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Potato Korokke (Croquette)


At this point, some of you must be wondering why I am constantly cooking Japanese food. Well, Japanese recipes are often simple and span only half a page of a cookbook, which makes it less daunting especially when they usually come with a list of less than ten ingredients. Compare that to Malaysian cooking which may use spices and sauces from A-Z, with plenty of chopping, pounding, crushing, toasting, frying, simmering and keeping a constant watch while cooking. I hardly have half a day to spend doing all that especially now that I'm back at work, and it's impossible to keep the children out of mischief. Just today, while I was preparing pork chops for dinner, my little toddler managed to empty almost an entire bottle of shampoo all over the floor in the shower.

So, anyway, as I was saying, I'm in the Japanese food phase recently and I decided to have a go at making Japanese potato croquettes (known as Korokke, no prizes for guessing why). I haven't eaten them in a long time, and the last time I had these at a sushi train restaurant doesn't count as I was unfortunate enough to get a batch that was cold and soggy.

Thankfully, Nami had recently posted her mum's recipe for korokke on Just One Cookbook, and I was eager to try it. It's basically ground beef and potatoes, so I bought a 2kg (4 lb) bag of potatoes, of which I still have 2 lbs left which might go to making more korokke or perhaps a potato salad or something. Looking at the recipe, it's relatively easy to make, but when I came to the actual process of shaping and breading them, it was slightly slow and fiddly, and needed a little patience. The potato and beef mixture is rather soft, and so the shaped balls/patties have to be delicately handled when rolling them in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs.



It seemed to make a rather large batch, or so I thought, until I started eating them, got addicted and couldn't stop going for seconds, thirds, forths etc. They are so good dipped in tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayonnaise, and perhaps a squeeze of lemon juice too. The next day, I decided to use the leftovers to make korokke sandwiches. They tasted even better this way! I spread some butter on the bread, placed some shredded lettuce on top along with some mayonnaise, added the hot and crispy korokke that I heated up in the oven, and then drizzled tonkatsu sauce over them before topping it off with another slice of bread. Heavenly!

Check out also this delicious recipe for Spanish Chicken Croquettes, made with chicken and a creamy bechamel sauce. A great alternative to beef and potatoes! Please find the recipe for Potato Korokke after the jump.


Korokke Recipe
Adapted from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

1kg (2 lb) russet potatoes (or other potatoes good for mashing), peeled and halved
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
500g (1 lb) ground beef (I used about 350g as I preferred more potatoes to beef)
1-2 tsp soy sauce (optional)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 eggs
2 cups Panko crumbs
½ cup flour
Oil for deep frying
Aonori, for sprinkling (optional)

Method
  1. In a large pot, put water and potatoes and bring it to a boil. Cook potatoes until a fork goes through the potato easily. (I boiled the potatoes in their skins and then peeled them afterwards)
  2. Remove the potato from the heat and drain the water completely.
  3. Move the pot back to the stove and let the remaining heat in the pot dry the potatoes.
  4. Transfer the potatoes into a large bowl and mash the potatoes. Add salt, pepper, and butter.
  5. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium high heat. Sauté onion until soft.
  6. Add the meat and break it up with a wooden spoon. Use the back of a spoon/spatula to mash up the meat as finely as possible. When the meat is cooked, add soy sauce, salt and black pepper. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
  7. Before adding the meat into the mashed potatoes in the bowl, drain off any excess liquid from the pan. Mix the meat and potatoes well with a spoon.
  8. When it has cooled down, refrigerate for a few hours if you like, to firm up the mixture a little.
  9. Scoop the mixture into your hands (I used an ice-cream scoop) and shape them into round or oval balls (about 2 inches diameter).
  10. Dredge each ball in flour, egg and Panko and place on a plate.  Let the Korokke balls rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  11. In a wok, heat oil over medium high heat. To test, drop a piece of breadcrumb into the oil and it should float to the surface quickly and sizzle. Also, make sure you use enough oil (about 2 inches deep), otherwise there's a chance the korokke might fall apart while frying. Deep fry Korokke until they are golden brown.
  12. Drain the Korokke on a wire rack or use absorbent kitchen paper. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with aonori if desired. Serve immediately with Tonkatsu Sauce and/or mayonnaise. Otherwise, keep warm in a low preheated oven.
  13. To reheat leftovers, place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper/foil and bake in the oven at 180C (350F) for 10 minutes, turning once. Turn off the oven and leave the korokke inside for 5 minutes or so to crisp up further if desired.
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Teriyaki Chicken


I made this for dinner last week, and I asked Hilary if she liked it. She said "Yes" and I asked her why. She looked up from her plate of rice and teriyaki chicken and said to me with conviction, "Because...I love the chicken so much!". And indeed, she loved it so much that she had second and third helpings of the chicken (and didn't finish her rice!). This is my second post on teriyaki chicken this month. The first one was a Teriyaki Chicken and Egg rice bowl, where I baked and grilled the chicken in the oven with a sweet teriyaki sauce. This second version I'm posting today is based on Nami's recipe, from Just One Cookbook. I decided to try her version which uses onion and ginger in the marinade.

When I finally compared my photo and hers, I realised that mine is 10x darker and blacker. LOL. I might have gone a little overboard with the caramelization and charring of the chicken. Nevertheless, it was very tasty and packed a punch from the ginger, with some of the sweetness of the onions making its way through as well. I can imagine this would be really popular if served at a barbeque lunch or party, and is something both kids and adults would enjoy thoroughly.

Teriyaki Chicken
Adapted from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

500g (1 lb) chicken thigh filllet
2 Tbsp sake for steaming

Teriyaki Sauce:
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sake
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 onion, grated, including juice
1 inch ginger, grated, including juice

Method


1. Cut the chicken into 1 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Combine Teriyaki Sauce ingredients in a bowl or Ziploc bag.
3. Add chicken and marinate for 2-3 hours.
4. Heat oil on medium high in a large skillet or non-stick pan. When it’s hot, shake off excess marinade from the chicken and place the chicken in the pan. The marinade will burn easily so try not to add any liquid in the pan. Do not throw away the marinade.
5. Flip the chicken over and fry the other side. Then add sake and cook covered for 8-10 minutes.
6. Remove the chicken to a plate and clean the skillet.
7. Heat the skillet and place the teriyaki sauce into the pan along with 2-3 tbsp water. When it starts to simmer, place the chicken into the pan and stir to coat in the sauce.
8. When the sauce starts to thicken and creates a glaze over the chicken, turn off the heat and transfer the chicken to a serving plate. Serve hot with steamed white rice.
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Nanban-Chicken (Vinaigrette Chicken)



As I was flipping through the pages of the cookbook "Essentially Japanese" by Hideo Dekura, I stopped at page 191 which featured a recipe for Vinaigrette Chicken (or Nanban-Chicken as commonly known in Japan). The words vinaigrette got my tastebuds tingling and my mouth watering as I could imagine eating succulent pieces of deep-fried chicken soaked in the sweet, tangy and spicy dressing (or sauce). I had never had this dish before, although once I ate it, it tasted very familiar, like something that would have been served as a side dish in one of those bento boxes.

I enjoyed the combination of the sauce made from rice vinegar, sake, soy and sugar, with onions and chopped chillies, which was used to "marinade" or steep the fried chicken in before serving. This allowed the flavours to be well-absorbed into the outer layer of the chicken. I was surprised that with so much vinegar in the sauce, it wasn't as acidic or sour as I thought it would be, but then again, a lot of sake went into making the sauce too.  A generous squeeze of lemon juice adds an element of freshness and slight tartness to the dish. I reckon this is fantastic served with either white rice or simply as an appetizer. Add more chillies if you prefer more heat!

Nanban-Chicken (Vinaigrette Chicken)
Adapted from Essentially Japanese by Hideo Dekura

Ingredients

2 small white/brown onions, peeled and thinly sliced into rings
150ml (2/3 cup) rice vinegar
250ml (1 cup) sake
30ml (2 tbsp) soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1-2 red chillies (or bird's eye chillies if you like), de-seeded and thinly sliced

1 tbsp sake
2 tsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp grated ginger
Pinch of salt
Pepper to taste
Sansho, to taste (optional)
600g (1 1/4 lb) chicken thigh fillets
1-2 tbsp potato starch (or substitute with cornstarch)
2 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

  1. Soak onion in water for 30 minutes, then drain.
  2. In a pan, boil vinegar and sake to evaporate the alcohol (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add soy sauce, sugar and chilli. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add onion and set aside as marinade.
  3. Mix sake, mirin, soy sauce, ginger, salt, pepper and sansho in a bowl. Cut chicken into 2 inch pieces and combine thoroughly with the mixture. Set aside to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
  4. Heat up oil in a wok or deep frying pan. Gradually add potato starch to the eggs and whisk together.* Dip chicken into the batter and deep-fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked.
  5. Drain the chicken on a wire rack or absorbent paper. Place chicken in the marinade prepared in Step 2 above, for about 15 minutes.
  6. Serve with lemon wedges.
* Note: In Step 4, I found it difficult mixing the egg and potato starch together. As an alternative, you can mix the eggs into the chicken first, and then sprinkle potato starch over it and mix again. Let any excess batter/egg drip off before placing the chicken into the hot oil.
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Dak Bulgogi (Korean Bbq Chicken)



I seem to be cooking a lot of chicken dishes lately, probably because I find that chicken is such a versatile ingredient that can be prepared in so many ways and rather quickly too. Also, I don't tend to get tired of eating chicken as much as I do other meats like beef, lamb or pork. In today's post, I am sharing with you a recipe for Dak Bulgogi by Hyosun of Eating and Living fame. I'm sure many of you are familiar with her blog and the mouth-watering photos and recipes of delicious Korean food. I was captivated by photos of her Dak Bulgogi and couldn't wait to try making it too. So I went out to buy some Ssamjang, which is like a spicy soybean paste type of chilli sauce (or paste) that you will usually find at Korean bbqs where you add it to your grilled meats before wrapping them in lettuce leaves. It tastes so good with the chicken bulgogi!


The marinade for the chicken is predominantly soy, ginger and honey, so it's quite similar to the Chinese version of honey soy chicken, except that this one has quite a punch from the ginger as well as some zing from the lemon juice. When eaten with the ssamjang and wrapped in lettuce leaves, it transforms into something different altogether, as the ssamjang has that big taste of Korea that is quite addictive. Hyosun suggests that you can also serve it with doenjang if you don't have ssamjang. I really enjoyed this dish, alongside some spicy Kongnamul Muchim (seasoned soy bean sprouts) which I also made. Yum!


Dak Bulgogi

Ingredients:
500g (or 1 pound) boneless chicken thigh fillets

Marinade:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey (or 1-1/3 more tablespoons brown sugar)
1 tablespoon rice wine (or mirin)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
pinch black pepper
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

To serve:
Lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Ssamjang/Doenjang

Method

Cut each of the chicken pieces into small sizes (about 2-inch long and 1-inch wide).
Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Combine chicken with marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat a skillet (or a large non-stick wok) over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces, reserving the marinade. Cook until cooked through and slightly caramelized, about 2 minutes each side. (The sugar and honey in the marinade will burn easily, so watch it carefully and add the reserved marinade by tablespoon when the pan gets dry. You can slightly reduce the heat to avoid burning. Dish out on to a plate. To serve, take a piece of lettuce and place a little ssamjang/doenjang in the middle, followed by a piece of chicken. Wrap up in the lettuce and enjoy!
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