These popular Japanese potato and meat croquettes called Korokke are breaded and deep-fried until golden and crispy on the outside but still creamy and succulent inside. This well-loved food in Japan is so delicious served with rice and salad or in your bento lunch.
In Japan, Korokke (コロッケ) are as ubiquitous as fried chicken in convenience stores. They are tasty street food, casual diner food, specialty food, and a home-cooked dish loved by all ages. These potato and meat croquettes come with a crispy-crunchy crust that reveals a creamy, mashed potato filling. You need to try it to believe how good they are!
Since I always have a soft spot for potato dishes and crunchy food, korokke easily tops the chart of my favorite food. I once had six pieces of these golden fried patties for one dinner. Shhh…I shouldn’t be too proud of my big appetite, but I’m absolutely excited to share my best korroke recipe with you today.
What is Korokke?
Korokke is said to be originated from the French croquette or Dutch kroket. I don’t speak French, but when I looked it up, I learned that croquette came from the verb croquer in French, which is to crunch. Makes total sense! Since everyone loves a good crunch, the Japanese started adapting croquettes and it became a popular Japanese-western food in the early 1900s.
At the most basic, korokke is made of a mixture of mashed potatoes, ground meat, and vegetables that have been shaped into small round patties. They are then coated in panko breadcrumbs, and deep-fried until crispy.
These days you can many versions of korokke, with a variety of additions such as ground meat, vegetables, or seafood. Some are flavored with curry powder, and some make use of leftovers from nikujaga. Another must-try flavor is kabocha croquette (my recipe). Each region of Japan also has its own korokke, featuring famous local ingredients such as shrimp, crab, or sweet corn.
Quick Tips for Making the Best Korokke At Home
- Use starchy potatoes such as russet potatoes
- Use quality ground beef – I used organic beef.
- When mashing the potatoes, leave some small chunks for textures.
- Discard any moisture before combining the cooked meat & vegetable mixture with the mashed potatoes
- Use only panko breadcrumbs for an extra crispy exterior.
- Lastly, always make extra because they are great for leftovers, and store well in the freezer for up to a month!
My mom makes her Korokke without any written recipes, so over the years, I’ve developed my own version by adopting my mom’s method and personal adjustment.
The recipe that I am sharing here includes carrots and shiitake mushrooms, which are missing from my mom’s and the regular korokke from the stores. I like to add them to give some colors and extra nutrition for the kids.
I’ve finally got my mom’s korokke recipe in March 2012 if you’re interested. It’s good stuff so do give her recipe a try too!
Can I Air Fry or Shallow Fry Korokke?
The short answer is YES. I don’t own an air fryer; so I can’t provide the exact steps. However, many of my readers have tried air frying with my korokke recipe with success.
You can also use a frying pan to shallow fry Korokke. The inside is already cooked, so all you need to do is to brown the breaded outer layer. You just need less than 1/2 inch (<1cm) oil in the pan! It’s easy for cleanup too.
What to Serve with Japanese Croquettes
Korokke can be enjoyed as a snack, appetizer, main, or as a featured dish in your bento lunch box. They are delicious on its own, but we also often serve it with a sweet-savory Tonkatsu sauce.
This homemade Korokke won’t disappoint you at all!
More Korokke Recipes You’ll Enjoy
- Mom’s Best Korokke Recipe (Japanese Croquettes)
- Baked Croquettes
- Korokke Bento
- Kabocha Korokke
- Croquette Sandwich
- Creamy Crab Croquette
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Korokke (Potato & Meat Croquette)
Ingredients
For the Korokke Patties
- 2 lb russet potatoes (about 4 potatoes)
- 1 onion
- ½ carrot
- 2 shiitake mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil (for sautéing)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper powder
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
For the Breading
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
For Deep–Frying
- 3 cups neutral oil (or enough for 2 inches (5 cm) of oil to completely submerge the patties)
For Serving
- tonkatsu sauce (you can make Homemade Tonkatsu Sauce)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Prepare the Korokke Mixture
- Peel and cut 2 lb russet potatoes into quarters. To a large pot, add the potatoes and enough water to cover. Bring it to a boil. Cook the potatoes until a skewer pierces the potato easily, about 15–20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and drain the water completely. When you do so, use the lid to hold back the potatoes so they don’t fall out of the pot.
- Move the pot back to the stove. On low heat, shake the pot so that the remaining moisture will completely evaporate (but don’t burn them).
- Turn off the heat and mash the potatoes, leaving some small chunks for texture. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, finely chop 1 onion and ½ carrot. Remove the stems from 2 shiitake mushrooms and finely chop the caps.
- Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Then, add 2 Tbsp neutral oil. Add the onion and sauté until soft.
- Add the carrot and shiitake mushrooms and cook until soft.
- Add 1 lb ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. When the meat is cooked through, add 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, ¼ tsp white pepper powder, and freshly ground black pepper (to taste). Remove from the heat.
- Drain the meat and add it to the pot with the mashed potatoes. Tip: Leave the cooking liquid behind as we don‘t want to introduce more moisture.
- Crack and add 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) to the mixture.
- Mix it all together until everything is well combined.
To Shape the Patties
- While the mixture is still warm but not hot, form the Korokke patties into an oval shape. Place on a plate or tray and cover, then cool and rest the patties in the refrigerator for 15–30 minutes. (Do not skip!) TIP: Cooling prevents the croquettes from exploding while deep-frying. If you place warm patties in the hot oil, the internal temperature of the korokke will increase fast, causing them to release steam and explode through the breading. Resting the patties also helps the ingredients meld together.
To Bread the Korokke
- Meanwhile, prepare ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour), 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (beaten), and 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)on 3 separate trays or bowls. Take the patties out of the refrigerator and dip each patty in the flour, beaten egg, and panko, in that order.
- Now they are ready for deep-frying.
To Deep-Fry
- To a wok or a heavy-bottomed pot, add 3 cups neutral oil or enough for at least 2 inches (5 cm) of oil in the wok/pot. Bring the oil to 340–350ºF (170–180ºC) over medium or medium-high heat, using an instant-read cooking thermometer to check the temperature. Then, deep-fry the Korokke in batches until they are golden brown. The inside is already cooked, so all you need to do is to fry them until golden brown. Tip: When you deep-fry, do not crowd the pot because the oil temperature will drop quickly. Your ingredients should take up no more than about half of the oil surface area at any one time. For more helpful hints, read my post How to Deep-Fry Food.
- Transfer the Korokke to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Continue deep-frying the rest of the patties. Serve immediately with tonkatsu sauce.
To Store
- You can store the leftover in an airtight container and freeze up to a month. To reheat, put the frozen or half-defrosted Korokke on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper and bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for 15 minutes or until the inside is warm.
Hi, thanks for your reply. I added grated cheese to my croquettes it tastes good, please comment …
Hi Merlene! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the korokke with grated cheese! 🙂
May I ask what sauce is good for croquettes? Do you have a recipe? I tried dipping my croquettes with hot and sweet ketchup but I am not satisfied. Thank you!
Hi Merlene! In the recipe, I have a link for Tonkatsu Sauce. We usually use Tonkatsu Sauce for Korokke. I usually buy one from a Japanese store, but I also included the recipe (taste is not as same, but close enough). Hope that helps!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/tonkatsu-sauce/
I love croquette the most except the store bought ones are usually cold and not really appetizing, sometimes it even stink of oil. Hence I thought I’ll make my own xD
When I saw your recipe and its even illustrated with pictures, I thought, “Hmm, I really need to bookmark this page!”
Haha, hope it works well for me this Sunday (≧∇≦)
Is it okay to use other meat beside beef? Like pork or chicken (I really have no idea)
Thanks!
Hi Meg! I love korokke too but don’t like store-bought korokke at all… it’s very different from ones I make at home. 🙂 Hope you enjoy (or enjoyed) the korokke! I just had my mom’s korokke (I’m home in Japan), and they were so delicious!
Oh, about the meat… usually it’s beef and potato, and never tried (or heard of) with ground pork and chicken. 🙂
Just made a half recipe (made 10) of these to freeze. I kept 2 that im eating right now and im surprise because im neither a big fan of potatoes or beef and this really pleases my tongue! Thanks to your mom for this awesome recipe.
Hi Sunny! Glad you liked this recipe! Yes it freezes well. When you re-heat it, please use an oven or toaster oven to heat it (slowly so inside will be warm too), instead of microwave. The outside will be crunchy again. 🙂
There’s one I know its called Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ they have all kinds of Japanese food hot and cold. They also have different kinds of Korokke my son loves the lobster.
Hi Tina! Yes we have Mitsuwa here too (I’m in Bay Area). It’s nice to get various food, but wish we have some specialized shops here where we can get hot deep fried korokke. That would be nice! 🙂
Yay got all my ingredients for my Japanese cooking experience! This is one of the first things I’m about to make. Instead of frying them though I’m going to bake them in the oven for about 350 for 20 minutes and flip them over halfway through baking. Going to make these mostly a nice snacking item.
Hi Katie! Let me know how baking them will turn out! Hope you enjoy Korokke. This is my favorite food growing up! 🙂
Thanks Nami!
I really like this recipe! It’s really simple 🙂
Thank you Billy! This is always my favorite food that my mom makes. Thank you for trying this recipe!! 🙂
Hi Nami,
Found your recipe yesterday and made it today! It is so delicious! Even my 3 y/o picky eater son loves it! Definitely worth the time!
Hi Reira! Yay, I’m so happy you and your son liked it! 🙂 Yes, it’s a bit time consuming but I usually make a big batch when I have time and freeze the leftover. 🙂 I really love korokke and am glad to hear you also enjoyed it!
hi nami,
it’s me again…i can’t help but say THANK YOU SO MUCH for this recipe 🙂 i made it today, and it was incredible 🙂 it was not oily and it goes well with the homemade tonkatsu sauce 🙂
Hi Kathy! Thank you for taking your time to come back to leave your feedback. It’s very kind of you. I love to hear readers’ feedback, so I really appreciate it.
I think you deep fried perfectly. If you do it right, it’s not oily at all and inside is already cooked, so it’s just to make the panko crispy outside for the perfect texture when you bite on the korokke… thinking about it make me hungry. 🙂
Thanks again!
yes i did (at last)…it took me a little more patience to wait for the oil to reach its right temperature 🙂 …and its all worth it…thank you for the How To tip on How to Deep Fry…it helped me a lot… 🙂 thanks so much again 🙂
Oh glad to hear that How To Deep Fry page was helpful. Thanks once again!
quick question : in the ingredients list you have a total of 4 eggs, and on step 10, you only add 1 egg on the mixture? and the remaining 3 is for the breading?…just clarifying…thank you 🙂
Hi Kathy! Yes, 3 eggs for the breading. If you want, you can use 2 eggs and dilute with milk. I’m sorry it wasn’t clear. 🙂
I made a vegan version of these – basically just removing the meat and using the vegg instead of eggs. I actually forgot to season them, but they turned out great apart from that! Great with the simple instructions and pictures, kudos 🙂
Hi Anders! Thank you for trying a vegan version! I’m so happy to hear you could adapt this recipe and enjoyed this. 🙂 Glad the pictures and step by step was helpful. Thank you for taking your time to give me your feedback!
THIS WAS AMAZING AND I HAVE TO ADD , YOU WERE VERY ORGANIZED WITH THE COATING. I HAVE TRIED THIS AND IT CAME OUT PRETTY WELL .
Hi Simran! Thank you for letting me know! I’m so happy and feel motivated by you now. 🙂 I hope all the work was worth it.
I’m so excited to try this recipe! Looks like delicious. I’m sure I can eat 6 or more of these too! We’ll eat them in secret together!
Hi Kim! This is a time consuming and tedious…but it’s so good to eat right after you deep fried… Oh yeah we should cook + eat get together! This is a fun project. 🙂
Hi Nami, I found your blog recently. I forget how now but I really love your helps and your recipes and the step by step instructions. I lived in Japan for 8 years although I’m not Japanese and my mom cooked many Japanese inspired dishes so I love Japanese food. Korokke is a fond memory that I have of my mom because when I would go with her to the market she would buy me one, still hot since they were fried on the spot. I’m glad I have a recipe now because I was going to try to make it on my own. I think your blog name is so clever too! Congratulations on all your awards! You deserve every single one. I am going to make your pickled cucumber and spinach recipes for dinner tonight. I can’t wait to taste them.
Hi Susan! Thank you so much for writing! Your Korokke story reminds me of my own too. Isn’t it great to have a stand like that in Japan? And they are specialized in Korokke (or other deep fried stuff) and they are so good… I miss them a lot. Oh you are the first person who commented about my blog name! I’m so happy you liked it too. My husband wasn’t into the name, but I told him this name means a lot to me as I really wanted JUST ONE COOKBOOK for myself, yeah it’s all about me. =P I hope you enjoyed pickled cucumber and spinach recipe. Thank you again for visiting my site! It was such a great encouragement to me. 🙂
is it ok to freeze these after breading or do i have to cook them first before freezing?
Hi Clara! Thank you for leaving a question here. Some people freeze after breading but you should use it in 1-2 weeks. I just think it’s easier to deep fry once and freeze. You can keep it up to 1 month or so. In order to freeze, you have to wrap in foil and then put it in a ziplog bag to avoid the oxidation process. You can defrost naturally, then put it in the toaster oven to make it crispy. Or I sometimes just put it into the toaster oven straight from freezer (but lower temp first). Hope this helps. 🙂
I was about to make a batch of these (I already tried them twice, soooo delicious, I love white pepper!) and I was asking myself the same question! Thank you, won’t have to wait for the reply!
I’m so happy you liked this recipe Sunny! Make many and freeze to enjoy later. 🙂
Clara, I tried frying them first, cooling them totally and then wrapping them in foil as suggested by Nami and then putting them in a plastic bag in the freezer, and when I wanted to use them again after 10 minutes at 450 they turned out perfectly crispy. So it is possible to do!
Awesome! Thank you Rosemary! 🙂
It’s been five years since I last had korokke. I often reminisce about the two weeks in Hachioji where I would walk to the supermarket every single day just to buy korokke to snack on. Never thought of googling for the recipe as I avoid deep-frying as much as I could. However, since I started making bento lunch for my brother to bring to work (thanks to the pandemic his office do not allow employees to order food delivery anymore), I stumbled into JUST ONE COOKBOOK while googling how to make teriyaki sauce and has been using recipes from your blog since. I made Potato salad a couple of days ago and since he loves it, I thought of making korokke (gotta get over the dislike for deep-frying sooner or late lol).
I appreciate and am grateful for all the recipes, tips and clear instructions. Thank you so much!
Hi Yen!
Thank you very much for trying many of Nami’s recipes and for your kind feedback.
Do you know, Nami has a Baked Croquette recipe? Of course, this deep-frying version is the best, but we want to introduce it to you just in case!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/baked-croquette/
We hope you enjoy it as well.😊