
Air fryer korokke (Japanese potato croquettes)
Creamy potato croquettes with a shatteringly crisp panko crust, made in the air fryer and served Japanese-style with rice, shredded cabbage and sweet-tangy sauce.
- 70 min total
- 45 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $1.85 a serving
- 650 calories
- Vegetarian

Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- 3 russet potatoes, about 1½ lb, peeled and cubed
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- ¾ cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 3 cups coleslaw mix
From your pantry
- 2¼ cups water
- 1¾ tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
Each serving has about 650 calories, 15 g protein, 121 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $1.85 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No frozen mixed vegetables? Frozen peas or frozen corn or frozen green beans work.
- No coleslaw mix? Green cabbage or red cabbage works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice and bring it with the water and ¼ teaspoon salt in a .
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn to low and cook 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the potatoes in a pot of water with 1 teaspoon salt until very soft, about 15 minutes.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
High heatTimer: 15 min
Meanwhile, the butter in a over medium heat and cook the onion and mixed vegetables with of salt until soft, 5 minutes. Tip them into a bowl.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the oil and panko to the and stir over medium heat until evenly , 3 to 4 minutes. Spread on a plate to cool.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Dolly’s tip: Toasting the panko first gives the croquettes a deep-fried color and crunch in the air fryer.the potatoes, mash them with the vegetables, the pepper and the rest of the salt, and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Timer: 10 min
Shape into 8 oval patties about ¾ inch thick. Coat each in flour, then beaten egg, then press into the toasted panko.
Dolly’s tip: If the mash is sticky, dampen your hands. Cracks are fine as long as the crumb covers them.Air fry in one layer at 400°F until hot all the way through and deep , 8 to 10 minutes. Work in batches.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 9 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Stir the ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar together for the sauce.
Serve two korokke each with rice, a pile of shredded cabbage and the sauce over.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.

Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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