Potato & Crab Korokke

I've been having what I call, TWS - Traveller's Withdrawal Symptoms. I miss the anticipation and hype of getting to the airport, walking through the brightly lit duty free stores, getting on a plane (and trying to watch every fricken new movie they have to offer), then finally arriving with a buzzing excitement, in a completely new country, where I just want to immerse myself in the people, culture and atmosphere. Every bone in my body aches for it, oh how I love to travel!!

So, in the midst of my TWS, I decided to replicate a dear favourite.... Korokke (Japanese version of croquettes)!!! The story behind these deep fried golden nuggets of yumminess started last year... I went to visit my gf who was studying in Osaka at the time. I spent a good 3 weeks in Japan and I got so hooked on these little babies! I had to have my fix nearly everyday!! It was great because you could just walk to the nearest Japanese convenient store (which are WAYYY cooler than the convenient stores we have here I must admit) and pick some up, along with all the cool Glico snacks and drinks!!

I had to share with you all my knife skills.....was thoroughly impressed and surprised with myself hehehe

Coated potato ovals

Freshly fried Potato & Crab Korokke

Oishii!!

Potato & Crab Korokke
Adapted from About.com - makes about 30 x 8 cm long oval korokkes

12 medium potatoes
2 x 170 g can crab meat
1 small carrot, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 x 125g can of whole corn kernels
salt & pepper to season
vegetable oil for frying
4 eggs - lightly whisked
flour and panko (breadcrumbs) for coating

Peel and cut potatoes into medium chunks. Boil potatoes until soften. Drain and mash potatoes while they are hot.

Add onions, carrot, corn & crab meat to the mash and mix well. Season with salt & pepper.

Scoop a heaped tablespoon of the potato mixture into the palm of your hand and shape into a flat oval shape similar to hashbrowns. Repeat with remaining potato mixture until they are all shaped.

To coat with crumbs:
Pat the shaped potato with flour, then dip into egg then coat with panko.
Tip: To make this process easier and mess free, line up the flour, eggs and panko (in that order) in separate bowls and have a tray ready at the end of this line to put the korokke on.

Once all the potato ovals have been coated, refrigerate over night or place into the freezer until firm. This makes handling easier as they won't fall to bits when you try to pick them up.

Heat the oil in a large wok. The oil is hot enough when you put a little bit of the panko in and it starts to bubble. Once the oil reaches this stage slowly slide in the korokke one by one, don't overcrowd the wok (depending on the size of your wok, you can fry 3-4 at the same time). Don't fiddle too much with the korokke but turn them over once in a while to get an even goldenness. They will be ready when golden all over.

Remove the korokke from the wok and place onto an absorbent paper towel.

Serve with Takoyaki sauce (sort of like a bbq sauce), you can get this from Asian grocery stores or from Tokyo Mart in Northbridge Plaza.

Enjoy!! ♥