Korokke お母さんのコロッケ Japanese Croquettes

Korokke is now a widely popular food in Japan and can be found in most supermarkets and convenience stores due to its delicious taste and affordability.

Korokke (Japanese: コロッケ; [koꜜɾokke]) is a popular Japanese dish that has its roots in the French cuisine, specifically the croquette. It is a deep-fried yōshoku dish made by combining chopped meat, seafood, or vegetables with mashed potato or white sauce. The mixture is then flattened into a patty shape, coated in wheat flour, eggs, and Japanese-style breadcrumbs, and deep-fried until it turns golden-brown on the outside.

READ MORE: Japan Today

The introduction of the French croquette to Japan in 1887 led to the creation of korokke. As Japan lacked technology for processing dairy at that time, mashed potato became a popular substitute. Cookery books from the Meiji era mention the “kuroketto” for the first time.

Korokke is now a widely popular food in Japan and can be found in most supermarkets and convenience stores due to its delicious taste and affordability.

In recent years, korokke has become associated with typhoons after a user on 2channel shared that they were eating korokke to prepare for an approaching typhoon. This sparked a tradition that has continued on Japanese social media platforms.

They come in various types based on the main ingredient or the mixed ingredients. The name of each type is generally based on the main ingredient used. For example, potato korokke is made using potatoes, meat korokke is made with ground meat and potatoes, while tuna korokke is made with tuna.

Vegetable lovers can try the yasai korokke, which is made with mixed vegetables, or the kabocha korokke, made using pumpkins. For those who enjoy the taste of curry, there is the curry korokke. Okara korokke is made using okara, while cream korokke is made with white sauce. Guratan korokke is a unique type of korokke with white sauce and macaroni.

Korokke is often wrapped in paper and sold in supermarkets and convenience stores throughout Japan. It can also be used as a topping for other dishes, or sandwiched between two slices of bread, called korokke pan or korokke sando. Gurakoro is a product introduced by the Japanese McDonald’s, which is made by sandwiching korokke between buns.

I added curry powder to this batch of recipe. Photo by author