Panko

[Jinmyo]

Panko.

How do you use it?

[Suzanne F]

I've no objection to turning this one into an all-purpose panko thread. After all, it does have the word "panko" in the title already. So that will make it easy to find.

What else do you do with them, besides breading the usual suspects for frying? I'd really like to know, since I don't make very much fried food, but love the flavor and crunch of panko.

edit: as I was typing this, Jinmyo was started that other thread. I cede to her. Carry on there!

Edited January 13, 2003 by Suzanne F (log)

[torakris]

I use it mostly for my two favorite fried foods, tonkatsu and ebifurai (deep fried shrimp)

I also use it in any recipe that calls for bread crumbs, any type of fried cutlets, meatloaf, gratin toppings, etc.

If the recipe call for finer crumbs, I just put them into a ziplock and smash them.

In Japan there is alo what is called namapanko ( fresh or "raw" panko) these aren't hard and dry they are soft just like freshly made bread crumbs. I prefer these although they have a much shorter shelf life.

[awbrig]

One of my favorite recipes uses panko....

Panko and Ginger Crusted Chicken with Stir Fried Vegetables and Sweet and Sour Mustard Sauce

[Suzanne F]

In Japan there is alo what is called namapanko ( fresh or "raw" panko) these aren't hard and dry they are soft just like freshly made bread crumbs. I prefer these although they have a much shorter shelf life.

That leads me to another question: how long does panko keep?

[Dave the Cook]

My Mother spent Thanksgiving with us last November. My brother-in-law brought a blueberry crisp for dessert. Some was still left the next day, and remembering many breakfasts with Mom over a piece of apple, cherry or berry pie, I wanted to recreate a little of that for her.

Unfortunately, the crisp was no longer, well, crisp. So I tossed some panko with an equal amount of brown sugar. Then I spooned a serving of crisp into a bowl, topped it with the crumbs and nuked it for about a minute. Drizzled a little cream around the edge. Voila: blueberry re-crisp.

I don't know how long they keep, Suzanne, but any breadcrumb that can survive a microwave is worth its weight in gold.

[Jaymes]

Chevre Medallions

4 oz goat cheese, in a log

1/4 C toasted pine nuts

1/2 C panko

1 t favorite herbs - thyme, oregano, parsley, rosemary, whatever

1/4 C EVOO

Preheat oven to 375º.

Finely chop pine nuts; toss with panko and herbs.

Slice chevre into four rounds. Dip into evoo being sure to coat well. Then into nuts/herbs/panko mixture.

Place on lightly-greased baking sheet. Bake for five minutes until rounds are soft and warm

Serve as a garnish with fish, salads, etc., or as appetizer with spreaders & crackers, bread, toast, etc.

[Akiko]

Awbrig, that sounds wonderful! Can you share the recipe?

I too, use it for anything that calls for breadcrumbs... fried eggplant, pork cutlets, salmon cakes, crabcake, and potato croquettes.. etc. I keep meaning to do fried rice balls that are coated in panko (saw a recipe for it once) but haven't gotten around to it.

Tokaris, how does the texture of the nama panko differ in your finished product?

[Jinmyo]

I make my own breadcrumbs and croutons for most things like pasta and au gratin dishes. I'll use panko for tonkatsu, to bread some fish, chicken etc.

[torakris]

Tokaris, how does the texture of the nama panko differ in your finished product?

The flavor is more simalr to fresh breadcrumbs, a little softer and not quite as crunchy.

[SobaAddict70]

In NYC, there's this little dinky restaurant chain called "Daiki Sushi" which serves packaged sushi and sashimi, soba and udon noodles and other Japanese convenience foods (i.e., mochi wrapped around ice cream). Now, I'd never go there for sushi unless I were a dead blind man (or a blind dead man), as the sushi they serve is pretty disgusting.

For me, the udon and soba are the main draw, good if I'm in a rush and want a quick lunch or snack. Their udon/soba is usually a bowl of either noodle in beef broth with either prawn, chicken, beef or vegetable tempura, a slice of surimi (fake crab), a scattering of scallions, a fistful of panko and a sprinkle of togarashi. Whenever I go there, I usually ask for a double fistful of panko. (This is one of my secret confessions, akin to being fond of Mrs. Dash. )

For the record, their vegetable tempura is a laughable patty of shredded vegetables packed together and bound with panko and binder.

Daiki Sushi is the quasi-Japanese version of McDonald's but a helluva lot less scary.

SA

[torakris]

In NYC, there's this little dinky restaurant chain called "Daiki Sushi" which serves packaged sushi and sashimi, soba and udon noodles and other Japanese convenience foods (i.e., mochi wrapped around ice cream).  Now, I'd never go there for sushi unless I were a dead blind man (or a blind dead man), as the sushi they serve is pretty disgusting.

For me, the udon and soba are the main draw, good if I'm in a rush and want a quick lunch or snack.  Their udon/soba is usually a bowl of either noodle in beef broth with either prawn, chicken, beef or vegetable tempura, a slice of surimi (fake crab), a scattering of scallions, a fistful of panko and a sprinkle of togarashi.  Whenever I go there, I usually ask for a double fistful of panko.  (This is one of my secret confessions, akin to being fond of Mrs. Dash.  )

For the record, their vegetable tempura is a laughable patty of shredded vegetables packed together and bound with panko and binder.

Daiki Sushi is the quasi-Japanese version of McDonald's but a helluva lot less scary.

SA

Panko in soba or udon?

I have never seen that before, are you sure it isn't the agedama, the little fried bits that are left behind when making tempura?

I can't imagine eating panko in soba.

[Jinmyo]

I first thought bonito shavings but agedama seems more likely. It would be interesting if they use panko this way, as Italians put breadcrumbs with pasta.

[Suzanne F]

I used panko to armor-plate my fish cakes tonight: flour, egg, panko, egg, panko. Worked beautifully: no grease absorption, deep copper color, held in all the cake (fish + mashed potatoes + spices + mayonnaise) which under other circumstances would break through the coating. Well, actually it did break through on the baby one -- all of a sudden there was a slow geyser of goo coming out a fissure in the top. But the adult ones held up fine.

Not much taste to the panko, though. Big deal; they have other virtues.

[Jinmyo]

Yes, their virtue is the flaky and defined texture that doesn't just flake off.

I used them to bread some deep-fried canneloni with ricotta and spinach and a tomato/chipotle dipping sauce the other day.

[CooksQuest]

In NYC, there's this little dinky restaurant chain called "Daiki Sushi" which serves packaged sushi and sashimi, soba and udon noodles and other Japanese convenience

I once heard that their "low" sushi prices are a result of robot-sushi making. Many of their pre-packaged goods, apparently, are produced with minimal human intervention. Can anyone confirm this?

I've had the soba a few times, but wish they would bring back the cold soba they used to offer. I never noticed panko in the soba soup.

But I defer, of course, to Soba Addict!

The name is Daikichi Sushi.

Edited January 16, 2003 by CooksQuest (log)

[SobaAddict70]

I've had the soba a few times, but wish they would bring back the cold soba they used to offer.  I never noticed panko in the soba soup. 

But I defer, of course, to Soba Addict! 

    The name is Daikichi Sushi.

Yeah, what Cooks said.

And yeah, its definitely panko. They have entire vats of the stuff.

Pretty filling, but then again, not for an elite e-gulleteer like...like...oh, I dunno.

SA

[torakris]

I've had the soba a few times, but wish they would bring back the cold soba they used to offer.   I never noticed panko in the soba soup.  

But I defer, of course, to Soba Addict!  

   The name is Daikichi Sushi.

Yeah, what Cooks said.

And yeah, its definitely panko. They have entire vats of the stuff.

Pretty filling, but then again, not for an elite e-gulleteer like...like...oh, I dunno.

SA

Is anything done to the panko before they put it on the noodles? Frying etc?

Does this particular dish have a special name?

This is so interesting I want to give it a try!

[Jinmyo]

Was the cold soba dish zaru-soba?

Ooooh. How about a soba thread? Soba, would you do the honours?

[torakris]

I just picked up a nice Japanese ham the other day and it reminded me of a dish I made a while back, a type of potato croquette. I basically made thicker than normal mashed potatoes added some chopped ham, did the flour egg and panko thing and then deep fried them.

My friend makes the deep fried rice balls all the time but I never seem to get around to it.

My kid's favorite:

prepare a meat mixture similar to meatloaf, add finely chopped cabbage in about a 2:1 ratio, shape into flat patties, do the flour, egg and panko thing then deep fry. Normally served with tonkatsu sauce, my oldest eats them smeared with mayo!

The grocery store closest to my house serves them already made, so I rarely make them, usually I pick up a couple for the kids dinner on busy days.

[Akiko]

I was in the Japanese grocery store... and lo and behold there is a type of panko that I've never seen before. What is Honey Panko (I assume it is panko with honey in it)? What would you use this for?

[torakris]

I was in the Japanese grocery store... and lo and behold there is a type of panko that I've never seen before.  What is Honey Panko (I assume it is panko with honey in it)?  What would you use this for?

Honey Panko?

I have seen this before.

I am going to go look for it, what would it be used for?

[awbrig]

it would be great on chicken since my panko recipe calls for honey anyway...

[torakris]

I was in the Japanese grocery store... and lo and behold there is a type of panko that I've never seen before.  What is Honey Panko (I assume it is panko with honey in it)?  What would you use this for?

Honey Panko?

I have seen this before.

I am going to go look for it, what would it be used for?

Okay this honey panko thing has been driving me crazy.

I can not find out anything about it. I have asked all the women in my apartment, all te women in my daughter's kindergarten and have looked in numerous stores.

A search on yahoo Japan comes up empty, except for a recipe for fried green tomatoes in which you make honey panko by mixing the 2 together, it looked quite good actually.

Did you buy them?

Do you know the brand?

[Priscilla]

The panko I buy habitually is honey panko ... by Shirakiku.

In addition, the label is pink, always a plus, with me, and, right on the bag it says A Good Bargain! which is reassuring.