Korokke (Japanese Croquette) コロッケ

Korokke (Japanese Croquette) is by far my favorite food. My record for one dinner is four pieces.  Shhhh…  I shouldn’t be too proud of my big appetite. I know Korokke takes a long time to make, but if you like Korokke, this homemade Korokke won’t disappoint you at all.  Homemade Korokke beats restaurant Korokke anytime.
For filling you can add anything you like I'm not much fond of meat so I'm using chicken ground meat. You can use shrimp, seafood or even meat too.

Ingredients:

2 lb. (about 4) russet potatoes, peeled and halved

1 large onion, finely diced½ carrots, finely diced (optional)
2 Shiitake mushrooms (optional) you can use any other mushroom too.
2 Tbsp. oil
1/2 kg ground chicken meat
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. white pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs for the breading
2 cup Panko(panko is Japanese breadcrumbs you can use simple breadcrumbs too)
½ cup all purpose flour
Oil for deep frying

Method:

In a large pot, put water and potatoes and bring it to a boil. Cook potatoes until a skewer goes through the potato easily.

Remove the potato from the heat and drain the water completely.

Move the pot back to the stove. On low heat shift the pot so that remaining moisture will completely evaporate (but don’t burn them).

Turn off the heat and mash the potatoes. Unlike mashed potato, you don’t have to mash completely. You can want to leave some small chunks for texture. Set aside.

Meanwhile, chop onion, carrot, and mushrooms finely.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium high heat. Sauté onion until soft.

Add carrot and Shiitake mushrooms and cook until they are soft.

Add the meat and break it up with a wooden spoon. When the meat is cooked through, add salt, white pepper, and black pepper. Set aside.

When both mashed potato and meat mixture are ready, add the meat mixture into mashed potato in the large pot. Make sure you leave the liquid behind. We only want dry ingredients into the pot. Discard any liquid left in the pan.

Add an egg and mix all together until everything is well combined.

Set aside till cool down a bit (so you can actually hold the mixture with your hands).

While the mixture is still warm, but not hot, start making Korokke balls.

Dredge each ball in flour,egg and panko

In a wok (or frying pan), heat oil over medium high heat. Deep fry Korokke until they are golden brown.Inside is already cooked, so all you need to do is to make it nice brown color.

Transfer Korokke to paper towels and let the oil absorbed in the paper

       NOW ENJOY YOUR KOROKKE!!

Creamy Spaghetti With Stir Fry Vegetables

This dish is delicious as is or you can add some grilled chicken to it

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
4 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 c chicken stock
1/2 lb spaghetti
1 c grated parmesan cheese
3/4 c heavy cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup cabbage chopped
Capsicum 1/2 cup
Carrots 1/2 cup

Method:

1.In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix in the butter until melted. Add the salt, pepper and chicken stock. Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil.

2.Once it is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for as long as the box’s directions indicate. Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in the parmesan until completely melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream and parsley.

3.stir fry all vegetables alog with salt and black pepper.

Now serve your creamy spaghetti alog with vegetables and grilled chicken.you also can serve it with Teryaki chicken
Check teryaki chicken recipe on my blog.

Korean Easy Kimchi

Ingredients:
1 head (1.5 lb or 1.5 kg) cabbage, sliced into 1.5-2" (smaller at stem part)
8 cups water
1 1/4 cup Korean coarse sea salt
1 Asian leek or onion, thinly sliced1 bunch green onion, sliced into 2" long
For The Kimchi Filling:
1/2 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic
1" small piece of ginger, diced
1/2 sweet apple, peeled and diced
1/3 cup cooked white rice
2/3 cup Korean chili flakes
3 tablespoon Korean anchovy sauce
2 tablespoon salted shrimp
2 tablespoon sugar
Directions:
Dissolve the coarse sea salt with the water in a very large shallow mixing bowl or in the sink. Add the cabbage slices and toss to mix. Press top so the solution will sip through the cabbage.
Soak the cabbage for 1 hour in the solution, toss so the top side will go down to the bottom and let it soak for another 45-60 minutes until the cabbages are well wilted.
Rinse the cabbage 3 times and drain very well. You might need to press the cabbages firmly to remove the extra moisture.
To make filling, place onion, garlic, ginger, apple, and rice in a blender. Add the reserved stock and puree until smooth. Transfer the puree into a medium size mixing bowl and add the rest of the filling ingredients, mix well. Let it sit for 10 minutes so the chili flakes will absorb the moisture.
In a large mixing bowl, combine drained cabbages, leek(or onion), and green onion. Add 2/3 of kimchi filling first and toss everything very well. You might need to add the rest of the filling if your kimchi doesn't seem to be red enough.
Taste your kimchi and adjust seasoing by adding more anchovy sauce or slat. It should taste a little saltier that you would hope for. Transfer your kimchi into the storage container.
Pour 1/2 cup of water to the mixing bowl that you made kimchi in, swirl around to wash the filling and pour over to your kimchi.
Serve this kimchi on the same day you made to enjoy the fresh taste or let it sit on the room temperature for 1 day to ferment, then store in the fridge and consume within the next 1-2 month.
Note:
Store your kimchi in an air tight container and place 1-2 boxes of baking soda in the fridge to absorb the odor.