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I made 3 different dishes for bento prep at the same time - these, crab croquettes and karage (fried chicken pieces) - seems that that these are the ones people are most keen to find out about. To be honest the crab ones are the same but I molded them in a different shape - oh and of course they have crab in them. The fried chicken is worth a blog entry of it’s own so I won’t go into details here - but at the crumbing step I used the leftover herbs and spices and flour from breading the chicken so it might be good to make a mix of your fav herbs and spices and some flour and mix in the panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) with them.

Although these look like a huge drama to make - they really aren’t, but I would recommend doing them over a day or night for the crucial step - the more chilled these are before frying the better they hold together and keep their shape. And let’s face it crumbling croquettes aren’t half as yummy are they?

Ingredients
Potatoes (suitable for mashing)
Chives
Cream
Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
Eggs (1-2)
Herbs and Spices
All Purpose Flour

There really aren’t any measurements - it depends on how many you are wanting to make. The important thing is how things look and feel.

Peel and boil, or boil and then peel your potatoes in salted water. You don’t want skins in these. Drain.

Mash the potatoes but don’t add in extra liquid at this point. When they are good and mashed add in cream gradually. I like to whisk the cream in to make it creamy. You want creamy but not sloppy.

Chop fresh chives quite finely - mix into the potatoes.

Go do something else - you want this to cool down as it’s much easier to shape when cold. Also less chance of burned fingers.

Mix up the panko, a couple of tablespoons of flour and the herbs and spices. In a separate bowl beat an egg.

Grab about a tablespoon of potato and mold it into the shape you want. I rolled these into a short cylindrical shape. Using large cooking chopsticks (you could use tongs or whatever you prefer - I just cook with chopsticks a lot) gently roll into the egg, then into the breading mix. Then re-mold the croquette into the shape again and put it to rest on a tray.

When you are done put your tray into the fridge for several hours. We want these little suckers nice and firm.

Then you need a big frypan and some oil. I prefer to fill with enough to cover half the croquettes and then turn them over. Fry until they are golden brown and then drain them.

I made a big batch for bento preparation so these were put in the freezer after they cooled. You can of course serve immediately, or keep in the fridge and reheat later of course. They keep their shape pretty well.

• Ya-ah-um! Woohoo! Thank you so much! You are right, they are pretty easy, I will have to try them soon!

  j-ster
  Location: surface survey report hell
  10/01/19 05:01 PM

• How do you reheat?

  stewriffic
  10/01/23 06:21 AM

• To reheat for bento usually a quick zap in the microwave, to serve warm I usually zap in the microwave and then put it in the toaster oven to keep the outside crispy.

  MJD-S
  Location: running around wildly chasing blocks
  10/01/23 08:45 AM