Add the cooked mince to the potatoes in the pot (discard oil if accumulated in the fry pan), then the Korokke Flavouring ingredients. Mix well (note 6).
Divide the potato mixture into 12 equal balls. Flatten them and shape into oval patties, about 2cm/¾” thick.
1. Starchy potatoes are best suited to this dish as they become nice and fluffy when cooked. The best to use are Russet (common in the US), Dutch Creams, King Edward or Red Delight. However, great all-purpose potatoes like Golden Delight, Coliban, Red Rascal and Sebago (popular in Australia) still work great.
2. Today, I used just pork mince but usually I use mixture of pork and beef mince. You could even use chicken if you like.
3. The quantity of breadcrumbs required is approximate as it varies depending on how much you coat the patties.
You can use normal breadcrumbs but the texture of outside would be different from korokke. Japanese breadcrumbs are much more coarse than standard breadcrumbs, hence they create a crunchier texture when cooked, which is the best part of korokke.
If you can’t find Japanese breadcrumbs at Asian grocery shops, you can make them by placing stale white bread in the blender and coarsely grinding it.
4. I think that thick fruity tonkatsu sauce goes well with korokke. Please see my post, Yakisoba for more details about Japanese sauce. You can also see the tonkatsu sauce bottle in the photo below this recipe.
But if you don’t have it, a mixture of Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce (ketchup) can be a good substitute.
5. If you don’t have time, you can cut the potatoes into 2.5cm (1”) cubes, then boil in a pot of water just to cover the potatoes. When the potatoes ae cooked through, drain the water leaving the potatoes in a pot. Shake the pot over high heat for 15-20 seconds to evaporate excess moisture.
6. At this point, try to forma a patty to check the consistency of the potato mixture. If too dry, it tends to crack the edges of the patty and you need to add a bit more milk (not in ingredients) to make it moist.
7. You can breeze Korokke before deep frying. Individually wrap Korokke and place them in a ziplock bag and freeze.
Do not thaw Korroke before frying as the moisture form the Korokke makes it difficult to deep fry. Fry either frozen or slightly thawed in microwave.
The temperature of the oil should be about 180C/320F. Fry only a couple of Korroke at a time and do not turn them over.
When the centre of the Korokke is softened, it is ready.