High-class Japanese Korokke
The Japanese korokke. What is it, you ask? Well, it’s a deep-fried patty of mashed potatoes that originated from the French croquette, sometimes flavored with ground meat or a creamy sauce.
It’s known overseas that Japan has a knack for taking something non-Japanese and making their own unique, Japanese version of it (examples include curry and bread to name a few). And that’s exactly what the korokke is.
The ubiquitous korokke can be found almost anywhere in Japan—grocery stores, convenience stores, diners. However, many Japanese may be oblivious to the fact that the korokke they consume cannot be found in many other western countries. To be honest, I had never eaten anything close to a korokke in my home country of America. Actually, the American variations of the French croquettes that I consumed were such things as crab cakes or hushpuppies, both of which are delicious but taste completely different from their Japanese counterpart. My very first korokke experience was in Japan, and boy was it good.
Despite being quite delicious, korokke have a reputation of being cheap, relatively low-quality grub.
But that’s where Kyoto comes in. Kyoto with its aristocratic history loves to take anything and make it fancy. That’s how such brilliant creations as the korokke specialty shop Nishitomiya come to be.
Nishitomiya is located in central Kyoto city, along Kawaramachi Street. The shop is tiny but sticks out with its white French-country inspired exterior. When I arrived, it was just turning to dusk, and a warm, orange light spilled out from the large paned windows onto the street, enticing me to come in. When I walked in, I was greeted by what looked like an ice cream display only to find that it was full of korokke ready to be fried!
After looking at the various korokke flavor options and deliberating at the counter for several minutes, I ordered two flavors: plain and smoked salmon dill. To balance my meal out, I also ordered the prosciutto and parmesan green salad.
I took a seat in the corner of the charmingly decorated café and took in the atmosphere. My table was actually made from a barrel. How unique!
When my food arrived, I dived into the salad. Wow, was it fresh! The salad greens were so delicious and the combination of real parmesan, prosciutto, raw peppercorns, and oil was perfect. Next was the main attraction: the korokke. The outside was fried to a perfect crisp and the inside of the plain flavor contained smooth mashed potatoes flavored with a creamy sauce and ground meat. The salmon dill was great, too; I have loved the combination of dill and salmon from before, and the two flavors balanced nicely in the korokke. The korokke were so good that I took advantage of the shop’s take out option and ordered two other flavors: basil and Bolognese. I especially recommend the basil.
While I have yet to try an authentic French croquette in the fancy atmosphere of Paris, one thing is for sure—the korokke has evolved into a unique Japanese entity, and Nishitomiya has taken a once cheap food made it high-class.