The potato croquettes remind me of my childhood back in Indonesia. I used to go to the market with my mom, and she always bought me this croquette for a snack. Now I make them for my sons, and they are fond of them too :)
Here is the recipe :
Indonesian Potato Croquettes
Ingredients :
Potato Mash:
600 gr potatoes
1 lightly beaten egg
pinch of nutmeg
1/8 tsp white pepper
salt to taste
Filling:
250gr minced chicken
1 small onion
1 large garlic clove
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
2 pcs carrots, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas and corn
1 tsp white sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Coating:
2 large eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 to 2 cups breadcrumbs
+ oil for deep-frying (canola or peanut oil)
Method :
For potato mash :
1. Peel the potatoes and boil them in slightly salted water for 25 minutes until completely tender.
2. Drain the potatoes and sprinkle in the nutmeg and white pepper. Start mashing until creamy and lump-free.
3. Let the potatoes cool off a little before adding the egg.
4. Stir in the egg. This will make it rich, creamy, and a lot easier to work with.
For the filling :
1. Chop the onion. Heat a little butter and sauté the onion until it turns soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Add minced chicken and break it up with a spatula. Cook until it loses its pinkness.
3. Add the diced carrot, peas and corn.
4. Crumble in a bouillon cube, black pepper, nutmeg and pour in the kecap manis. Let it simmer for a minute or two and let the mixture cool off.
For finishing up :
1. Use 3 shallow plates and fill them with flour, lightly beaten eggs and breadcrumbs.
2. Grab about a 2 tbs mashed potatoes, flatten it a bit, place a tbsp of the meat mixture in the center, gently fold the mashed potatoes around the meat.
3. Roll the croquette in the flour and shake off the excess flour, do the same with the egg and breadcrumb.
4. Repeat for all the mixture and the mashed potatoes.
5. Cover the croquettes with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Preferably overnight.
6. Deep-fry the croquettes (don’t overcrowd the pan) at 180ºC for 4 to 5 minutes until beautifully golden brown and crunchy on the outside.
For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Potato croquette
2. Chicken, bacon, and leek pie (recipe here)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Carrot sticks
5. Sultanas
6. Kiwi for recess
My eldest son had the similar lunch with his brother, but he had apple cuts for recess instead.
The lunches are packed in Easy Lunchboxes. You may find them here :
Jaffle is basically a toasted sandwich which the outside edges of the bread are sealed together, to completely enclose the filling. The boys' favourite filling is chocolate banana with melted cheese.
I love the fact that my Easy Lunchbox is so spacious, so the jaffle can fit into it. You may find the Easy Lunchbox in this button below : (affiliate link)
For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Chocolate banana and cheese jaffle with carrot stars on top
2. Dutch beef croquettes (recipe here) with sweet chili sauce
3. Milk jelly with nata de coco
4. Cute hard boiled egg (with nori and black sesame seed)
5. Watermelon cuts for recess
For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Chocolate banana and cheese jaffle with carrot stars on top
2. Dutch beef croquettes (recipe here) with BBQ sauce
3. Milk jelly with nata de coco
4. Cute hard boiled egg (with nori and black sesame seed) and salt pepper
5. Kiwi fruit cuts for recess
I love trying new recipes. This time, I tried to make Dutch Beef Croquettes to give variation in my kids' diets. This recipe is quite time consuming, so I made a big batch and put the extras in the freezer.
Dutch Beef Croquettes Recipe
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
500 g beef mince
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
For the roux
40 g butter
40 g flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 cup plain flour
1 pkt breadcrumbs
Vegetable or canola oil, for deep frying
Mustard Mayonnaise
1 tbsp Hot English Mustard
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
Method
1. Place olive oil in a large frying pan over medium - high heat, add onion, carrot and celery and cook for 3 – 5 minutes, add
beef mince, salt and pepper and cook for a further five minutes, or until mince is cooked through. Remove from heat.
2. Place beef mince mixture into a food processor bowl, add herbs and seasoning and process on high for about 1 minute.
Set aside.
3. To make the roux, place a medium sized saucepan over low heat. Add the butter and as it melts, stir in the flour. Once a paste like
consistency is achieved, whisk in the milk. The mixture will thicken up quickly but allow mixture to cook for 5 minutes to
ensure there is no floury taste, whisking occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add one cup of the roux to the beef mince mixture and stir well. Place mixture into fridge or freezer to cool down.
5. Prepare three bowls, one with eggs and milk lightly beaten together, one with flour and one with breadcrumbs.
6. Once mixture is cool, take about a tablespoon of mixture and form into a log shape. Dip into egg wash, then coat in flour,
then roll in crumbs, dip in egg wash again and then finally coat in breadcrumbs. Set aside and repeat with remaining
mixture.
7. When you are ready to cook, heat vegetable oil in saucepan and heat oil up to about 180◦C. Deep fry 3 – 5 croquettes at
a time, cook for about 1 minute or until golden. Remove and place on paper towel. Repeat with remaining croquettes until all are cooked.
8. Combine mustard and mayonnaise in a bowl and serve with warm croquettes.
For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Dutch beef croquette with mustard mayo
2. Milk jelly with nata de coco
3. Corn on the cob
4. Broccoli and carrots
5. Twiggy sticks
6. Yogurt for recess
For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Dutch beef croquette with mustard mayo
2. Milk jelly with nata de coco
3. Corn on the cob
4. Broccoli and carrots
5. Rockmelon cuts for recess
I used this tool below to produce those pretty carrots :
