A sudden craving came recently to mind one day, but there was a problem. I only knew it as ke le bin in Chinese. But it’s neither Chinese, nor for that matter originally Japanese as I later found out. A twist on the French croquette, korokke, is typically made with mashed potato or a thickened white sauce base. Eaten as a snack or an accompaniment to curry and rice, it is found in bakeries, supermarkets, and restaurants all over Tokyo.

Korokke are not as common as other Japanese snack foods in Toronto. Toshi Sushi (565 King Street West) offers two kinds of korokke appetizers. Although the waitress warns of a 15 minute wait when take-out is ordered, rather than a hindrance, it’s perhaps a good sign that the chef needs time to properly construct the dish instead of throwing something frozen into the fryer.

It’s worth the wait. The potato korokke $3.50, has an even meat-to-potato ratio with the beefy bits resonating onion and coarsely ground black pepper. Although the oil is tangible in the panko covering, it provides a nice moistness to the patty.

The crab cream korokke $4.50, is of the white sauce type. The sauce, while creamy in consistency, tastes like most Asian style “cream” sauces that aren’t made with dairy but are more of a flour and fat roux. There is a strong undertone of onion that overwhelms the crab flakes in the sauce. The korokke is dressed with a reserved touch of intense tomato paste with equally strong notes of dried mushroom and celery. Another element is a demure slice of Japanese process cheese, melted atop.

Although on the menu at Tokyo Kitchen (20 Charles Street), the potato croquette is only available as a part of two entrees: beef curry ($8.95) and combination dinner ($10.95). Choosing the latter, I skip the beef patty and breaded shrimp companions to dig right into the main event. Thick creamy potato encased in a light golden coating breaks away at the merest touch of a fork; minced meat create restrained salty flecks of flavouring. It’s all brought together with that ubiquitous tangy and thick Worchestershire-like sauce, tonkatsu. The fry technique is impressively dry and greaseless, leaving only crispy satisfaction. “It tastes like shepherd’s pie,” was one taster’s comment.

Close by and easy to mix up with the aforementioned restaurant is another one that is both similar in name, Tokyo Grill (582 Yonge Street), and menu, which has “croquettes - mashed potato breaded and deep fried” ($4.50) on it’s appetizer list.

It was interesting to learn that korokke has been around since the late 1800s back when Western cuisine was brought to Japan. The introduction of croquettes also served to inspire many off-shoots around the world. To lovers of that which is breaded and deep-fried, its great popularity and endurance are no surprise.