Cherry & Dennis Recipes
Japanese Potato Korokke
日式薯仔可樂餅
Recipe overview
Japanese Potato Korokke is a classic yoshoku home dish, the Japanese interpretation of a croquette. Steam-dried mashed potatoes are mixed with fully cooked, cooled ground-beef and onion filling, shaped into thick ovals, then coated in flour, egg and coarse Panko before frying. It is not a thin hash brown, Tonkatsu, fried meatball or cheese croquette; the centre stays dry and fluffy beneath a crisp crust.
01
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 4-centimetre pieces kilogram floury potatoes: remove green or sprouted parts; peel and cut into
- 71°C rams ground beef: fully thawed and quality-checked; never wash; cook to at least
- 220 grams: very finely diced onion
- 2: beaten for coating eggs
- 180 grams Japanese Panko: for the three-stage coating rams all-purpose flour;
- 300 grams: finely shredded, for serving cabbage
Beef and onion seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg teaspoon salt
Potato adjustment
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon white pepper, optional up to
- as listed taste after mixing in the cooked filling
Cooking oil
- about 1.5–2 litres high-heat vegetable oil for frying tablespoon for the filling and
Serving sauce
- about 2 teaspoons each; check soy, wheat and other labels; as listed tablespoons Japanese chunou or Korokke sauce
02
Tools
- Heavy potato pot, deep fryer or deep pot, lid, colander, masher, wooden spoon, silicone spatula, separate raw/cooked tongs, scale, instant-read thermometer, three shallow dishes, glass bowls, two boards, knife, paper towels, wire rack, rimmed tray, oven mitts and white plates.
- colander
- wooden spoon
- spatula
- tongs
- digital scale
- food thermometer
- shallow dish
- bowl
- cutting board
- knife
- kitchen paper
- metal rack
- baking tray
- oven mitts
- serving plate
03
Steps
Step 1
Step 1
Inspect potatoes; remove green, sprouted or badly soft parts; peel and cut to 4 centimetres.
Step 2
Step 2
Cover with cold water; boil, then cook over medium heat for 15–20 minutes until fork-tender.
Step 3
Step 3
Drain thoroughly, steam-dry in the hot empty pot for 30–60 seconds, then mash hot; add no milk, cream or water.
Step 4
Step 4
Fully thaw ground beef in the refrigerator and check for off smell, slime, discoloration or icy core; never wash raw beef.
Step 5
Step 5
Sauté onion in 1 tablespoon oil for 3–4 minutes, then add beef, salt, white pepper and nutmeg.
Step 6
Step 6
Cook beef fully to at least 71°C at the thickest part and until dry; spread on a clean plate to cool.
Step 7
Step 7
Fold the fully cooled beef-onion into mash, taste and keep it dry enough to shape.
Step 8
Step 8
Divide into 8 portions of about 160–180 grams; form 2–2.5 centimetre-thick ovals and chill at least 20 minutes until cold.
Step 9
Step 9
Coat lightly in flour, egg, then coarse Panko; press gently without crushing crumbs.
Step 10
Step 10
Heat oil 4–5 centimetres deep to 170–175°C; it must not smoke.
Step 11
Step 11
Fry only 2–3 per batch for about 2–3 minutes until evenly golden; filling is already cooked, so do not overfry.
Step 12
Step 12
Drain on a rack for 2 minutes; serve two each with shredded cabbage and Japanese chunou/Korokke sauce.
Common mistakes
- Avoid green/sprouted potatoes; uneven or undercooked potatoes; poor draining; milk, cream or water in mash; unsafe, unthawed or washed raw beef; beef below 71°C; hot/wet filling; wet mash; thin or unchilled patties; wrong coating order or crushed Panko; oil too cool or smoking; overcrowding or overfrying; softening on paper; cross-contamination; mislabelling as hash browns or Tonkatsu; cheese/meatball filling; leaving leftovers at room temperature.
Tips
Steam-dry and mash potatoes hot. Cook, dry and cool the beef-onion before mixing; separate raw and cooked tools. Keep eight patties thick and similar, chill, then coat flour–egg–Panko. Fry batches at 170–175°C and drain on a rack as soon as golden. Keep Panko coarse; use no milk, cream or starch. Check beef, egg, soy and wheat/gluten labels; this is not low-fat. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and reheat thoroughly.
