Craving for Korokke

In our recent trip to Japan, I incessantly craved for another convenience store delight..not onigiri, but korokke or potato and meat croquettes.  The first time I tasted one was in McDonald’s in Amsterdam, and eating it as a patty in between two buns was not a delightful experience.

So in our succeeding travels to Japan, even if these goodies are appetizingly displayed in convenience store counters, I never tried one.  But in this recent trip, at a 7-11 store, I drooled over freshly cooked korokke placed in a counter top display and couldn’t stop myself dreaming of eating it the whole time we were in Kyoto. I tasted those sold in Family Mart, Lawson but I preferred the one from 7-11; that combination of peppered potato and onion short of meat flavor reminded me of the cheap empanadas that I used to eat when I was little.

It’s been two weeks since and I craved again for one. Using some left over ground beef from yesterday’s preparation, fried with white onion, salt and pepper, combined with mashed potato and egg, and rolled in flour, egg then panko bread crumbs…

 

I was able to satisfy my craving! Although what I made does not look as good as the store-bought one, the taste was the same…like a cheap empanada – all potatoes and no meat – from my childhood =)