Potato Croquettes Bento

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 :