Crispy Bacon Croquette

脆皮马铃薯饼

Enjoy these delicious fried potato patties by themselves or as a side dish. 

Ingredients

1 kg Indonesian Brastagi potatoes (870g after mashing)

1/2 egg (optional)

6 to 8 slices of smoked bacon, cut into 1 m strips. (Can replace with other filling e.g. minced beef/pork/chicken)

1 tsp salt

Dashes of black pepper

1 tsp dried herbs

50g plain flour 

Method:

1. Peel and cut potatoes into small cubes. 

2. Boil* the potatoes in salted water until tender (can poke through with a chopstick), around 10 to 15minutes. Drain water and return the pot of potatoes to the stove. On low heat, shake the pot to evaporate excess moisture from the potatoes. Turn off heat and mash the potatoes while they are hot. Leave some small chunks of potatoes for texture (personal preference). If the mashed potatoes are wet (i.e. sticks to your hand), add plain flour one tablespoon at a time.

3. While boiling potatoes, pan fry the smoked bacon strips until crispy and set aside.

4. Add seasoning and smoked bacon and mix well. Shape the patty and rest in fridge for 30 minutes (to prevent the croquettes from exploding while deep frying). Remove patty from fridge 30 minutes before frying.

5. Prepare beaten egg, plain flour and panko. Deep fry in batches. Dredge each patty in each batch through plain flour, followed by egg and panko. Deep fry immediately until light golden brown in colour.  Transfer to wire rack or kitchen towel to drain excess oil. Use a mesh strainer to remove panko bits floating around in the oil before frying the next batch. This will keep the oil clean and produce nice and golden patties.

6. Serve immediately.

* you can also pre cook the potatoes by deep frying them. To do this, slice the potatoes in step 1. Then deep fry them until soft.