Korokke

Mashed potato is mixed with sauteed ground meat and onion, shaped into an oval, and fried in a crumb coating. The surface crackles with the coarse texture of panko, while the inside stays fluffy, the potato soaking up the meat's savor into one mass. Even cold, the potato's sweetness holds up, which is said to be why it travels so well as a takeaway side dish.

Potato is steamed and mashed, then mixed with sauteed onion and ground meat and shaped into an oval. It's coated in flour, beaten egg, and panko in that order and fried golden at 170-180°C. Judging the potato's moisture so the crumb doesn't split while frying is said to be the key, and it's often sold by weight as a prepared side at butcher shops.

In the Taisho era, the dish is said to have grown from the French croquette crossed with British potato cookery, yielding an originally Japanese potato korokke. Ranked alongside tonkatsu and curry rice as one of the 'three great yoshoku dishes,' it's seen as emblematic of how Western food, having spread from Tokyo's Western-food restaurants, settled into everyday life as a common side dish.