I love Japanese pumpkin croquettes (kabocha korokke), popular in Japanese izakayas (beer houses). I don’t, however, love deep-frying (don’t get me wrong, i can get into frying, I just try to avoid it when I can). So these croquettes are a bit of a compromise, with all the flavor of traditional fried pumpkin croquettes, but baked—a delicious compromise if I do say so myself—with sesame seeds and nori, which complement the pumpkin and soy flavors nicely. The very non-traditional croquettes are a little more like very moist biscuits, and are perfect with a bowl of miso and a very cold Sapporo.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour plus more for dusting Pantry
- 1/2 tsp baking powder Pantry
- 3/4 cup canned pureed pumpkin $1.50 for 15 oz.
- 1 egg, lightly beaten $1.50 for 6
- 1 tbsp soy sauce Pantry
- 1/2 sheet dried nori seaweed, snipped into 1" strips $2 for 10 sheets
- 1/2 onion, diced $0.50
- 1 tsp olive oil plus more for greasing baking sheet Pantry
- 1/8 cup toasted sesame seeds $2 for 8.5 oz.
- 1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) $2.50 for 8 oz.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
- Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Cook onions for 3-4 minutes, or until translucent. Remove from heat.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Stir in pumpkin, egg, soy sauce, onions and nori. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until a sticky dough forms. If the dough is too moist, add a bit more flour.
- On a clean, dry plate, combine the sesame seeds and the panko. Mix well with fingers. Set aside.
- Use floured hands to form the dough into balls that are about 2" in diameter. Roll each ball in the panko-sesame seed mixture, and place on the greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Makes about 12-15 croquettes.
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What They're Saying
Wendy, on Feb 16, 05:49 PM, wrote:
This sounds interesting. I like to try new recipes at home before sharing with friends – are these good leftover, or should I just make as many as I can eat at one sitting?
Asia, on Nov 13, 05:53 AM, wrote:
Some good ideas, I’m afraid of frying bc I once got oil on my face when I flipped a large salmon fillet in a pan. Fortunately, the pan and oil was not hot cause I was impatient and so there are no scars. I also like the Sapporo and mixing nori in it part. Wonder how crispy I can get the surface? Alas, still waiting for the toaster oven to be approved by my company…