Korokke (Japanese Beef Croquettes)

Japanese Beef and Potato Croquettes (koroke)

Recipe by Caroline Phelps

My husband calls them 'the Japanese version of shepherd's pie' and it's easy to see why as the croquettes are made of beef and mashed potatoes. Coated in panko and deep-fried, these fluffy balls are usually served with tonkatsu sauce and a side of shredded cabbage. Not only are they fun to make, they're also a crowd pleaser for children and adults! This is an easy recipe your family will ask for again and again!

Ingredients

• 2 large potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled and roughly chopped
• 300 grams (a little less than 2/3 lb) ground beef (I use ground chuck)
• 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp butter
• Vegetable oil, or other neutral oil for frying
• 1 large egg
• panko breadcrumbs
• all-purpose flour
• shredded cabbage
• Tonkatsu sauce

Cooking Directions

Bring a medium size pot of water to boil. Add potatoes and boil until they are cooked through. Drain and put them into a mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes and set aside. In a large pan on high heat, melt the butter then add onions and garlic. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, add ground beef and cook until beef is fully cooked. Add the beef mixture to the potatoes and mix well. Season well with salt and pepper.You can now begin to heat up the oil to 340F (cooking thermometers are easy to find and very useful).

Meanwhile shape the mixture into balls, mine are usually about the size of my palm. Dust them in flour, dip in egg and coat with panko breadcrumbs. Fry until golden brown and crispy (be careful not to overcrowd the pot as this will decrease the oil temperature). Serve with tonkatsu sauce and shredded cabbage.

Gyoza

The first time I had gyoza was at a Ringer Hut in Fukuoka. Served as a side dish to champon noodles, these pork and veggie dumplings were a revelation to me at the tender age of 7. Dipping these thinly wrapped pot stickers into a soy, vinegar and chili oil dip, became an obsession. We must have gone back to that restaurant at least a dozen times that summer since my brother (who's still as obsessed with them as I am) and I couldn't stop asking for more and more gyoza. To this day, these fluffy pillowy pockets of perfection are a snack I frequently crave to eat.

Here in New York, after eating at many different ramen and other noodle shop establishments, I found 2 really good spots for gyoza: Hide-chan Ramen and Menkui tei, both located in midtown. Crispy on the outside while tender and moist on the inside, with a wrapper that's delicate and thin, their gyoza are to die for.

But when I want gyoza at home, I buy them frozen. The first time I bought frozen gyoza I was skeptical; will they be any good? My first attempt at frying them was somewhat mediocre. The edges came out a little dry while the middle part was mushy and sticky. Still, I was happy to be able to eat them at home and I made it my mission to learn to pan fry gyoza really well. It took a few failed attempts but I eventually got the hang of it and found a way that works like a charm every single time. 

Here's how I do it:

The brand I buy is Ajinomoto Pork and Chicken Gyoza: 

The trick is to wait until the pan is really hot, add 1 tbsp oil, coat the pan really well and lay each dumpling facing up, while still frozen. I use a timer and set it to 4 minutes. Check on the gyoza once in a while to make sure they're not sticking to the pan. When the bottoms are brown and crispy, turn them to the side, add just under 1/4 cup of water, put a lid on the pan and fry for another 3 minutes. Then turn them again on the other side for a minute. Serve. 

For the dipping sauce I buy pre-made gyoza sauce and mix it with chili oil.

I'm sure I'll try my hand at making gyoza from scratch one day in the future, but for now I'll stick to the frozen ones since they do the trick at satisfying my craving.

Yasai Itame (Vegetable Stir-Fry)

Vegetable Stir-Fry (Yasai Itame)

Recipe by Caroline Phelps

Yasai itame is Japanese for vegetable stir fry. It's a relatively healthy dish that's simple and quick to prepare. Yasai itame is usually made with thinly sliced pork but since my husband loves spicy sausages, I made this one using small Berkshire links. There's very little cooking and seasoning involved other than chopping, stir frying the veggies and adding a little soy, and black pepper. This easy recipe pairs really well with a hot bowl of freshly cooked Japanese rice.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings


Ingredients

• 1 medium size carrot, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 small cabbage, chopped bite size
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• about 2 cups, sprouts
• 2 Berkshire sausages (optional. The traditional recipe is usually made with pork), thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Ajinomoto (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. In a large pan over high heat, add the sausages and cook for 2 minutes. Add cabbage, carrots and both green and red bell peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes, until cabbage has soften and charred just a little bit. Add sprouts and cook for a minute. 
2. Add soy, a sprinkle of Ajinomoto and cook for another minute. 
3. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Tori no Kara Age - Japanese Fried Chicken

JFC (Japanese fried chicken) or Tori no Kara Age

Recipe by Caroline Phelps

Japanese fried chicken (also known as JFC :) ) is saltier than its American relative. Using a marinade of soy and sake, and dusting the nuggets with potato starch or corn starch puts this fried chicken recipe in a league of its own. It's VERY juicy and the light and crispy batter doesn't disappoint. (Makes 10 to 12 pieces)

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless chicken thighs with skin, cut bite size
• 1 thumb size ginger, grated
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sake
• 1/2 Potato starch (katakuriko) or cornstarch (if you have both, potato starch is better)
• 1 tsp kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp regular salt)
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (for a little kick) *optional*
• Vegetable oil (for frying)

Cooking Directions

Combine grated ginger, soy sauce and sake in a bowl. Add chicken and toss well to coat. Marinate for at least an hour (no longer than 4 hours otherwise the chicken may lose moisture because of the salt in the soy sauce). 

In a medium size bowl, mix the potato starch, salt and chili powder. Heat the oil to 350 degrees using a temperature-controlled fryer or a thermometer. If you don't have one, test with a small piece of chicken. Coat each piece very well, shake off excess and fry in batches (don't put too many at once as doing so lowers the temperature of the oil). Cook for a few minutes, until golden brown. 

Lay chicken on paper towel and serve with lemon wedges, yuzusco or shichimi.

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Chicken Katsu Don

Chicken Katsu

Recipe by Caroline Phelps

Packed with sweetness and umami, chicken katsu is a very traditional and popular dish. Easy to prepare, it's the perfect comforting dish to share with your family. Another great dish men love to eat as well!

(4 servings)

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut in half in thickness and in size
• all purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• panko breadcrumbs
• oil for deep-frying
• 1/2 medium size onion, thinly sliced in half moons
• handful fresh basil (or flat leaf parsley)
• 1 cup dashi stock
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• cooked Japanese rice

Cooking Directions

1. Dip the chicken pieces in the following order: flour, egg (use one egg) and panko.
2. Heat oil in a large pan to 350 degrees (180c).
3. In another large pan, put the sliced onions, dashi, sugar, sake, soy sauce and mirin, and simmer until onions are tender and translucent (about 5 minutes).
4. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 2 eggs.
5. Fry chicken pieces until golden brown. Add the chicken to the onions, pour the eggs around the chicken, over the onions, and cook for a minute or two. Sprinkle basil or parsley on top, turn the heat off when eggs are cooked through.
6. Serve with rice.

Japanese Potato Salada

Potato Salad (Japanese)

Recipe by Caroline Phelps

Japanese potato salads are a little sweet and tangy, which I love since every bite seems to taste different. I've pickled the cucumber for this recipe with a little salt and sugar. This softens the texture and gives it zing. The flavors blend really well together, making this a personal favorite. Serve as a side to chicken katsu and you have yourself and very traditional and homely Japanese meal.

Ingredients

• 2 medium size potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 medium size carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 thumb size ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/2 English cucumber, cut in 1/4 lengthwise, finely chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Boil potatoes and carrots until tender but still a little firm. 
2. In a bowl, pour a little salt and sugar over the cucumbers (about 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp sugar), mix with your fingers and leave to marinate for about 15-20 minutes. Drain and squeeze the excess water from the cucumber, rinse quickly under cold water and squeeze again. 
3. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, carrots and ginger. 
4. With a potato masher, mash about 1/2 of the mixture, add cucumber, mayonnaise, sake, sugar, salt and pepper and mix well with a spoon or spatula. 
5. Adjust taste and texture (by adding more mayo) to your liking. Serve.

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