Main Page
For breakfast
Japanese korokke

Japanese Korokke (Potato-and-Meat Croquettes)

Delicious potato croquettes with a savory meat filling! Korokke is hugely popular in Japan, often tucked into a bento or served alongside Japanese curry. Over time it became a famous street food, served with all sorts of sauces — tonkatsu, sriracha, Worcestershire, ketchup, and more.

Nika

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Potatoes

Onion

Carrot

0.5

Wood ear mushrooms

Ground pork

500

Egg

Ground black pepper

Salt

Vegetable oil

Egg

Soy sauce

Flour

Panko breadcrumbs (panko)

120

Vegetable oil

200

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 19 % 8 g

Fats 44 % 19 g

Carbohydrates 37 % 16 g

260 kcal

GI: 53 / 0 / 47

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather your ingredients. Use medium potatoes. In place of wood ear mushrooms you can use shiitake or button mushrooms. If the mushrooms are dried, soak them overnight in water, then drain and rinse them in the morning. You can use ground beef or chicken instead of pork. Plain breadcrumbs can stand in for the Japanese panko.
Step 2:

Peel the potatoes and boil them in lightly salted water until tender. Cut them into pieces first so they cook faster. When they're done, drain off all the water — none should be left in the pot.
Step 3:

Return the pot to the heat and cook off any remaining water over low heat, being careful not to scorch the potatoes. Mash them with a potato masher — but unlike regular mash, it's fine to leave a few small lumps here. Cover the pot and set it aside.
Step 4:

Peel the onion, rinse it under running water, and dice it (you can also use a blender, but don't leave it coarse). Peel and grate the carrot on the coarse side of a grater. Finely chop the soaked, rehydrated mushrooms.
Step 5:

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and sauté the chopped onion. Add the grated carrot and chopped mushrooms and keep cooking until the vegetables are soft.
Step 6:

Add the ground pork to the vegetables and cook, breaking up the clumps, until all the liquid has cooked off. Then turn the heat to high and fry the meat for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly. Season it with salt and pepper as it cooks.
Step 7:

Add the meat filling to the mashed potatoes, beat in the egg, and mix very well so everything is evenly combined. Let the mixture cool so it doesn't burn your hands when you shape the korokke.
Step 8:

In a bowl, beat the egg with the soy sauce and whisk lightly. If you don't have soy sauce, use cold water or milk instead and add a little salt to the egg. Sift the flour onto a plate to remove any bits, and put the panko on another plate. Having these ready makes breading the korokke quick.
Step 9:

Once the potato-and-meat mixture is just warm, shape it into patties — oval, round, or ball-shaped, however you like.
Step 10:

Dredge each patty first in flour, then in the egg wash, then in the panko, pressing gently so the crumbs coat it completely.
Step 11:

Heat the vegetable oil well in a skillet — it needs to be good and hot so the coating sets. Once it's hot, add the korokke and fry until golden on both sides, then drain them on paper towels to blot off the excess oil.
Step 12:

Serve the korokke hot, on their own or as a side.

Always wash eggs before using them — even a shell that looks clean can carry harmful bacteria. A food-safe wash and a brush work best.
Soy sauce is quite salty, so cut back on the salt elsewhere when you use it, or you risk over-salting.
Here's an easy way to tell if the oil is hot enough: dip in a wooden spatula. If bubbles gather around it, you're ready to fry.