Croquette (Japanese)
A delightful Japanese side dish inspired by a French category of dishes with the same name. The Japanese preparation is one of my favorite side dishes -- light and fluffy inside with a crispy exterior. I take an unusual approach of adding curry powder, which makes it sort of like an "all in one" curry dish.
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 45 min
Ingredients
> russett potato (2)
> onion (1/2 small or 1/4 large)
> (optional) carrots, ground beef
> neutral oil
> flour, eggs, panko breadcrumb
> salt
> (optional) pepper, curry powder
> katsu sauce
Instructions
1. Remove skin, wash, and dice potatoes into 1-inch cubes. In a pot of salted water, boil until the potato is fork tender and fully cooked through (about 10-15 minutes).
2. Finely dice onion and saute until the onion is lightly caramelized. If using ground beef, cook the ground beef for a couple of minutes before adding the onion. If using carrots, dice it and add it with the onion.
3. Drain and thoroughly mash the potatoes while it's still warm. Add the onions (+beef and carrots) and optionally pepper + curry powder, and mix together.
4. Let cool in the fridge for a while.
5. Form the croquettes into a thick disk shape. Follow the standard deep-frying pipeline: lightly coat with flour (dusting off any excess), dunk it in the egg (letting any excess drip off), and cover it with panko bread crumbs.
6. Fry each croquette for around 3-6 minutes in medium temperature oil, or until golden brown.
7. Let sit in a wire rack for a couple of minutes to cool and let excess oil drip off.
8. Serve with katsu sauce (on top or on the side) and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Curry powder is a very non-traditional addition but I think the curry flavor works beautifully with the rest of the dish. I was inspired by the curry flavored croquettes I had at Yuki (in Fremont). If you think about it, the ingredients are basically curry ingredients anyways.
> Apparently, most recipes recommend starchy potatoes such as Russett potatoes. I don't have enough experience with this dish to tell the difference.
> This dish freezes quite well -- you can bulk prepare everything before deep-frying, freeze it, and use it sometime in the future.