Japanese Croquettes (Korokke)

For Potato & Meat Mixture:--
1 kg russet potatoes
1 onion
1 tbsp rice bran oil
500 g ground beef
1 tsp SIDS HOT WORCESTER SAUCE
½ tsp SIDS SALT & PEPPER, for meat
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp SIDS SALT & PEPPER, for potatoes
For Panko Coating:--
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
2 cups panko
For Deep Frying:--
4 cups rice bran oil
Tonkatsu Sauce

To Make Potato & Meat Mixture
Wash the potatoes under cold running water. Peel the potatoes and remove the eyes.
Cut each potato into equal 4 pieces. (Tip: To cook evenly, it's important that they are all a similar size)
In a large pot, put water and potatoes and bring it to a boil covered on medium heat, leaving the lid slightly ajar to prevent from boiling over. It will take about 15 minutes to a boil. Cook potatoes until a skewer goes through the potato easily, about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, (you have about 30 minutes until the potatoes are ready) chop the onion finely. With the knife tip pointing toward the root, slice the onion to within 10 mm of the base. Make about 5 mm parallel cuts then slice the onion horizontally about 5 mm parallel cuts.
Cut perpendicular to the first slices you made. If the onions need to be chopped finer, you can run your knife through them in a rocking motion. Be sure to hold down the tip of the knife, otherwise the onions are going to go flying around the room.
In a large frypan, heat oil on medium and add the chopped onion.
Sauté the onions until translucent and tender, about 12-15 minutes. (Tip: Make sure there is no moisture left so that the croquette doesn't get soggy) Leave the chopped onions for a long stretch between stirring to give them nice char. Careful not to burn.
Add the meat and break it up with a wooden spoon.
Add SIDS HOT WORCESTER SAUCE then season the mixture with SIDS SALT & PEPPER.
Stir to combine, turn off the heat when the meat is no longer pink. Remove from heat to let cool slightly.
Once in a while, you have to check if the potatoes are done cooking. Insert a skewer to a bigger piece of the potatoes and if it goes through the potato easily, it's done. Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain the water completely. When you do so, use a lid to cover so the potatoes don’t fall out from the pot.
Move the pot back to the stove. Shake the pot over low heat and let the remaining moisture completely evaporate (but don’t burn the potatoes), about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
With a potato masher, mash the potatoes while they are still hot and let the steam escape. Add the butter. (Tip: Keep some potato chunks for texture)
Add SIDS SALT & PEPPER and combine well together.
To avoid adding excess cooking liquid from the meat mixture to the mashed potatoes, gently squeeze the liquid out from the mixture by collecting it to one side of the pan.
Add the meat mixture into the mashed potatoes in the bowl and combine together.
While the mixture is still warm, but not hot, start making the patties, (traditionally, oval shape, roughly 70 mm in length) avoidng air pockets.
Cover and let the Korokke patties rest in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. (Do not skip!)
(TIP: Resting and cooling down the patties prevents the croquettes from exploding while deep frying. The cold patties in the hot oil will not release any steam; therefore, croquettes will not explode in the oil. If you skip this process and the patties are still warm, the temperature of the patties will go up and start to steam, which will then puncture a hole in the panko coating and explode. It also helps the ingredients to meld together)
Prepare a tray each for flour and panko, and crack eggs into a small bowl.
Coat each patty in flour and shake off excess then dredge in egg and coat with panko.
Once you finish coating the patties, add the oil to a medium pot. Make sure there are at least 5 cm of oil in the pot so the entire croquette will be covered.
Bring the oil to 170-180ºC over medium heat. Use a cooking thermometer to check the oil temperature. (no guessing!) Once you get used to deep-frying, you can use the chopstick or panko tricks to determine the oil temperature.
Deep fry 2-3 croquettes at a time until they are golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Tip: Do not touch the croquettes until one side is golden brown. The inside is already cooked, so all you need to do is to fry until golden brown.
Transfer the croquettes to a wire rack or paper towel to drain excess oil.
To Serve
Serve the croquettes with Tonkatsu sauce. Typically, deep-fried foods are served with shredded cabbage in Japan.
To Store
You can store the leftover in an airtight container and freeze up to a month.
To reheat, put the defrosted or frozen croquettes on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or baking paper. Bake at 180ºC for 15-20 minutes for defrosted ones or 45 minutes for frozen ones. Check if the inside is warm before serving.
A few things to know about Japanese Croquettes:
► A French import, Korokke was introduced around the late 1800s.
► One of the top 3 popular yoshoku (western-influenced dishes) in the early 1900s.
► Known as homemade food as well as street food.
► Serve with rice and salad, or in your bento lunch.
Comes in a variety of fillings and is freezer-friendly.