Potato Korokke (croquette) Recipe

Korokke are potato cakes coated with panko and deep fried.  Korokke is a food people of all ages love in Japan.  Well, who wouldn’t like deep fried mashed potatoes?  It does not seem like a traditional style of Japanese food, but it in fact is since Korokke has been popular for 100 years.  People in Japan may not have to make Korokke at home because they can find it anywhere, but we do when living outside Japan. It’s hard to get decent tasting Korokke here…  Besides you can’t beat homemade Korokke anyway when it’s hot and crispy!

Korokke is found at many stores in Japan like hot delis inside supermarkets, bento shops, convenience stores, etc. But the best place to buy Korokke is butcher shops.  They usually have  a small deep-frying set-up in the corner of a shop and sell it as they fry.   Some freshly made Korokke from butcher shops may surpass home- cooking.  Their Korokke is just so good!  I don’t know but there might be some kind of secret ingredients that butchers don’t tell us.  Early evenings is the busiest time for such shops for dinner shoppers and hungry middle or high schoolers seeking filling snacks .

It’s said that Korokke originated from French croquette or Dutch kroket.  It became a wide-spread western style food in the early 1900s in Japan.  However, it evolved to suit more Japanese tastes.  Here we made a very basic type of Korokke, but there are many variations.  Curry Korokke spiced with curry powder, Kabocha pumpkin Korokke, and even Nikujaga Korokke using mashed leftover Nikujaga.  So if you like making Korokke, be as creative as you want!

Enjoy Korokke with the sauce of your choice,  Tonkatsu  sauce,  Worcester sauce, or ketchup, or just as is.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Potato Korokke (croquette)

Panko-coated and deep-fried mashed potato patties (with ground beef)

Prep Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: ground meat, potato

Servings: 8 pieces

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Equipment

• 1 deep-frying pot

Ingredients

• 1 lb potatoes
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion minced
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• oil for deep-frying
• Tonkatsu sauce

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Peel potatoes and cut into 4 pieces each. Cook in boiling water until soft. In a big bowl, mash potatoes well.
• Heat oil in a pan, and start cooking onion. Then add ground beef and cook until browned and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
• Mix potatoes and meat mixture and add some more salt and pepper to taste. Let it cool.
• Divide potato mixture into 8 pieces and make oval patties. Refrigerate for an hour.
• Coat with flour, then eggs, and finally Panko (bread crumbs).
• Heat deep frying oil to 350-375F, and fry the patties for 3-4 minutes each side.

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