Set out your flour, beaten eggs and panko breadcrumbs next to each other. Take the potato disks from the fridge. One at a time (if you're weary with your frying skills like I am) roll first in the flour (gently shake off the excess flour), coat with the egg batter, and pat into the panko to coat the disk.
  
  CAREFULLY, slip the croquette into the fryer and let it fry on each side until golden brown. This only takes several seconds, so make sure NEVER to leave it unattended! Turn down heat to medium-high. Repeat with the rest of the batch, let drain on a wire rack or paper towels. Serve immediately. Have leftovers? Save them in the fridge, let bake for a few minutes or another quick deep fry.