Potato Korokke

Rinse and dry the potatoes and mushrooms. Peel the potato, chop into ½-inch cubes, and place in small sauce pan. Fill with water to cover the potatoes by an inch. Boil, uncovered, until soft, 12 to 14 minutes. Drain the potatoes, put in a medium bowl, and mash well with a fork. While the potatoes boil, dice the mushrooms (including stems). Peel and mince the shallot. Peel and mince the ginger.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms, TVP, and ¼ cup water. Also add 1 tbsp each of the tamari and rice wine vinegar, reserving the remaining 2 tbsps of each for later. Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper, add to mashed potato, and mix well. Place in fridge to cool.

Rinse the potato saucepan, and add the sushi rice and 1 ¼ cups of cold water to it. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, cover, and cook until the rice is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the from the heat and set aside, covered, for an additional 5-10 minutes. Uncover, and add 1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar (still reserving 1 tbsp for later) and a pinch of salt. Fluff with a fork, and set aside.

While the rice is cooking, rinse the snow peas. Remove their “strings” by grasping the curly end of the snow pea and pulling downward along the pod. Rinse the scallion and slice thinly. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tbsp tamari, 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, half of the minced ginger, half of the sliced scallion, and the sesame oil. Mix well.

Heat 2 cups vegetable oil in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Shape the cooled mashed potato mixture into 2-inch balls. In a bowl, mix the flour with ¾ cup water. Put the panko in another bowl. Dip each potato ball into the flour-water mixture, and then into the panko. Carefully place the balls in the hot oil and fry on both sides until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and season with salt.

Heat a small saute pan over medium-high heat with the 1 tsp vegetable oil. Add the remaining ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the snow peas and cook until slightly caramelized and tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Divide the korokke, sushi rice, and gingered snow peas between your plates and serve with the tamari dipping sauce. Garnish with the remaining scallions, and enjoy!