Korokke (Japanese potato croquettes)

1. Fill a large pot with water and start heating. Peel and cube the russet potatoes. Add the potatoes to the water, bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are soft. Drain well, and place in a large bowl. Use a masher to mash the potatoes. Note: they don’t need to be ultra smooth. You can have little chunks here and there. We aren’t making smooth mashed potatoes!
2. Heat your 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat, and sauté the onions for a minute, and add the ground beef and break it up while stirring. Sauté until mostly cooked through but still a little pink. Add the sugar and soy sauce, and stir to combine. Add the peas and corn (optional) and sauté until cooked through and the sauce is absorbed by the meat.
3. Add the beef mixture to the potatoes and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, shape into oval-ish patties. You can actually shape them however you like. If you have kids, you can shape some into round balls for them to dunk and eat with their hands
4. Get three rimmed plates for the flour, egg, and panko. Use a fork to beat the eggs. Dredge the patties in flour (dust off any excess), egg, and then coat in the panko. Place on a wire rack, or you can just set them on a plate.
5. Heat the oil over medium high heat. You want an inch or two of oil in the pan. Enough to at least come half way up the side of the korokke as you fry them. Fry the korokke until golden brown on the bottom, and flip over to finish frying the other side. One of the great things about korokke is that you don’t need to worry about it being cooked through. Everything is already cooked! Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
6. Serve with tonkatsu sauce, if you’d like. They are also yummy plain!

Notes

Get an easy tonkatsu sauce recipe at: http://www.contemplatingsweets.com/homemade-tonkatsu-sauce/