Beef and Potato Croquettes
Side Dishes / All Seasons / Harumi Kurihara / Serves: 4

1 2/3lbs potatoes
1/2lbs onions
2/3lbs minced beef
salt and pepper
2 3/4tablespoons butter
all-purpose flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs for dipping and coating
sunflower or vegetable oil - for deep frying
basil - to taste
cabbage, shredded - to taste
tonkatsu sauce - to taste

Notes

As this mixture is quite soft, be careful that the croquettes don't break up while cooking and turn them once they start to brown, ensuring even colour. The quantity of breadcrumbs needed depends on the size of the croquettes, however as a rough rule of thumb, you need about 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs for this recipe.

Source

Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking
Penguin Books Ltd., London. Pages 86-7.

1) Wash the potatoes in their skins. Cut in half and cook. Peel while hot and then mash until smooth.
2) Cut the onions into 1/3 inch square pieces. Lightly season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a frying pan, add the beef and quickly fry. Add the onions and continue to fry until they are translucent.
3) Add the cooked beef mixture and its juices to the mashed potato. Season with salt and pepper and mix together well.
4) Take the mixture and shape into individual balls, dust with flour, dip in the beaten egg and then finally coat with the breadcrumbs.
5) Heat the oil to 340 F and deep-fry in batches until crispy.
6) Shred the basil leaves just before serving and mix with the finely shredded cabbage. Serve the croquettes next to the cabbage and basil mix. It is very popular to drizzle a little tonkatsu sauce over before eating.