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.
Hello… Can you also use sweet potato?
Hi Anne! Sure you can use it. 🙂
I am looking forward to making this! I was just wondering, if I didn’t have any all purpose flour, should I use strong (bread flour), weak (cake flour), or katakuriko (potato starch) to cover them? Does it really make a difference? Thanks!
Hi Linda! Mix strong and weak, and that’s all purpose flour. 🙂 No katakuriko for this recipe. Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Awesome Dish, I had a lot of fun making this and is very delicious.
Hi Crystal! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy making and eating this Korokke! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Delicious recipe and very well photographed! Just lovely. Thanks!
Thank you so much for your kind words! 🙂
Hi, Nami.
I’ve made korokke 3times already. The first one, I followed someone’s recipe at Youtube. It did sucess, a beautifull delicious korokke. The 2nd time, I followed your recipe. It was awful, sticky and a failure. The 3rd time, again I followed step by step from your recipe carefully. I even make sure to drained everything in order to make it really liquid-free. The result just the same. Failure. Then I looked back at my first recipe from Youtube. It doesn’t add an egg to mixture everything. Then, I want to ask you how come you can make it happen with egg? I just don’t understand which part is my mistake.
Thank you before.
Hi Mary! I’m so sorry for my late response (I’m currently traveling). I honestly don’t know why as I wasn’t in the kitchen with you, and this recipe works fine for me and for others from the feedback I get (I share their photos on Facebook page). Some onions and potatoes have more moisture than others. And ground meat can be fattier and juicer etc. Maybe that can be it?
I have another Korokke recipe that does NOT include an egg but I also don’t include shiitake mushroom and carrot.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/moms-korokke-croquette/
Both recipes work for me (and others who gave me feedback) and I make these recipes for a long, long time… I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you.
Hi, I’ve always loved the recipes you post with the step-by-step instructions. Your recipes are easy to follow and always seem to be successful whenever I make them! May I ask if I want to freeze the extra korokke’s, do I do it after finishing all the steps (including dipping into eggwash and Panko) or do I stop just before doing the dipping into Panko step? =D
Happy to hear you enjoy my recipes! Finish deep frying first and let it cool and pack in air tight container to freeze. Defrost and use oven or toaster oven to reheat for crunchy texture. Don’t microwave it because it can get mushy. Hope this helps!
Hi Nami,
I’ve tried making croquette several times using my own recipe (potatoes, mince meat, butter, salt and pepper-I’m too lazy to put too many ingredient in it) but each time I fry them, it breaks apart or it sinks causing a hole in the croquette. I’m wondering where I went wrong. I see in your recipe you add egg in your mixture, is this what keeps the croquette from breaking?
Hi Karin! I don’t have any issue with breaking apart. It’s probably something to do with the moisture in the potato (make sure to let all the steam evaporate – see step 3) and the ratio between potatoes and meat may be not right. Also the sauteed onion is important to bind the ingredients, too. The egg in the mixture doesn’t make too much difference though. You can omit it if you like. Hope this helps! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your recipes to the world Nami! I made these for lunch (just 2hrs ago lol) and my parents loved it! I love how Japanese food are so easy to make and you made it even easier by providing us with pictures of the entire procedure 🙂 I think I made my Korokke balls quite big… but no one pointed it out since they had fun eating it. My mom even suggested to add carrots, celery, and parsley to the mix (I’m Filipino btw so I guess our taste buds are more in tune w/ Chinese food.)
I set aside about 4 big Korokkes and put them in a freezer bag that I’ll cook tomorrow for lunch at work. I know my co-workers will definitely want me to share it tomorrow lol.
Will look forward to trying your other recipes here! 😀 Thanks again!
Hi Fatz! So happy to hear that you and your parents enjoyed this recipe! I’m glad you thought the process was easy to follow. Thank you!! Hope you enjoy trying other recipes from my blog! 🙂
Hi, thanks for the recipe!
I added 1 cup of diced baby spinach leaves, came out great. Took me a lot longer than 2 hours, though I do all of my own dishes while I cook which is probably why. I used corn oil for frying and they came out great, nice and light.
V/r-
Hi Jess! So happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for letting me know! It’s a bit tedious and I also cook other things while making Korokke and it does take a bit longer too. 🙂
Hi, Nami! I just love this recipe, especially when I use them for bento boxes. I was also wondering what other vegetables and ingredients besides carrots and shiitake mushrooms? Please let me know of any recommendations C:
Hi Crystal! As long as it doesn’t release too much water, you can use anything. You can use corn kernels, green peas, chopped green beans… use colorful ingredients. Don’t put too much as this is still potato and meat korokke. 🙂 Hope this helps!
thanks for the recipes :))) they’re very delicious :))
You’re welcome, Bao! 🙂
Thank you for the recipe nami, I really like crouqete. Every weekend I went to Japanese supermarket in jakarta indonesia to buy crouqette and other snack. And now I know how to make it at home.
Hi Maya! Me too, I LOOOOOVE korokke <3 I'm glad you can make it at home. It should taste better with good ingredients you buy and oil is fresher than the oil from store. 🙂 Thank you for your feedback!
Hey Nami,
I wanted to make this recipe with my mom and wanted to know what brand/kind of panko you recommend since it’s not specifically mentioned in your list.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Tom!
I use this brand.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/panko/
Shirakiku is a Japanese company who imports Japanese products. You can get other brands that are available. Usually there are two kinds, one is coarse and the other one fine. It’s your preference. Some people like panko to be very fine but I like little more crunchy side (coarse panko). 🙂
One of my favorites from childhood, and ditto – my mother rarely used recipes! Thank you for documenting it. You have inspired me to make these again, soon.
Hi Linda! Thank you so much for your comment. I hope you enjoy making this recipe and eating… these are so delicious! 🙂
Hi Nami-san! Thanks for the recipe!
I recently trying to make korokke with your recipe, and it’s taste good! I makes it for family gathering tomorrow, so it will really great with them!
Hi Felli! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed korokke! Hope your family like it as much as you do. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!